Capital for a Billion Dollar Nati Action Agency Policy
Cincinnati Change believes that if its our water works then we should sell the Cincinnati Water Works and the city railroad The Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific that we lease out and is operated by Norfolk Southern as part of their Central Division.
Then we will have real money to decide how to invest in a better Cincinnati. Cincinnati Change has hired a economist and engineer who estimated we could get over a billion dollars - the city not the region. Under this proposal we could could earn an extra 30 million a year, after equaling what these city owned assets earn the general fund.
Cincinnati Change believes that we should then invest that into people and the infrastructure to change Cincinnati over the next 30 years. To do that we look to bring together 300 social services and related agencies together who we look to create a unified solution to problems in the Nati with the following top ten areas of spending:
- Small Business Development Fund
- Creative Class Program with a focus on OTR & Uptown
- Third Frontier with a focus on Universal health Care for residents of the city
- Comprehensive All Sector Job Creation and Support
- World Class First Responder Human Services Infrastructure
- Neighborhood Development with a focus on Senior Citizen Housing Transition
- 30 years Lead Free Household program including 20,000 Homes
- Quality Low & Moderate Income Homes
- New Public Safety Program with built in Comprehensive Reentry Programing
- Young Peoples Support Network including the Recreation and Park System
And our water quality would stay the same or go up through an agreement with the new owners. We would establish as part of this plan an independent office of environmental quality who would test the water and make their reports public. Under this plan this office would also monitor lead and other deadly substances in the city along with air quality through the 20,000 meteorological stations that would be built in the city.
These monies would even cover the city general fund as our current money fund managers of the 2 billion dollar city pension fund can not earn enough money to cover expenses. So far to the tune of 16 million dollars a year or more. This money then has to come out of the general fund.
If the question of private ownership bothers you then have the 2 billion dollar pension fund buy them.
A friend of Cincinnati Change has stated I am definitely against selling the Water Works. This is an income producer that a wider consumer market will need going forward. Plus, sell of such assets weakens the influence Cincinnati has within the region. I am not for regional government.
We are not for regional government when it hurts our core - Cincinnati.
Unfortunatly in the case of the Water Works that core has no control. All funds are segragated and go back to the water works which in turns hurts the city by underwriting regional expansion which weakens the core. Right now non of the profits benefit the people of Cincinnati anymore than any other user of the water works.
What we advocate is the creation of a peoples trust to won the Water Works as a means of owning a enterprise that will bring about jobs.
When the people buy the Cincinnati water works they then will grant themselves a discount over the next 90 years (after the 10 years on the current contract with Hamilton County runs out).
At the same time the workforce and contracts will be targeted to residents of the city or those who are supportive of the goals of the people in redeveloping the city of Cincinnati.
In the ownership of the water works the people will gain more power through the public private model already developed in Cincinnati.
Posted by Anonymous | Monday, March 26, 2007 12:23:00 AM