Akron Mayor Shammas Malik unveiled a proposed $798 million operating budget Monday, a two percent decrease in spending compared to last year’s budget.
Amid looming federal and state funding cuts, the mayor said he is looking for other ways to save money and generate revenue this year.
“There will be this balance between delivering the highest service levels possible, while also being fiscally responsible,” Malik said during a presentation to Akron City Council’s budget committee Monday.
The city has a forecasted $13 million shortfall of revenues compared to expenditures, Malik said. This will be balanced with $8 million in interest earnings from American Rescue Plan Act funds and a $5 million draw from a portion of the city's income tax dedicated to funding police, fire and road improvements, Malik said.
Several factors account for the shortfall, including income tax revenue not keeping pace with inflation, he said.
Additionally, 75 public safety positions previously funded by federal COVID-19 relief dollars - $49 million over the past five years – will now be charged to the city’s general fund, he said.
“This is a budget that seeks to be more limited, while making a couple of investments where it is more targeted,” Malik said.
This year’s budget uses $25 million in ARPA funds and includes a forecasted two percent cost-of-living increase, according to the legislation.
What’s in the budget?
Malik acknowledged concerns about federal and state funding cuts but said his priorities have not changed.
“We have considerable uncertainty and revenue constraints, but this year’s budget prioritizes four things,” Malik said.
Public safety is the administration's top priority, he said. Malik’s other priorities include core city services, investing in programming to prevent gun violence and provide more opportunities for youth, as well as fiscal responsibility, he said.
Staffing accounts for 71% of the proposed 2025 budget, Malik said.
The city is budgeting for 488 uniformed police officers and 402 firefighters and paramedics, the same number as last year’s budget.
The city has proposed a $1 million investment to replace cardiac monitors in emergency medical services vehicles, Malik said. Malik would also like to create a new position to help manage public safety, he said.
The city also plans to add two positions in the Plans and Permits department, he said.
The Citizens’ Police Oversight Board is requesting an increase in funding to purchase case management software and hire a couple of new positions, Malik said.
Other new investments include $125,000 to pilot an expanded pre-K and childcare initiative focused on recruitment, training and professional development and $100,000 in sports and wellness programming for youth, he added.
Malik has also budgeted $73,000 for a hospital-linked violence prevention coordinator to provide crisis intervention and counseling after incidents of gun violence, he said.
“The idea of having some kind of person who can help when a shooting occurs, and when, particularly, young people go to the hospital, to kind of arrive there and kind of be the point person to help refer for resources to prevent retaliation,” Malik added.
Other financial concerns on the horizon
The city is also facing a potential $209 million expense if it loses its challenge in federal appeals court over the final project in a federal consent decree over its water and sewer system.
The city is required to construct an enhanced high-rate treatment facility to monitor sewage overflows in the Little Cuyahoga River. In 2023, officials proposed an alternative, less costly plan and asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to eliminate the treatment facility from the consent decree.
To pay for the facility, residents’ water and sewer rates could increase by 20%, city officials said in 2023.
A federal judge ruled last year that Akron must build it. City officials appealed that decision. The case appears to be headed to oral arguments later this year.
Last week, a judge denied Akron’s request for a stay on the treatment facility, pending the appeals case.
City officials are also concerned that several federal grants, including community development block grants and affordable housing grants, may be in jeopardy, Malik said.
“There are other financial uncertainties at the federal level. It’s not just one-time grants that could potentially move forward or not; it’s also some of the formula or annual grants,” Malik said.
Malik plans to advocate for additional funding from the state, he said.
Akron City Council must approve the budget by the end of March. City council members will ask questions and provide feedback about the budget in three hearings Tuesday through Thursday this week.
The city is also holding a town hall to gather feedback from residents on March 11 at East Community Learning Center from 5 to 7 p.m. A virtual town hall will be hosted on Facebook March 17 at 4 p.m.
