Tax increases, Cincinnati's budget dodge and First District Court of Appeals

To no one's surprise (except gullible members of the media), Cincinnati City Council has yet again gone through another budget cycle without addressing the massive over-spending at City Hall.

Unlike a private business, that would relish the opportunity to cut costs and increase profits (yes, those evil profits), the Mayor, City Manager and Council openly admitted that their objective in the budget process was not to deliver services to Cincinnati taxpayers (and the vast swath of non-taxpayers) as efficiently as possible, but rather simply to avoid layoffs.  With that being their budgetary priority, is it any wonder the outcome?

City Hall managed to rob every special fund they have in order to reduce City Hall layoffs to virtually none, meaning that once again they have avoided meaningful budgetary reforms.

But even worse, they snuck in a property tax increase (their third in two years).

But here's the worst of all: They promise that if the First District Court of Appeals rules in their favor on the Parking Plot referendum litigation, depriving Cincinnati voters of the right to vote on the Parking Plot, and giving them 30 year of revenue up front, they will restore the minor cuts they have made to the City budget, and spend all that money in just 24 months.

This is the bizarre world our in which Batshit Crazy Council lives.  And we all suffer as a result.