A tri-partisan group on Cincinnati City Council struck a budget deal Monday with a compromise that pays for 30 new police officers next year and — for the first time — allows for the possible privatization of city services.

        The compromise budget, the result of deals negotiated over the weekend, passed the Finance Committee by a 4-3 vote Monday. It is expected to pass at Wednesday's council meeting.

        It has the support of what may be an emerging conservative coalition of City Council: Democrats John Cranley and David Pepper, Republicans Pat DeWine and Chris Monzel, and Charterite Jim Tarbell.

        Also in support is Democratic Mayor Charlie Luken. Under the new “stronger mayor” system, he does not have a vote but could veto any budget with less than six votes.

        City services that could be contracted out under the plan include street cleaning, management of the Albert B. Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center, fueling of city vehicles, and computer and phone maintenance.

        Under the proposed sys tem, city departments may still compete for the contracts. Council Republicans estimate that the city could save 25 percent on the cost of those services.

        City unions were outraged at the idea of managed competition.

        “This is an attack on public employees. It's an attack on public services,” said Robert Turner, director of Ohio Council 8 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The union represents about 2,500 city workers.

        Mr. Luken has opposed privatization in the past. However, he said during the

        campaign that he would “consider each proposal” on its merits. He defended the budget compromise at Monday's Finance Committee meeting.

        “It's not only important that the streets be clean, but that the streets be safe,” the mayor said. “It's historic — although very controversial — that this budget introduces the concept of managed competition. My hope is that city workers will win all of these contracts when the bids come back.”

        Left out in the cold in the budget process are the council's three African-American members (Paul Booth, Minette Cooper and Alicia Reece) and newcomer David Crowley, all Democrats.

        “Having not had a chance to review the budget — and not even being involved in the process — one of the things I'm concerned about is any budget we put together should be inclusive of the whole council,” said Ms. Reece, the vice mayor. “It shouldn't further divide us, but bring us together.”

        Ms. Reece proposed her own budget. It called for $105,000 more for African-American cultural and sporting events, $426,000 for more street sweepers and $2.5 million for neighborhood de velopment. Her budget did not include money for new police officers.

        And, more than any other line item, the addition of more officers seemed to play a key role in the budget compromise.

        Mr. Cranley, the new Finance Committee chairman, had campaigned on a promise to hire 75 more police officers to the force. His plan passed 5-4 vote in October, but that vote seemed to be in jeopardy after Mr. Crowley was elected Nov. 6.

        If council passes the budget as expected, the city's 30 new officers would enter the Police Academy next August. They would not hit the streets until 2003.

        Mr. Crowley said Sunday that he would move to reverse the hiring of more officers, saying it was “too costly” and would come at the expense of some valuable programs Mr. Luken had proposed cutting.

        That caused Mr. Cranley to abandon the practice of passing a budget along party lines, as has happened for the past six years. In deals worked out privately over the weekend, he and Mr. Pepper sought support instead from outside the party.

        “The goal was to build a Democratic budget until Mr. Crowley said to me very explicitly that he was going to go after the cops,” he said. “And once that happened, we had no choice but to go after a bipartisan budget.”

        The key vote became Mr. Tarbell, who had voted against more police officers on Oct. 3.

        Mr. Tarbell was willing to accept a smaller number of new officers — 30 in the first year — and hold off a decision on more officers in the 2003 and 2004 budgets.

        In return, Mr. Tarbell won an agreement not to cut funding for arts groups and to create a $1 million capital arts fund for projects such as the remodeling of Music Hall to house the Cincinnati Opera.

        The compromise budget also makes major structural changes at City Hall, eliminating the Safety Department and merging the Economic Development Department with Neighborhood Services.

        The office that deals with consumer issues is gone, as is the city's nursing home inspection program. The city's environmental agency faces deep cuts.

        The proposed budget gives the city more “breathing room.” It restores as much as $5.3 million to the bottom line and giving the city a head start on the 2003 budget with its $29 million deficit, said Councilman Pat DeWine.

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