CINCINNATI (WKRC) — Cincinnati’s roughly $1-billion budget is one step closer to approval after city council advanced a spending plan that keeps $2 million in funding for the new Farmer Music Center being built next to Riverbend, despite repeated efforts to remove or redirect the money.
Earlier this spring, city council narrowly approved a motion asking the city manager to include $8 million for the venue in the next budget, even as the city initially faced a $30-million deficit. The city manager and Mayor Aftab Pureval later reduced the amount, settling on $2 million in the current balanced budget.
Opponents argued the project does not need city money. The initial city manager budget included $4.5 million for the project, with the caveat that analysis showed the venue would be built without any city funding. Pureval later lowered the amount to $2 million, saying it would come with a promise of future tax revenues from the venue, as well as possibly taking over property across the street for redevelopment…