By Gregory Korte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati Bell has asked Mayor Charlie Luken for "some kind of subsidy" to stay downtown, the mayor said Wednesday.

Luken said the request came in a phone conversation three weeks ago, as he was putting the finishing touches on a $63.4 million package of grants and tax incentives to help Convergys Corp. buy the Atrium One building and turn it into its new world headquarters.

Cincinnati Bell - the onetime parent company of Convergys, with executive offices in the same building - has at least 750 employees in Atrium One.

In an e-mail to Convergys chief executive officer James F. Orr - released this week under a public records request - Luken reported on a telephone conversation he had with Cincinnati Bell chairman Phillip R. Cox:

"He said there would be 750 Bell jobs that would be in play for relocation, possibly out of downtown or, even worse, out of the city. He indicated he would want some kind of subsidy to stay downtown," Luken wrote. "I do not think that council will have the stomach for a 750-job loss, or another discussion of a public subsidy to keep a big employer downtown."

That was in an e-mail July 1, one week before the Convergys plan became public.

"That's all true," Luken confirmed in an interview Wednesday. While he would not rule out the possibility of another public subsidy to help Cincinnati Bell, he said the likelihood of that happening is lessened by a number of factors:

• Cincinnati Bell's lease in the Atrium One building doesn't expire until 2010. Until then, it's up to Convergys to either continue renting space to Bell or offer its former parent enough money to leave, Luken said.

• Cincinnati Bell is a uniquely Cincinnati company. Unlike Convergys, a billing and customer service company with 48,000 employees worldwide, Cincinnati Bell primarily serves this region - and locating downtown makes more sense.

• The phone company has a significant investment in equipment on West Seventh Street - equipment considered so expensive and sensitive that Cincinnati removed parking meters around the building after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

• The city of Cincinnati's account with Cincinnati Bell is easily in the seven-figure range - a point Luken said he reminded the company of during the recent discussions. "We have a history together," Luken said.

Luken said his discussions with Cincinnati Bell centered on the company's commitment to stay in or near downtown, but ended with, "We'll get back to you."

A Cincinnati Bell spokeswoman said she would not discuss the company's long-term space plans. But she suggested that, like Convergys, the company would like to ultimately consolidate its headquarters under one roof.

"We've been talking about this for quite some time," said Bell spokeswoman Libby Korosec.

One council member said she needs a straight answer from Bell or Convergys before she votes on Convergys' tax incentive package - the largest in the city's history - on Friday.

"Will Cincinnati Bell need relocation dollars in order to keep them downtown? If so, we need them to come as a package," said Vice Mayor Alicia Reece. "And the answer can't be, 'I don't know.' "

City Manager Valerie Lemmie's report to City Council this month said simply: "The movement of Convergys to Atrium One will cause other location/relocation decisions downtown."

Luken said he thinks Convergys and Bell do have an arrangement for Bell to relocate, but that neither company will provide details. He told Orr in the July 1 e-mail: "Council WILL want an answer to that question."

Other developments Wednesday:

Assistant City Manager Timothy H. Riordan continued work on an analysis of two competing incentive plans - one offered by Mayor Charlie Luken and the other by Councilmen David Pepper and Chris Monzel. That analysis, awaiting the signature of City Manager Valerie Lemmie today, is expected to settle the debate over whose plan would cost the city more.

Luken said he would allow a scheduled vote on the Pepper plan to proceed Friday when council meets in special session at 8:30 a.m. If it fails, Luken said, he would call for a short recess and reintroduce his original plan.

Finance Committee Chairman John Cranley sent a memo to his colleagues declaring his intent to vote against the Pepper plan, which relies on property taxes already earmarked for other development projects.

E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com