Mayor Jackson started with the obvious. The economy is in bad shape. But that doesn’t mean Cleveland will face any big cuts in the near future. The mayor says so far revenues and expenditures are in line, thanks to a hiring freeze and other budget reductions. But, he says, operating costs are up 3 and a half percent over last year, and he’s projecting a decrease of 2.4 percent in revenue. He says the resulting gap between expenses and revenue that will be filled by on-going cost savings, but, at least for now, he has no plans to reduce services or staff.
JACKSON: There’s no fat in this budget. None whatsoever.
Jackson told city council members that he doesn’t want Cleveland to be dependent on funds from the state or federal government.
JACKSON: Because if we are, and we’re dependent on other people, then we’ll be in the same condition as many other urban centers are, facing huge budget deficits, facing layoffs of hundreds of thousands of people, reduction or complete elimination of services, along with raising taxes. We’re not doing any of that. We have a balanced budget.
The budget drew praise from city council. Jackson says he’s monitoring the budget on a biweekly basis.