Increase the value of Cincinnati

By Joan Kaup

A city, just like a company, can only cut costs so far before there is damage to the infrastructure. My focus is on creating value and generating more net worth for our city to provide more services for all residents.

Three ways to increase the bottom line value of Cincinnati are:

1. Increase the tax base increases revenue. This is not new math. The more people living and/or working in the city, the more taxes generated for general funds. The more money we take in and the more efficiently we invest it, the more we have for short-term needs and long-term plans. Cincinnati has a strong story to tell to residents and business about its multi-million dollar renaissance. By spreading word of Cincinnati's success we can generate awareness that will attract more residents and recruit more businesses to our city, resulting in a larger tax base, and thus, more available funds for critical services.

2. Welcome more tourists. Tourists are great. They come to our city and "ooh" and "ahh" over our topography, architecture, arts, sports and events, hospitality and amazing amenities. They see our city for what it is -- a charming, intimate destination offering world-class arts, sports and attractions with beautiful hotels and fabulous dining experiences. Tourists gladly spend their money in our hotels, restaurants, transportation, theaters, museums, zoo, amusement parks, stadiums and stores. We win them over with our Midwest hospitality and they return to stay awhile longer and spend more. As we extend the best of our region to tourists, we also extend it to one another. Tourism is an industry that generates more than revenue; it generates pride. Cultural tourists stay longer and spend more.

3. Market and sell our expertise and services will generate revenue. Instead of asking what a third party or outside company can do more efficiently than our city, ask what our city does so well that we can sell that service to others. We have the talent to identify and create more revenue-generating programs, such as selling our filtered water to Northern Kentucky and Butler County. Do you realize that we sell more filtered water to people living outside of Cincinnati than we do to people living inside the city? The Cincinnati Park Board earns several hundred thousand dollars a year in private contracts for services they provide to green spaces in the private sector.

I speak with confidence about the appeal of our amenities because I have been vice president of marketing for Downtown Cincinnati, Inc., and vice president of tourism for the Greater Cincinnati Convention & Visitors Bureau. I initiated the city's first cultural tourism campaign, our first tourism package and pass card technology, and I led the team that built our first full-service visitor center on Fountain Square. I was a founding board member of the Ohio River Way, as well as the Regional Cultural Planning Committee. I served on the executive committee of the Big Pig Gig, and am an active member of the executive committee of Over-the-Rhine (OTR) Chamber of Commerce. There are several programs that I helped develop for OTR that have proven successful in rebuilding the neighborhood. These programs can be replicated through out Cincinnati, benefiting many neighborhoods.