( CINCINNATI, OH ) -- A deal has been struck between members of the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners and the mayor and vice mayor of the city of Cincinnati on the future of the Metropolitan Sewer District.
In the proposed deal, Hamilton County would have control over a 5-member Citizen's board, which would consist of 3 county appointees and 2 city appointees. This board would oversee day-to-day operations at MSD.
Proponents of the deal, such as County Commissioners Todd Portune and Denise Driehaus, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and Vice Mayor David Mann, as well as Cincinnati city councilman Kevin Flynn say this will end any litigation and eliminate county overseers, which would save $5-million annually. Commissioner Portune says this would reduce rates for those paying in Hamilton County.
Mayor John Cranley and Vice Mayor David Mann both say that as men who have backgrounds practicing law, there's no guarantee what will happen in trial. They say this deal may give most of the power to the county, but would prevent the city from possibly losing everything in a trial.
Detractors of the proposed deal gathered in front of Cincinnati City Hall [pictured below]. Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Yvette Simpson spoke alongside Councilmen Chris Seelbach and Wendell Young as they said they need more time to look over and vet this proposal, as they were only given 6 days before a vote.
Councilman Wendell Young asked where City Manager Harry Black was in all of the negotiations, saying he hasn't "heard a peep" out of Black on this issue whatsoever. Young says that contracts and deals between the city and others are supposed to be negotiated by the city manager, so he is confused why Black seemed to not be involved in this.
Councilman Chris Seelbach says that it is highly unlikely that the Republican-controlled state legislature will sign off on a deal that Democrats in Hamilton County want, which would not put 800 employees into the state-run retirement system. He also went on to say that he believes a deal, which could be worked out within the next 9 months they still have before the 1945 agreement runs out, is being rushed to make it seem as though problems are being fixed in a big election year.
Video of the Announcement of the Deal: