A VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF CINCINNATI
ABOUT THE FUTURES COMMISSION
At his State of the City Address in November 2022, Mayor Pureval officially announced the Commission’s formation the work of the Commission as “fundamental to the City’s future.
The membership of the Futures Commission was designed to provide a diverse and thorough knowledge base and expertise of the City. Commissioners include executives, business owners, nonprofit CEOs, and labor leaders. Importantly, they sit on the boards of more than 90 nonprofit, community and economic development, and civic boards, bringing perspective beyond their day-to-day work that gave the Commission further reach into the community.
Cincinnati Futures Commission Members
- Jon Moeller, Chairman, President, and CEO, the Procter & Gamble Co. | Chair
- Katie Blackburn, EVP, Cincinnati Bengals | Vice-Chair, Community Insights & Priorities
- Phillip Holloman, Co-Founder, Holloman Center for Social Justice | Vice-Chair, Economic Agenda
- Tim Spence, Chairman & CEO, Fifth Third Bank | Vice-Chair, Financial Review
- Stuart Aitken, Chief Marketing Officer, The Kroger Co.
- Matt Alter, President, Cincinnati Firefighters Local 48
- Candice Matthews Brackeen, General Partner, Lightship Capital
- Kerry Byrne, President, TQL
- Manuel Chavez, CEO, Mobile Infrastructure
- Michael Fisher, CEO, Winding Way Advisors
- Chris Fister, Partner, Castellini Management Company
- David Foxx, Chairman, d.e. Foxx & Associates
- Bill Froehle, President, Cincinnati AFL-CIOLabor Council
- John Fronduti, Assistant General Counsel, American Financial Group
- Chris Habel, Partner in Charge, Frost Brown Todd
- Deborah Hayes, CEO, The Christ Hospital
- Dan Hils, President, FOP Local 69
- Renita Jones-Lee, Regional Director, AFSCME Ohio Council 8
- Elizabeth Mangan, CEO, Miller Valentine
- Roddell McCullough, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer, First Financial Bank
- Candace McGraw, CEO, CVG Airport
- Laura Mitchell, CEO, Beech Acres Parenting Center
- Paula Boggs Muething, Chief Business and Legal Officer, FC Cincinnati
- Jon Niemeyer, SVP, CAO & General Counsel, Western & Southern
- Molly North, CEO, Al Neyer Inc.
- Michelle O’Rourke, CEO, O’Rourke Wrecking Company
- Bimal Patel, CEO, Rolling Hills Hospitality
- Jorge Perez, CEO, YMCA of Greater Cincinnati
- Neville Pinto, President, University of Cincinnati
- Barb Smith, CEO, Journey Steel
- Amy Spiller, President, Ohio and Kentucky, Duke Energy
- Barbara Turner, CEO, BT Rise
- George Vincent, Partner, Dinsmore
- Ebow Vroom, CEO, Qey Capital Partners
USHERING IN A DECADE OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
After more than a year of work, the Cincinnati Futures Commission believes Cincinnati is poised to usher in a decade of economic opportunity. After robust engagement and analysis by experts, the Futures Commission is presenting a set of recommendations that align the City’s budget around core operations, structure the City to support growth, and target investments into economic initiatives.
Given headwinds over the past four years, the winding down of COVID-era federal aid, and uncertainty related to the shifting nature of work, many cities are facing the real possibility of cutting back on services and decreasing investments into their communities. The Cincinnati Futures Commission was convened to confront these challenges and orient the City toward growth. We have spent the last year studying the problems, engaging with the community, and working with experts to develop solutions.
The City of Cincinnati – if it implements the recommendations of the Cincinnati Futures Commission – has an opportunity to go on the offensive and solidify a more equitable and vibrant future in these uncertain economic times.
Even as this report presents solutions to the economic and financial challenges that the City must confront immediately, the Futures Commission also recognizes that the City has long-term liabilities that loom large over its budget. The Futures Commission believes that now is the time to take bold action – as the City did when it sold the Cincinnati Southern Railway to address its deferred maintenance backlog – to mitigate the risk the Cincinnati Retirement System (CRS) continues to present. This report will outline steps that we believe the City should take to solve this problem once and for all.
While this report will provide detailed and actionable recommendations to the Mayor, it is guided by a set of key takeaways that were established over the previous year’s work. These were the ways we measured our work and created the threads that bind together disparate recommendations, creating a unified report from a sprawling review of the City’s finances and its economic ecosystem.
The Commission has aligned its recommendations to help achieve three key goals:
INCREASE POPULATION
GROW JOBS
