Cuyahoga County is proposing spending cuts on many of the health and human services programs funded largely by county property taxes, citing increasing health care costs and uncertainty about federal and state funding sources.
During the first hearing in front of county council on Tuesday, Executive Chris Ronayne said his administration’s 2026-2027 budget aims to preserve programs with the most impact on people’s lives.
“We chose not to take the route of cuts in a method that would be across-the-board,” said Ronayne. “We went granularly through, line-item by line-item, to understand every contract that this county has with its public.”
During Tuesday’s hearing, council received an overview from Ronayne and Walter Parfejewiec, director of the county's Office of Budget and Management.
Over the next month, department heads will go in front of council to explain the specifics of their budgets and, occasionally, request additional funding from council.
Overall, the proposed budget, including general fund, health and human services spending, and capital improvements, is set at $1.95 billion in 2026 and $1.98 billion in 2027 under Ronayne’s budget.
The general fund, which covers salaries for county government and daily operations, would be $634 million in 2026 and $651 million in 2027. Sales tax revenues are the largest source of revenue in that part of the budget.
The health and human services part of the budget, which is largely funded by voter-approved property tax levies, would be set at about $279.2 million in 2026 and about $279 million in 2027.
A long list of programs operated by outside organizations and subsidized by the county are facing cuts under Ronayne’s budget, including a total of $8.5 million over two years from the ADAMHS Board, which oversees funding for mental health and addiction services in the county.
The county-subsidized hospital system, MetroHealth, is facing a total of $4.5 million in cuts over two years.
In total, about $42 million would be cut from programs over the next two years under Ronayne’s proposed budget.
Employee furloughs are not a part of the initial budget proposal in Cuyahoga County, but they were discussed, said Ronayne.
He said the county is facing increasing costs and challenges, including employee health care.
“We have budgeted for a 10% increase in coverage costs, totaling $14 million dollars,” Ronayne said. “In addition, property tax delinquency remains high and sales tax revenues continue to fluctuate.”
Potential federal budget cuts also played a role in drafting the proposal, Ronayne added.
“Particularly those affecting SNAP and Medicaid enrollees could have a serious negative impact on our residents and our ability to deliver services,” he said.
The county also has around $1 billion dollars in outstanding debt that it makes yearly payments on. That’s not including the new jail, which is expected to cost close to an additional $1 billion, but project planners have not come to council with a final cost. Construction, and borrowing to finance it, is expected to start during this budget period.
