Cincinnati's proposed 2004 budget shows the city is in better shape than many other big cities in the region, but it is light on spending controls and reducing the top-heavy bureaucracy. Council should take more corrective action in this second year of a $2 billion budget and resist adding pet projects.

The plan of City Manager Valerie Lemmie and Mayor Charlie Luken increases general fund spending by almost 6 percent, well over the rate of inflation, and will shrink the $15 million carryover to only $3.3 million by the end of 2004. The only notable spending cut is the $2.1 million curbside recycling program, which seems false economizing because we will end up paying for it in added collection costs and shortened landfill life.

Even Luken warns serious deficits loom in 2005 and 2006 unless city costs from pensions, police and fire contracts, and health care can be brought under control. His Rx: more cost-sharing by city employees.

The budget commits $23.7 million to neighborhood development projects in Bond Hill, College Hill, Corryville, Kennedy Heights, Madisonville and Westwood, even though some have not yet secured a developer. A significant chunk of the money comes from the $54 million Anthem fund, a one-time "windfall" the city got when the health insurer converted to a for-profit company. The previous council set criteria that Anthem money should leverage private dollars for lasting development projects. Instead, this budget proposes millions of Anthem dollars be used for street improvements, infrastructure and recreation centers. Ordinary city revenues should be funding such basic services.

"Only $5 million of the Anthem funds will be left by the end of 2004," Councilman Pat DeWine warned.

Finance Committee Chairman John Cranley supports the budget, except for axing recycling, but he calls the city's ratio of managers to workers "obscene." In industry the ratio may be one manager per 30 workers. By his count, the city bureaucracy's ratio is more like one manager to 1.6 workers. He argues for thinning middle managers, at least by attrition. In recent years Cincinnati has led Ohio in per-capita spending and size of its bureaucracy. Council should fix it now, not wait until it's blown the Anthem money.