The Cincinnati Futures Commission: Meet the 34 people charting the city's future

Sharon Coolidge and Patricia Gallagher Newberry, Cincinnati Enquirer
Updated ·3 min read
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The Cincinnati skyline from Devou Park in Covington.
The Cincinnati skyline from Devou Park in Covington.

Three decades ago, former Procter & Gamble CEO John Smale led a commission that paved the way for the city of Cincinnati to repair its crumbling infrastructure ‒ and raise taxes.

Now with some estimates saying the city's outstanding capital maintenance needs have soared to $400 million, Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval has created what's known around City Hall as Smale 2.0.

Last fall Pureval tapped current P&G CEO Jon Moeller to lead the "Futures Commission," a group of business, labor, and community leaders tasked with reviewing the city’s budget, analyzing economic development and recommending future funding priorities. Moeller worked with the business community to select the members.

City taxpayers have spent $1 million on the commission, including $500,000 in the budget approved last month, according to budget documents and Betty Hull, the commission's spokeswoman.  The business community is hoping to raise another $1 million for its expenses including accounting analyses, research, and public listening sessions, Hull said.

The group, which is not a public body, started work at the beginning of the year.

Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval has convened what's known as the Cincinnati Futures Commission, a group of business and civic leaders tasked with looking at the short-term and long-term fiscal health of the city. Recommendations are expected to made public early next year.
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval has convened what's known as the Cincinnati Futures Commission, a group of business and civic leaders tasked with looking at the short-term and long-term fiscal health of the city. Recommendations are expected to made public early next year.

"When we walked into office on Jan. 2 last year it became very clear the biggest challenge long-term was the fiscal health of our city," Pureval said. "In the past transformational ideas, like 3CDC (Cincinnati Center City Development Corp.) or Preschool Promise, has always been collaborative, pulling the best and brightest from the entire community. It happened with the Smale Commission when the city was at similar crossroads."

Pureval talked to Moeller and the commission was born.

The commission expects to complete its work by the end of this year with recommendations for the short-term and long-term fiscal health of the city to follow early next year.

After the first Smale report, Cincinnati City Council increased the earnings tax and raised a number of user fees to find the money for fixes.

The group of 34 is a "who's who" of Cincinnati − a diverse group of top business and civic leaders, as well as people who represent unions.

The people evaluating Cincinnati's future:

  • Jon Moeller, Procter & Gamble, president and CEO.

  • Katie Blackburn, Cincinnati Bengals, executive vice president.

  • Phillip Holloman, retired Cintas, past president and COO.

  • Tim Spence, Fifth Third Bank, president and CEO.

  • Stuart Aitken, Kroger, senior vice president and chief merchant and marketing officer.

  • Matt Alter, Cincinnati Fire Union President.

  • Paula Boggs Muething, FC Cincinnati, chief legal and administrative officer, former Cincinnati city manager.

  • Kerry Byrne, TQL, president.

  • Manual Chavez, Mobile Infrastructure, CEO.

  • Michael Fisher, business and civic leaders, past CEO of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

  • Chris Fister, Castellini Management Company, partner.

  • David Foxx, D.E. Foxx and Associates, chairman.

  • Bill Froehle, Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council, president.

  • John Fronduti, American Financial Group, assistant general counsel.

  • Chris Habel, Frost Brown Todd, partner in charge.

  • Deborah Hayes, Christ Hospital, president and CEO.

  • Dan Hils, Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police, president.

  • Renita Jones-Lee, AFSCME Ohio Council 8, regional director.

  • Elizabeth Mangan, Miller-Valentine Construction, CEO.

  • Candice Matthews Brackeen, Lightship Capital, general partner.

  • Roddell McCullough, First Financial Bank, chief corporate responsibility officer.

  • Candace McGraw, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, CEO.

  • Laura Mitchell, Beech Acres Parenting Center, president and CEO, former superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools.

  • Jon Niemeyer, Western & Southern Financial Group, senior vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel.

  • Molly North, Al. Neyer Inc., CEO.

  • Michele O'Rourke, O'Rourke Wrecking Company, CEO and majority owner.

  • Bimal Patel, Rolling Hills Hospitality, founder and CEO.

  • Jorge Perez, YMCA of Greater Cincinnati, president and CEO.

  • Neville Pinto, University of Cincinnati, president.

  • Barb Smith, Journey Steel Inc., president.

  • Amy Spiller, Duke Energy, president of utility operations in Ohio and Kentucky.

  • Barbara Turner, Ohio National Financial Services, past president.

  • George Vincent, Dinsmore, partner.

  • Ebow Vroom, QEY Capital, co-founder, CEO and president.

A peek at the group's subcommittees

The 34-member commission has three sub-committees, each headed by a vice chairperson:

  • Community Insights and Priorities, headed by Blackburn.

  • Economic Agenda for the Future, headed by Holloman.

  • Financial Review, headed by Spence.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who's on the Cincinnati Futures Commission?