BY LISA DONOVAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
At Cincinnati City Council, where civility often hangs by a thread, members were sent in a veritable free-fall during Wednesday's meeting when Jeanette Cissell abruptly voted against her own proposal to meet the city's $100 million commitment to public schools.
It was in many ways a snapshot of the often unpredictable political fault lines at 801 Plum St.
The funding plan dumped Wednesday was the latest in about a dozen that have failed to gain a majority in nearly three years of political fighting that largely revolves around whether to increase the ticket tax to pay for the bulk of it.
The commitment was part of a city-county deal paving the way for the 1996 countywide vote to raise the sales tax to build new Reds and Bengals stadiums. The city agreed to pay $5 million a year for 20 years to build and repair Cincinnati Public Schools' buildings. What was particularly unusual in Wednesday's vote was that Mrs. Cissell voted against her own plan, which was introduced formally Aug. 5.
The plan called for most of the $100 million to come from the general fund or to be intercepted by money headed toward the general operating fund, which pays for city services, such as police.
It also relies on a projected increase in admissions-tax revenues and more earnings-tax income from workers on the construction of the Bengals' Paul Brown football stadium and other downtown projects.
Mrs. Cissell's vote came as a surprise to council members who also had signed off on the package -- Jim Tarbell, Todd Portune, Charlie Winburn and Mayor Roxanne Qualls.
Ms. Qualls, Mr. Portune and Mr. Winburn -- who has been reminding everyone for a week that he was the critical fifth vote -- each offered a preliminary "thanks" and "good work" to their colleagues, expecting the measure to sail through.
Meantime, the opposition on council, Minette Cooper and Dwight Tillery, shook their heads no at what they perceived were self-congratulatory speeches; Mr. Tillery even mockingly patted himself on the back as council members spoke.
Before the vote, council members Tyrone Yates and Phil Heimlich offered their very different reasons for voting against the measure. Mr. Yates favored hiking the city's 3 percent admissions tax, levied on tickets for sporting and other events.
"The way to do it, in my opinion, is to make a small adjustment to the admissions tax over 20 years, in a larger economic environment that can afford it."
Mr. Heimlich said he wouldn't vote for the measure because it contained a tax hike. He explained that by applying the city's 2.1 percent earnings tax on the paychecks of visiting athletes and entertainers that the measure was creating a new tax.
Throughout the 20-minute debate leading up to the final vote, Mrs. Cissell remained silent.
When it was time for the vote, the clerk of council called the roll. When Mrs. Cissell said "no," the meeting almost came to a halt, with her colleagues whispering instructions that she surely had misspoken.
She reiterated her "no," instantly making herself the critical fifth vote against the measure.
After the vote, Mrs. Cissell told her colleagues: "I'm still very supportive of honoring the commitment to the schools; I believe there is a tax increase in this proposal -- I don't see the rush to vote on it today."
Mr. Winburn sat back in his chair, incredulous, later saying he felt "blindsided" by the move.
But Mr. Winburn was able to repair himself on the floor of council and ripped into Mrs. Cissell. He even issued a political threat, saying Mrs. Cissell may not have his support on pet issues in the future.
"You may not have me after this," he said. "I hope this wasn't a game of Russian roulette."
But Mr. Tillery interrupted Mr. Winburn, saying it was improper to "castigate" a member of council for their vote.
"No one did it to the mayor when she changed her vote," Mr. Tillery said.
That was a dig at Ms. Qualls for changing her vote this summer on a school funding package that would have called for raising the city's admissions tax.
Ms. Qualls subsequently worked with the sports and entertainment coalition -- opposed to any tax hike -- to come to a consensus that didn't include a tax increase. The coalition, meanwhile, organized a petition to cap the tax at 3 percent with a charter amendment.
Jeff Berding, Bengals director of community affairs and a leader of the sports and entertainment coalition, was lobbying Mrs. Cissell's aide after the vote.
Mrs. Cissell later said that she didn't think the school funding issue was coming up for a vote, even though Mr. Winburn has been saying for a week that he would introduce the measure Wednesday.
More importantly, she said, she thought Mr. Yates had made some critical points against the plan. However, she gave no indication what kind of proposal she would ultimately support, other than her opposition to a tax increase.
There is now some doubt that the city will ever find a majority of council members who will support a single funding package.
An angry Mr. Portune said he doesn't hold out much hope for a solution.
"That was the most unbelievable show ever," he said. "It was a very disappointing day for the city, and a majority of council has told the schoolchildren of Cincinnati that this commitment is very much in doubt."
