City budget

If you want to understand the priorities of our city, start by looking at the city’s budget. You can download a PDF file of the Cleveland 2021 Budget Book here.

Expenses

Starting on p. 70 of the Budget Book, there’s a summary of all the city’s funds. Overall, the City of Cleveland is a $1.7 billion operation. Most of that amount, though, is accounted for by special enterprises, including the Division of Water, Water Pollution Control, Cleveland Public Power, and Airport operations.

Only $665 million is budgeted for the city’s General Fund, which is what you usually think of when you think about city operations and services. The chart above shows how the General Fund is distributed to various city departments. Almost 56% of the General Fund goes to Public Safety (including $218 million for Police, $98 million for Fire, and $34 million for EMS). The magnitude of the Public Safety budget is yet another reason why the future of policing is a critical issue for the city.

Revenues

A summary of the city’s revenues begins on p. 77 of the 2021 Budget Book. The most important thing to note about revenue is that a whopping two-thirds of it comes from the city’s income tax (a 2.5% tax on wages and earnings, not only of Cleveland residents but also non-residents working within the city).

Thus, funding for city services depends a lot on the local economy and suburban commuters. And the trend, accelerated by the pandemic, of more people working from home could have a disastrous impact.

The city budget process

Here is a summary of the city’s annual budget process:

City Ordinance declares the fiscal year of the City shall begin on the first day of January. On or before the fifteenth day of November, the Mayor shall prepare an estimate of the expense of conducting affairs of the City for the following year.

The Mayor's estimate is prepared by the Finance Department, with detailed input from each of the city departments. It contains:

• An itemized estimate of expenses;

• Comparison of expenditures for the prior two years, the estimate for the current complete year, and the 
prospective budget for the next year;

• Reasons for significant changes from the current year estimate to the prospective budget year;

• A statement from the Director of Finance detailing the probable tax income to the City for the period covered by the Mayor's estimate;

• An itemized estimate of all other anticipated revenue;

• Requirements for interest on the City's debt, sinking fund requirements, and principal payments due on 
maturing serial bonds;

• A summary schedule of outstanding City debt with maturities of bond issues. 


Using the Mayor's estimate, the Finance Department initiates the drafting of a Temporary Appropriation Ordinance, passed by City Council, which authorizes expenditures against the proposed budget for the first quarter of the new budget year.

The Mayor's estimate must be formally delivered to Council no later than February 1.

City Council must adopt a permanent appropriation ordinance for the fiscal year by April 1. 


Cleveland schools budget

To understand the priorities of our city, it’s also important to look at the $1.5 billion budget of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD). Download it here.

The Mayor of Cleveland appoints the members of the school board. So the Mayor is indirectly responsible for the schools.