Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish says he's trying to bring investment to Northeast Ohio while also tightening the county purse strings. Budish was a guest Wednesday on 90.3's the Sound of Ideas. ideastream's Nick Castele has more.
Armond Budish didn't campaign last year as a fiscal hawk—but since taking office, he's been warning that the county doesn't have much budgetary wiggle room.
He says the county-funded convention center and hotel in downtown Cleveland positioned the city for the Republican National Convention, but put the county in a tight spot.
"We may not be able to do everything that we have done in the past," Budish said on the Sound of Ideas. "We may have to be much more selective. And again, we can't do anything unless we find money in the budget, because right now we're pretty much at our actual limit."
But other obligations are coming around the bend. MetroHealth Medical Center is planning a redesign, and the county's court building and jail are due for renovations.
Also in the air is whether the county will kick in money for improvements to Quicken Loans Arena. Budish says he hasn't yet received a formal request from the Cavaliers.
Budish also said he and county council are revisiting a program to seed college savings funds with $100 for every kindergartener in the county.
"The intent is certainly something I support entirely," Budish said. "We need to be encouraging people and helping people get a higher education. There's no question." But he added, "The program has not quite transformed the way I believe that it was originally intended."
The effort was set up under previous executive Ed FitzGerald.
Council is considering legislation that would largely end the program as it currently exists, and instead help people apply for existing college savings accounts.
