Republican councilman Jeff Pastor abruptly asks to quit council budget committee

One month into his first term on Cincinnati City Council, Republican Jeff Pastor asked to resign from the Budget and Finance Committee.

Pastor, in an email to committee chairman David Mann, did not explain his decision. But he told The Enquirer he believes he can do more good by concentrating on his work as chairman of the Neighborhoods Committee, where he would "like to focus on energizing our neighborhood business districts and making sure our citizens receive proper customer service."

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Pastor's request must be approved by Council.

While there's no requirement that all nine members serve on the committee, it has been a recent tradition. His resignation sets up the possibility of votes coming in 4-4, which under Council rules means the issue would fail.

In that case, a council member or the mayor could request the item go through another committee. Pastor is vice chairman of Council's Economic Growth and Zoning Committee, which would be an alternative should a development deal fail in Budget Committee.

Budget Committee meets twice a month and all spending goes through it.

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