Sharon Coolidge, and Dan Horn

Cincinnati

Cincinnati City Council will meet Wednesday to discuss the future of City Manager Harry Black.

Depending on who's talking, that future is either bright or dire.

Councilman Wendell Young, a Democrat, said he and fellow Councilman Charlie Winburn, a Republican, want to discuss "the status" of the city manager because of rumors circulating about him being on the outs with Mayor John Cranley. Young said he's heard Cranley wants to fire Black soon, or if he wins re-election next year.

"We've both been hearing a lot of rumors related to the city manager and we want to put them to rest," Young said.

Cranley and Black, however, say everything is awesome. The two released a joint statement a few hours after Young announced the special session to declare they have a "great working relationship."

"We look forward to discussing our collective success and discussing any concerns City Council may have," Cranley and Black said in the statement.

Cranley said he has no intention of firing Black. Young, who has butted heads with the mayor and questioned Black's honesty this summer, said he doesn't want Black fired, either. Winburn declined comment.

So if Black's job is safe, why the special session?

Young said he wants to clear the air after a rough couple months, during which the mayor and Black disagreed over Cranley's plan to give raises to city employees and some council members accused Black of lying about a controversial payment made last year to a contractor at the Metropolitan Sewer District.

Both flaps pitted council members against one another, the mayor and the city manager. Despite the obvious tension, Cranley told The Enquirer last week that the mayor and city manager don't always have to agree and that Black's job was safe.

Politics also is part of the dynamic heading into the meeting Wednesday. Young and Councilman Chris Seelbach are backing Councilwoman Yvette Simpson for mayor next year against Cranley.

Like Cranley, all three are Democrats. Unlike Cranley, they have questioned the leadership of the mayor and city manager in recent months.

Cranley, through his spokeswoman, said Young and Seelbach owe Black an apology for questioning his honesty during a public meeting about the sewer district payment.

"We hope the purpose of this meeting is for councilmembers Young and Seelbach to apologize for publicly calling the city manager a liar," said Cranley's spokeswoman, Holly Stutz Smith.

Even if Cranley wanted to, he couldn't fire Black on his own. He'd need a majority on council to sign off.

Black was hired by Cranley two years ago after a nationwide search. He makes $256,000 a year.

Last year at this time, Cranley gave Black an excellent job review, resulting in council giving him a 4.5 percent raise. After that, council established a more formal review process, which should already be underway.