Cleveland City Council Poised to Make Changes to $800 Million General Fund Budget, with More Focus on Safety and Services

Mar 03, 2025

Cleveland, OH (March 3, 2025)  - Cleveland City Council is tasked with approving the annual budget, a critical document that allocates resources for essential city services.

From October to January, Council committees conducted meetings to review departmental operations and needs. In the past two weeks, Council held intensive sessions with city leadership, including the mayor, chiefs, directors, and commissioners, to assess departmental financial requirements. These sessions concluded on February 25.

The weight of those testimonies settled heavily on our council. From February 26 to 28, they wrestled with the proposed budget. 

Then, negotiations began. Council President Griffin (Ward 6), Majority Leader McCormack (Ward 3), and Majority Whip Santana (Ward 14), carrying the collective voice of the council, met with the mayor. They sought a compromise, a way to weave the city's needs into a tapestry of fiscal responsibility.

A compromise was reached in most areas – except in the area of community spending. City Council sought an increase to “Neighborhood Investment Funds”, funding made available to each of the 17 Council members for neighborhood-based projects to the amount previously allocated in the 2024 budget. These funds represent more than just dollars and cents. They are the tools to mend broken sidewalks, light darkened streets, and nurture the seeds of hope in our most vulnerable areas. These changes to the 2025 budget do not impact the city’s budget, as they are unspent funds from 2024.

While Council fully understands healthy reserves, there are also great needs in our neighborhoods - and our residents expect us to invest in our neighborhoods. 

Through direct constituent engagement, council members are positioned to allocate these funds strategically. As a compromise was not reached regarding the Neighborhood Investment Funds, Council will consider adding these funds to the budget during the March 3 Finance, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee meeting. The budget will then be presented for a second reading at the March 3, 7:00 pm Council meeting.

The agreed-upon amendments to the budget include: 
 

• An additional $8,000,000 for roads and resurfacing is included in the amended budget to provide more quality streets and transportation in our neighborhoods. 

• Eleven full-time EMS positions have been added to provide more quality emergency medicine services for Clevelanders. These additions were recommended by EMS leadership and staff throughout the budget process.
• The additions of Auxiliary Police funding to support community events and traffic situations and serve as neighborhood watchdogs.
• Providing funding to implement a Cleveland Fire program to install carbon monoxide and smoke detectors in Cleveland households

• Investing in community relations with the introduction of a Spanish Language translator
• Introducing an LGBTQ+ Liaison within the Community Relations Board (CRB), to demonstrate a push for greater inclusivity and accessibility

• Providing an additional $500,000 in funding for summer jobs and violence prevention through Youth Opportunities UnlimitedAdding up to thirteen recreation instructor positions to provide more leadership and recreational opportunities for young people
• Providing more recreational opportunities in neighborhoods with no recreation centers through Neighborhood Leadership Institute’s School as Neighborhood Resources programming.

• Creating a “Small Business Mentor Protégé” position to help improve success outcomes for Cleveland’s small businesses