My Billy Cunningham, the Great Amara, and of course the mayor after a year of all came out with his plan for the next fiscal year in the City of Cincinnati. It's about a five hundred and forty three million dollar annual city budget that includes the first fifty six million dollar payment from the railroad to sale voters approved in twenty twenty three. Here we are about a year and
a half later. Time flies when you're having fun, and there's concerned by many that the infrastructure moneies that voted on by the taxpayers will go for reasons and purposes other than what was intended. A woman that knows where the bodies are buried all over Hamilton County is Amy Murray, who spent many years on the Cincinnati Southern Railway Board, who advocated for the sale of that property between here and I think Nashville. And now the chickens are coming
home to roost. And Amy Murray, welcome again to the Bill Cunningham Show. And Amy, how are you?
How are you? Willie?
I'm living the American dream. Let's go back a little bit in time. What did the voters want.
To tell you?
All Right? It is It's Chattanooga, Chowndanouga Chanuga. I'm reading a story in the All right, that's good. Tell the American people in twenty twenty three, Well, what did we vote for at that point? To refresh individuals memories.
Well, absolutely so.
I've been on the Cincinnati Southern Railway Board for five years total. And you know, one hundred years ago, our four fathers, four mothers in the city of Cincinnati voted that we need to have a railway from here to the South so that we would have commerce in that area, and we were the only municipality that had a rail line.
We leased the lne in Norfolk.
Southern and they paid us approximately twenty three million dollars a year. That money went strictly to maintain infrastructure in the City of Cincinnati. We had a LEASA was com up with Norfolk Southern, and we talked to Norfolk Southern and looked at least negotiations and what we can do, and we felt we should get a lot more money than twenty three million, but based on the lease that had been made twenty five years earlier, we kind of
kept losing out in all of the negotiations. Norfolk then started talking to us that they wanted to acquire the rail line, and we said, absolutely, no way, we don't want to do that. We need to keep this money in perfetuity. On the board of Southern Railway, we're all not paid. There's five members. It cannot be more than three people one political party, so you have a balance there.
And we were looking at I think Norfolk Southern started with offering us maybe six hundred million, and then they went up to eight hundred million, and we all said absolutely not, we are not going to do this. We
want to keep the money protected through this railroad. Then as we got into further negotiations a year or two years later, and we looked at a lot of information, all of a sudden, really it came to us, if we had one point six billion dollars of city money, would we invest that in one line of business and in one company?
Would you ever? That'd be crazy, that would be crazy.
And so as we started looking this, we thought, if something happens with Norfolk Southern, if they end up going out of business, if they sell off this line, then the city's going to end up with nothing, receiving no money and be responsible for the line that were on it. Also became apparent to us with our talks with them, is they had alternatives to get down to Tennessee then straight from Cincinnati, and so our roat was the easiest for them, but they had other ways to get their
freight down there. So that's when we made a decision and said, you know what, you know, we should look at this seriously. And they ended up going up to one point six billion dollars, which you know, was double what they offered initially, and that's when we decided that this would be better for the city. But we did have state law changed, and we have the state law changed so that the city had to keep using it on infrastructure.
It could not be used for anything else.
Well, now there is concerns and the state law was changed, which gives you more of a backstop, but I have to have Pearavol says, this money is part of the almost six hundred million dollar budget. Do they have the power? What is infrastructure? What about human infrastructure? What about a homeless shelter, what about bike paths? What's included? Can you be specific as to how the money can be spent and what cannot be spent on?
Yes, and let me back up here, Willie.
When we sold it, we were giving the city about twenty three million dollars a year, and so we really separate what the CINCINNTI Southern Railway did, and then we would give it to the elected officials and they were responsible for spending the money in the proper way on infrastructure.
Since we've sold it, Willy, it's gone from one point six billion dollars in our account to one point seven billion, so it's increased it's worth even with the market the way that it's been, and so we with UBS wisely invested it part in stocks, a part in bonds also so that we'd be able to you know, we wanted to be as conservative as we could be so that this would last for a long time for the citizens
of Cincinnati. And through just the dim dems on bonds, we were able to bring out sixty million dollars, which is what we're using to give to the city. So in the past we've given the city twenty three million a year. This year, will it's up to fifty six million the very first year, more than the citizens of Cincinnati are getting double. And what I always saying, what I learned at Procter and gamble is you need and I know I agree with you.
I don't trust a lot of what the city sometimes doesn't what they spend it on.
But if you look at what's happened in the past, it's indification of what will happen in the future. And with this money from the railroad sale, the city has always used it on the proper infrastructure. They have done that, and so we are giving them double the amount. One of the things that I heard was coming through in the bill that a third of the money that will be giving them fifty six million is going to go to road infrastructure. I mean, that's amazing. That's what we
need in the city of Cincinnati. And at least what I can tell everyone on council and the mayor, they're looking at things like roads, potholes, police stations. We have so much old infrastructure needs that you know this this will help it, but it's certainly not going to fix it all. So I have faith that this is what
they're going to be using it for now. My only concern is we have some you know, actors out there that are trying to say we want to change a state law, or we want to use this to pay off everyone's property tax, or we want to use this for all these other things, that's not the.
Purpose of it is.
And I would encourage people if someone comes to you and that they have if they have.
A petition they want you to sign. You know, it's a money grab for this money.
And we tried to lock it up as best as we could so that it's just to be used for infrastructure of the city for years and decades and decades to come.
Our friend Robin Reagan said, trust but verify, So if this money is going to be spent for homeless shelters or for a human capital, whatever the hell that is, that the Chris Finney's of the world would be out there to sue to make sure that the handcuffs are in a lock box on city council not to spend this money for contrary to state law. Is that correct?
Well? Absolutely, And what the Southern Railway has done as well is they are putting together it's coming out in the next week. They'll be having a website that you can go to. It's the CSRT dot org. So it's the Cincinnati Southern Railway Trustee dot org. And the city is now at every one of the board meetings, given a presentation on where the money is going to, and that will be put up on the Cincinnati Southern Railway Trustees for website every month and so you'll be able
to see what the money is being used for. So we are trying to be as transparent as possible because, you know, those of us that worked with Norfolk Southern and brought this vote to the voters, we feel very responsible. So we want to make sure that it's as transparent as possible. You know, right now we're giving the city double the money that they've gotten before.
And you know what, word me Willie, as.
We could have ended up giving them nothing if something happened with the rail line or if they took another rout to Tennessee, we would be left with nothing.
So, you know, I think we're in a really, really good situation. This should be celebrated.
This is a success story. Plus the the corpus the body went from one point five to one point seven, which is about a two hundred million dollar increase, and the debonads so to speak, one point six. I'm sorry, one point six to one point seven, that's one hundred appreciate.
I'd rather yeah, I'd rather have it be, you know, one point five. But you know, and that's during this difficult economic time that we have still managed to get to one point seven. So I think you know the way that this board has been run, the way that it's a bipartisan board, it's really looking at what's best for long term fiscal strength of the City of Cincinnati
and to keep our infrastructure running. You know, this should be heralded as a really good example of both sides working together and coming out with a good plan for the city.
Could you imagine if.
Norfolk Southern ended up leaving this line and all of a sudden we had none of this. My people would say, like, where are council members on this? Where was Cincinnati Southern Railway? You know, that's why we were active with this, to make sure that we protect this asset for the city.
And in fact, many said at the time, let's not do it. You're going to give the politicians' ability to spend the money, et cetera. Plus, it's a great asset. It's worth a lot more than that. And what would you say to those who criticized it in the.
Beginning, Well, that was very frustrating to me. My biggest frustration with those that did criticize it. None of them had come to any of our meetings. The people that were thellowedest saying this shouldn't happen had not attended one meeting. They weren't aware of all the facts, they hadn't been involved. I really think in a lot of cases willing as you know, as people that just wanted to get on the radio or they were running for a different office
and wanted to have something to run about. I feel like if they were really concerned about it, they.
Could have gone to one of any of us on the board.
To say, help me understand us and talk to us about it and you know, maybe provide us with what they were thinking. But I don't think that was ever the intent. So it was frustrating for me that that happened. But you know, we have always had open board meetings. Anyone is welcome to come. It's a public board, and
I think we're in a good, good direction. And you know, especially with the economy having had difficulties in the stock market the last two months, that we were still able to increase it to one point seven billion, I think speaks volumes, and you know, we were very careful when we picked our broker and who would be managing this money, then we had their right mix so that if the stock market did go down, you know, we won't be losing the money of the citizens in Cincinnati.
Yeah, it's a key thing to keep our city as great as it is despite our criticisms, and I have many, there's so many write things about our town and the city despite the pre elections. Of money is the heart that beats the tri State. And you can't have a situation like in Dayton that's sinking Montgomery County or Detroit that is sinking Wayne County. At least Cincinnati because of the Bengals and the Reds and the banks and the Procter and god and Fifth Third Bank and the Joseph
Automotive Group and Sentas and all the rest. You see pill Hill. There's a core in this city that is unfamiliar to many other cities. And the corps to make sure there are potholes, bridges, the basic infrastructure. And by doing this you've enhanced the body of the trust up
one hundred million. You're doubling more than doubling the money to the city, and you've got the Chris Finnings of the world out there looking over everybody's shoulder, ready to sue in a moment's notice if they start using these things for a human capital instead of infrastructure. Well, Amy Murray, you're a great go ahead.
Please please, No, you're absolutely right, And there's always these guards on it. And you know, we on the sim Space Other and Railway board. We were not elected, but the.
Money that we send to the city is spent by the electeds.
So there are recalls, there are meetings that people can go to. But as a board in when I was on the board, that's why we've put up this website so that it's even more responsive and more transparent. So we want to make sure we're doing everything we can to hold the city to make sure it's being spent on the right things.
Amy, Mary, if you thought about getting back into politics, if we thought about going door to door, pounding on door knobs, have you thought about that ruining your life again? Have you thought about that?
You know what, I've been really good to this right now. I'm enjoying what I'm doing, so I appreciate.
I enjoy being a volunteer and helping with nonprofits and things in the city.
But I'm out of politics for a while.
Willie and Amy Murray, Yeah, I like you, and I like Charlie Lucan. I like Lucan. I went Lucan and maybe his chief of staff to seize power once again in rule for a thousand years, and we had a pretty functional counsel. I'm not so sure about that anymore. It's all one way.
My favorite no, you're right, My favorite thing on the board is that I was on it with Charlie Luken and Mark Mallory, two previous mayors, as well as Paul Sylvester and Paul Musen. And Willie have to tell you, this is probably the most functional board I've ever been on. Charlie Luken Mark Mallory were very different politically, but we all have the city's viewpoint and what we wanted to do the city right there.
And to do it the right way.
And what's amazing, Willy is you'll know no one leaked what was going on. You know, often if you're making a big deal, someone's going to leak something and then it's going to wreck the deal or make it more challenging.
And everyone just had the focus on what's best for the city and it was so great to work for them. So I agree with you. They have done so much for the city.
I like it.
Charlie work with them.
You got Charlie Luken, you got Brendan call, you got the chief of staff. You've got running things with an iron grip. You got Charlie doing inspections late at night in Coreyville. I loved it all. But Amy Murray, thank you. I wish you. I wish more people like you were in public life, like Liz Keating kicked out of office by liberal Democrats and now everybody thinks one way. But I'm glad the money's in a lock box and hopefully Chris Fitting others will keep an eye on it. And
Amy Murray, thanks again for checking in. But the money's about fifty six million, more than double anticipated. Plus the body of the corpus of the of the money's going up one hundred million dollars in a tough market. Good job, congratulations and have a great Memorial Day weekend. Thank you, Amy, great.
You too, Willik take care.
God bless America. Let's continue with more if line becomes available. Five one, three, seven, four nine seven thousand. Bill Cunningham, the Great American live at your home of the Reds playing today at five point forty a kickoff six forty first pitch with Hunter Green on the mound. Almost sold out, plus the Taste, all on news radio seven hundred ww