Cleveland budget

Cleveland City Council and the mayor have come to an agreement on the budget, which will get a second reading Monday night.

Bibb's plan would reduce the number of open positions in the Cleveland Division of Police by 142. Public Safety Director Karrie Howard told councilmembers the city has been unable to fill all the empty spots in the budget for years.

The morning session marked the start of hearings on the new mayor’s $1.8 billion budget proposal, which includes new spending on Bibb’s leadership team and allocations required by the newly passed police oversight charter amendment.

To balance the budget, the mayor is using $56 million left over in city coffers at the end of Mayor Frank Jackson’s administration. The city carried over $131.7 million from last year – an unusually high amount, thanks to Cleveland’s allocation of federal coronavirus dollars.

The city's budget, businesses, neighborhood development and internet access are some ideas that could see some of the money.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson spent three hours talking budget with the city council Finance Committee Tuesday. He said an income tax hike voters approved in 2016 is paying for beefed up services. He reeled off the numbers from 2018: more police officers, more EMS, more tree trimming, more road services. It’s a far cry from the layoffs the city made in 2004 and 2008. But Jackson warned council to curb their enthusiasm. The mayor said he hasn’t forgotten the recession years.

Here are your morning headlines for Tuesday, March 27:Akron police officer disciplined for not properly searching suspect who killed himself in the back…

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has laid out his plans for hiring workers and expanding services using the millions of dollars raised by the income tax…