Akron Mayor Shammas Malik’s first operating budget increases the city’s spending by about 1.2% and is largely focused on hiring and retaining staff.
The proposed $815 million budget includes more than 30 additional positions, finance officials said.
“I think people voted for a city that's more strategic, more collaborative and that requires creating new roles around education and health [and] around public safety,” Malik said.
The mayor will propose the budget to Akron City Council on Monday. Residents will have the opportunity to give feedback in a town hall discussion March 20, Malik said.
City officials hope to offset the increase in spending through expected increases from income and property taxes, according to the press release. They are also planning to use $10.5 million from the ‘revenue replacement’ earmark of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation, Malik said.
Malik’s budget includes the highest number of police officers and firefighters in several decades, he said.
Akron now has 488 police officers – a net increase of 17 from 2023 – and 402 firefighter and medics, up two from 2023, Malik said.
These staffing levels are the highest in 20 years for the police department and 30 years for the fire department, he added.
“We see around the country that there are challenges with retention and recruitment of officers and firefighters as well, and so making sure that we are taking every opportunity to build both our police and fire department is really critical,” Malik said.
They also plan to open new roles focused on retention and recruitment for the two departments, Malik said.
The budget also includes new roles focused on environmental policy, diversity, equity and inclusion, and public engagement and data.
“With regard to some of the changes in the mayor's office, I've been very clear that I view this as necessary to get us to a more strategic and more proactive and more collaborative space,” Malik said.
The budget includes a 4% cost of living increase for city employees in the personnel union and 3% for police, fire and non-bargaining employees, Malik said.
The Akron Municipal Court plans to hire a mediator and housing specialist. Akron City Council is looking for a public policy specialist and community liaison.
City officials have budgeted for various new roles in the service department, including six new employees to help with the rollout of new water meter installations and three landscape technicians.
The budget includes $250,000 for the city’s 2025 bicentennial celebration. That number may be tweaked later in the year depending on what the bicentennial not-for-profit corporation needs, Malik said.
The city is also using its ARPA allocation for public service projects and parks, Malik said. Officials plan to invest $7.5 million into water main replacements and $2 million for lead service replacement.
Due to this expenditure and projects under the previous administration, there will be just 1,000 lead service lines left by the end of 2024, Malik added.
Officials have budgeted nearly $30 million for parks and public spaces, including ongoing projects at the city’s community centers, the Joy Park Walking Path and Lock 3.
The budget is subject to change even after it is presumably passed by city council at the end of March, the city’s finance director Steve Fricker said. That’s due to unanticipated expenditures that come up throughout the year and positions that become vacant in the city, he said.
“We typically spend less than we budget for,” Fricker added.
City council members will ask questions and provide feedback about the budget in three hearings Tuesday through Thursday this week.
City officials plan to host a community town hall at Firestone Community Learning Center to get input from residents, Malik’s director of strategy Nanette Pitt said.
“We really want to make sure that people feel well educated about the budget because it's massive,” Pitt said. “It has a lot of a lot of unknowns that are unusual to people that we want to make sure are clear and are well-understood.”
Officials also plan to take questions and feedback from the public in a Facebook Live, Pitt added.
The budget will be unveiled Monday during city council’s budget and finance committee meeting at 3 p.m. The budget must be passed by March 31, according to the city’s charter.
