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December 2, 2022
Residents of Cleveland Heights,
I’m proud to announce that for the first time under our city’s new form of government, I have fulfilled my Charter responsibility to propose the Mayor’s Recommended Budget for 2023 and provided Cleveland Heights City Council with a department-by-department presentation of the City’s balanced operating budget and capital budget requests.
You can read the proposed appropriations ordinance here: Ordinance 168-2022.
During the last two weeks, Finance Director Andy Unetic and I, along with the directors and chiefs of the various City departments and divisions, presented my proposed 2023 budget in detail at five budget hearings held by Cleveland Heights City Council.
Highlights of my proposed 2023 budget include:
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Projected 18% growth in General Fund revenue in 2023 as our city continues to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, I have proposed an increase of only 5% in the City’s General Fund expenditures.
- Requesting funding for two important new positions in the Mayor’s Office:
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A Mayor’s Action Center Coordinator, who will be responsible for organizing and facilitating a “one-stop-shop” for responding to residents’ questions, concerns, and service needs; and,
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A Cleveland Heights Sustainability Coordinator who will report directly to me and who will be responsible for managing the City’s efforts to become more sustainable, climate-responsible, and resilient in everything that we do.
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Supporting residential development and housing code enforcement in Cleveland Heights.
- Funding a new Assistant Director for Community Development to help drive residential development and redevelopment in our city.
- Moving the Division of Inspectional Services (previously housed in the Department of Public Safety) into the Department of Planning & Development to better coordinate housing code enforcement efforts with residential redevelopment. Inspectional Services has a health and safety role, but Cleveland Heights will be better served by consolidating its planning, community development, economic development, and building inspection functions into one integrated department.
- Funding three additional Housing Inspectors to increase our capacity to proactively enforce our housing code.
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Creating a new Bureau of Professional Standards within the Cleveland Heights Division of Police to formalize internal controls, performance improvement, and accountability.
Every City department has proposed service improvements and new initiatives to benefit Cleveland Heights’ residents, businesses, and visitors. You can see the presentation of each of their budgets at the links below.
Cleveland Heights City Council 2023 Budget Hearings
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