Last month, the Enquirer reported that the city's Office of Municipal Investigation had found at least 17 felons on the city payroll, some in violation of state law.

But it's not just the felons that are creating personnel headaches in the Department of Public Services.

It's the misdemeanor offenders, too.

On Dec. 12, the Civil Service Commission upheld the firing of sanitation helper James Brown for not reporting to work for nearly a month.

Mr. Brown argued at the hearing that he shouldn't be fired because his supervisors knew where he was: He was in jail, serving a 23-day sentence for domestic violence.

The commission classifies taking off to serve jail time as unjustified leave. Those without sufficient vacation time risk being fired.

In another recent case, also investigated by OMI, sanitation worker Gregory Kelow was given time off, in violation of city policy, to serve a 10-day sentence for driving with a suspended license.

OMI investigator Frank Sefton found Mr. Kelow took the time off with the knowledge of his supervisor: Gloria Davis-Kelow, Mr. Kelow's wife.

Ms. Davis-Kelow insisted she did not know her husband was incarcerated. But jail records indicate she visited him three times.

OMI recommended two-week suspensions for each of them, and urged a departmental review of the city's nepotism policy.

Change in venue: Mayor Charlie Luken's State of the City Address has been delayed this year because of a "strong mayor" twist.

For the first time, Mr. Luken will give his speech in an auditorium at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, rather than the traditional Rotary luncheon downtown. The speech is Jan. 30.

It was Councilman Paul Booth who called the mayor's attention last year to a provision in the new "strong mayor" charter amendment passed by voters in 1999: "The mayor shall deliver an annual address to the council and citizens of the city reporting on the state of the city and making recommendations for the establishment and achievement of future goals."

Rotarians, it seems, were not a sufficient cross-section of the citizenry.

The speech is by invitation only. About 350 people have been invited. The room holds 300.

Mr. Luken will speak at 11 a.m. Then he'll zip over to the Rotary Club for lunch.

He is expected to talk about crime.

Incomplete: More than a year after winning election to a fourth and final term on City Council, Minette Cooper faces two Ohio Election Commission complaints that she filed incomplete campaign finance reports for the 2001 election.

The Hamilton County Board of Elections brought the complaints, which allege "deficiencies in the reports and failure to file requested amended reports." Elections Director Julie Stautberg said some of the problems go back to 1999.

Ms. Cooper referred questions to her campaign treasurer, Renee Mahaffey Harris. Ms. Harris said the campaign committee was reconciling the books and providing the additional information to the commission.

Comings and goings: City Manager Valerie Lemmie is expected to appoint a new assistant city manager this week.

Last week, Ms. Lemmie had council members interview Deborah C. Holston, who heads the Greensboro, N.C., Field Office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Ms. Holston, who used to work in the Cincinnati office, has a specialty very much in demand here these days: homeownership.

Leaving is Dennis Murphy, director of the Office of Environmental Management, which was abolished in the 2003 budget.

Mr. Murphy has accepted a position in Oregon. His last day is Monday.

City Hall reporter Gregory Korte can be reached at 768-8391 or gkorte@enquirer.com.