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Smart Voter
Hamilton County, OH November 8, 2011 Election
Issue 48
Proposed Charter Amendment
City of Cincinnati
Majority Approval Required

Fail: 33,530 / 48.46% Yes votes ...... 35,655 / 51.54% No votes

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Information shown below: Impartial Analysis | Arguments |

Shall the Charter of the City of Cincinnati be amended to prohibit the City, the City Manager, the Mayor, the Council and the City's various boards, commissions, agencies and departments from spending or appropriating any monies or incurring any indebtedness or contractual obligations for the purpose of financing, designing, engineering, constructing, building or operating a streetcar system which means a system of passenger vehicles operated on rails constructed primarily in existing public right of ways through the year 2020, by enacting new Article XVI?
YES
NO

Impartial Analysis from League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area
EXPLANATION: This proposed Ballot Issue would amend the Charter of the City of Cincinnati by adding a new Article XVI. The amendment would prohibit the City from spending or appropriating any money to plan, construct, or operate a Streetcar System or any passenger rail transit in the City in existing public rights of way through the year 2020.

This proposed Charter amendment was placed on the ballot through an initiative petition proc- ess that gathered sufficient qualified signatures requiring City Council to place the issue on the November 2011 ballot.

WHAT WOULD THIS AMENDMENT DO: The new Charter article would prohibit the City from the spending or appropriation of any money or any indebtedness or contractual obligations for purposes of financing the design, engineering, construction or operation of any portion of a Streetcar System through December 31, 2020.

For purposes of the Amendment the term "City" includes the City, the City Manager, the Mayor, the Council, and the City's various boards, commissions, agencies and departments. The term "money" means any money from any source whatsoever and would include city, state, federal and private funds. Because of the definition of a "Streetcar System," the amendment would include any system of passenger vehicles operated on rails constructed primarily in existing public rights of way.

The amendment would stop not just the streetcar project. It would also block any regional passenger rail system (light rail or commuter rail) which would need to transit through the city of Cincinnati on public rights of way. It would keep any rail transit from being planned or built in Cincinnati for the next decade.

BACKGROUND: This proposed amendment to the City of Cincinnati Charter is similar to a proposed Charter amendment that appeared on the November 2009 ballot. That amendment would have pre- vented the expenditure of monies by the City for right-of-way acquisition or construction of improvements for passenger rail transportation without an affirmative vote of the electorate. The amendment in November 2009 was defeated by the voters.

This Charter amendment is on the November 2011 ballot because sufficient signatures were collected in a petition effort in response to the expected start of construction of the Cincinnati Streetcar Project. The Streetcar Project has been approved by the City Council. Funding to build the Streetcar has been identified and secured.

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Arguments For Issue 48 Arguments Against Issue 48
Proponents Say:

  • Prohibiting passenger rail projects would allow the City to spend those capital dollars on other permanent infrastructure projects.

  • The proposed streetcar plan, including its route, is the wrong plan and should be stopped.

  • Passenger rail transportation projects should be prohibited in the Charter because these projects cost too much and will have to be subsidized.

  • Voters should have a say about passenger rail projects which are usually expensive and long-term investments.

Opponents Say:

  • This amendment would prohibit the City from planning or building any passenger rail transit projects for the next decade and beyond. The City will lose jobs and development opportunities both of which can increase the City's tax base.

  • This amendment should not be in the Charter because it is an issue which should be decided by City Council as the Charter authorized legislative body of City government.

  • Prohibiting the City from spending money on passenger rail transit would result in excessive delays in the development and implementation of an adequate transportation system for our city and limit transportation options that are part of local, state and national long range plans.

  • The expiration date of the amendment - December 31, 2020 - is arbitrary and would force any planning for passenger rail transportation to start all over again after that date.

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Created: January 20, 2012 12:04 PST
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