CLEVELAND, Ohio – City Council on Tuesday questioned Mayor Frank Jackson about his proposed budget, and most of the pointed questions came from Jackson’s most frequent critics.
Councilman Jeff Johnson, who is challenging Jackson for mayor this year, Councilman Zack Reed, who also may join that race, and Councilman Mike Polensek all called for more attention to problems and services in neighborhoods.
“I’m looking for the accountability. I’m looking for people who are going to step up,” said Polensek, whose Ward 8 includes the Collinwood area. “I really want to see a difference in the delivery of services.”
Jackson offered assurances that his budget provides for more police officers, better housing inspections, more street repairs, the addition of a fire station and the restoration of some other services that were reduced in past years because of tight finances.
What’s in the budget?
Jackson walked through his budget, including how he wants spend an additional $83.5 million that will be available this year from a voter-approved increase of the city’s income tax from 2 to 2.5 percent.
The budget also provides money for 21 new workers in the health department to address youth violence as a public health crisis and to combat lead poisoning and infant mortality.
The budget plan calls for hiring 350 people in departments citywide. Even with the new hires, the city would still be down about 700 jobs – most of which were in public safety — compared to pre-recession budgets.
Jackson’s budget sets aside millions for a comprehensive anti-violence initiative that draws together violence intervention, street outreach, social programming, workforce development and community policing.
The initiative will fall under a new office of Prevention, Intervention and Opportunity for Youth and Young Adults. But it will also involve analysis of crime across the city and the hiring of intervention specialists under the Community Relations Board. Two new health services administrators to analyze youth violence as a public health crisis. Spending in the Recreation Department would increase to provide programming focused on reducing youth violence and providing opportunities for young people.
More than 90 officers would be added to the police department. The Fire Department would get more staff and equipment and a station near downtown would be reopened. Additional housing inspectors and support staff would be added to the Building and Housing Department.
What was the reception?
During a hearing that ran for more three hours, Jackson got a friendly reception and light questioning from most council members.
Council President Kevin Kelley said he was pleased that the budget addresses problems with lead poisoning in children and violence in neighborhoods.
Councilman Anthony Brancatelli, whose Ward 12 includes the Slavic Village neighborhood, praised the city’s program for demolishing dilapidated housing and said he was glad to see money in the budget to continue the effort.
What did critics say?
Polensek called for better follow up, now that more revenue is available for city departments. One he wants targeted specifically are “slum lords.”
“Over half the houses in my ward that have been condemned have been condemned for two years or more,” he said.
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Johnson, whose Ward 4 includes much of the East Shoreway area and parts of several northeast Cleveland neighborhoods, said he views two crises as most important. The first, he said, is the prevalence of lead and lead poisoning in the city.
“We’re worse than Flint when it comes to the poison,” Johnson said.
Flint, Mich., gained national attention for lead contamination in its public water supply. In Cleveland, the presence of lead is much broader — in paint in houses and in soils and air as a residual effect of industry.
Jackson’s budget proposes that some of the new employees in the health department specifically focus on prevention of lead poisoning.
Neighborhood violence was Johnson’s second issue. Reed, whose Ward 2 includes the Mount Pleasant and Union-Miles neighborhoods, also focused on violence.
While youth initiatives are a start, Reed said, more should be done to create seasonal jobs that could help keep teens out of trouble during the summer. He pointed specifically to this past weekend as an example of what he fears – warm weather that had people outdoors and a rash of shootings, “one five doors down from my house.”
Jackson’s budget, in addition to the anti-violence initiative, includes money for a special police unit that could be deployed to trouble spots to enhance police presence when needed.
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