Proposed city charter amendment falls short; backers have 10 days to get more signatures

Backers of a Cincinnati Charter amendment to change how federal transportation dollars are spent locally failed to gather enough valid signatures to put the idea to voters in November, but the group has 10 more days to gather the needed support.

The group behind the effort, Fair Share for Cincy , submitted 14,240 signatures to the Hamilton County Board of Elections on Tuesday. Friday, the board notified the city the group ended up with 5,529 valid signatures, falling short of the needed 8,786 by 3,257 valid signatures.

If the group gathers the additional needed signatures, the Nov. 5 ballot would include a measure to amend the city of Cincinnati charter and alter the voting structure of a key area transportation group called the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments or OKI.

OKI would be compelled to give Cincinnati more seats on its 118-person board. That would give the city more influence in decisions about how federal dollars are spent on infrastructure in Hamilton County and seven adjacent counties, Fair Share believes.

Opponents like OKI, City Manager Sheryl Long and Cincinnati City Council member Mark Jeffreys say the ballot issue could jeopardize millions in federal dollars for Cincinnati.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Proposed city charter amendment falls short; backers have 10 days to get more signatures