Last week's theme in Cincinnati Budget hearings was clear: Black Lives Matter & Defund the police. The City of Cincinnati raised the Juneteenth flag for the first time in history and unveiled a new Black Lives Matter street mural. Roger Davis testified at the June 18 budget hearing on behalf of CUFA, saying that, "we should end tax abatements for the wealthy'" and instead, focus on investments that will address our affordable housing gap. This week, make your voice heard my emailing your comments to City Council and the Mayor, make sure you're registered to vote.

Here are the top actions you can take this week:

1. Submit your final comments to the on the City of Cincinnati Budget to: [email protected] See more on the budget below.
2. Make sure you are registered to vote! Check your registration status or register in Hamilton County by clicking here.

What's happening this week: Cincinnati City Budget

Here is the Mayor's proposed budget: https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/finance/budget/recommended-fy-2021-budget-update/

Here are the questions that Council Members submitted on the proposed budget: https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/finance/cincinnati-budget-engagement/council-questions-to-the-budget-office-fiscal-year-2021-budget-update/

The City must approve the budget by June 30th, but the full Council may vote this week on the 24th. 

Here are some points CUFA made on the proposed City of Cincinnati Budget:

• End property tax abatements for the wealthy. They are not working to alleviate the 40,000 unit affordable housing shortage and starves our schools our schools in poor and minority communities of desperately needed funding; 
• Invest in Community Development Corporations that provide affordable housing, instead of slashing the budget for Community & Economic development; In this proposed budget, that is the deepest cut (70%) and is unacceptable;
• 3CDC should not be running our public spaces. Fountain Square, Washington Park and Ziegler Park are ours, and should be controlled by publicly elected officials for the benefit of the public. 

Just Mercy, streaming free from Warner Bros. for the month of June! From the film creators: "We believe in the power of story. Our film, Just Mercy, based on the life work of Civil Rights Attorney Bryan Stevenson, is one resource we can humbly offer to those who are interested in learning more about the systemic racism that plagues our society."

The Census is still happening! Make sure you are counted! Federal funding and how much representation we get in Congress is determined by Census results, so help CUFA spread the word about the importance of filling it out. The Census is collecting responses over the phone or online. You can fill yours out here. 

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