CINCINNATI (AP) - Officials say they have enough money set aside to avoid asking taxpayers to cover an additional $1.2 million deficit facing the city’s new streetcar.
A Thursday memo from City Manager Harry Black says Mayor John Cranley and the City Council already knew the shortfall could occur and have been saving up for it.
The memo also detailed a new agreement with the private foundation that had committed to help pay for operations, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported (https://cin.ci/1RbW6eB ) Friday.
That arrangement with the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile/U.S. Bank Foundation will allow the city to solidify the operations budget over the first two years. The foundation will pay $900,000 a year for two years toward streetcar operations, according to the agreement.
The city still faces expected structural deficits of more than $680,000 and more than $518,000 each year, according to the memo. Although the memo didn’t specify how those deficits would be covered, Councilman Kevin Flynn said the city should be able to cover the entire two-year deficit with saved-up parking meter money.
“We need to make it clear: We have this money,” Flynn said.
Flynn said the city had been saving parking meter money since January 2015. When the streetcar opens to the public in September, $2.5 million is projected to have been saved.
The city plans to pay more than $1 million in startup costs using the parking fund as well.
Advertising and naming rights for the streetcar haven’t been negotiated but are expected to generate an estimated additional $450,000 toward the $4.2 million annual operations contract, which was approved last year.
“Nobody has signed on the dotted line yet, but I’ve talked to a few people who said they would commit to (sponsoring) a stop,” Flynn said. “It needed to happen quicker, but it will happen.”
He added: “It still keeps me up at night.”
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Information from: The Cincinnati Enquirer, https://www.enquirer.com
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