After much ado about city fleet needs, budget draft falls short

Hundreds of Cincinnati’s vehicles need to be replaced, but the first draft of the next city budget doesn’t include enough money to replace them all.

City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee Chair Jeff Cramerding says the $10.6 million in the city manager’s proposal falls short.

"It's less than last year," Cramerding told WVXU. "That part is troubling in trying to assure we can provide basic city services — potholes, snow removal, fire — these are very critical. So it's definitely a troubling part of this budget that we'll be looking at raising it and also having a plan moving forward."

The city fleet includes 2,623 vehicles across all departments, including police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, mowers, garbage trucks, and snow plows.

A city vehicle is considered out of lifecycle if