EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — There has been some confusion in East Cleveland on Thursday surrounding payroll issues.
This comes after News 5 received a tip saying that some city employees wouldn’t be getting paid on Friday.
We reached out to city leaders, and Council President Lateek Shabazz confirmed people would be getting paid after some officials said they were contacted.
“I got a phone call today from firefighters as well as city employees about [how] they may not be getting paid,” said East Cleveland Councilman Twon Billings.
According to an email News 5 received from city officials sent to them just after 1 p.m. on Thursday, Ohio’s Office of Budget and Management had been working with East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King to understand if a temporary or permanent budget had been passed for fiscal year 2025.
Based on the Office of Budget and Management’s response, the state said they had not received a budget, so no bills can be paid— including payroll.
That’s when Shabazz said he sent an email out to let workers know.
“I had sent it out because I was waiting on the mayor about something. He had us in limbo,” Shabazz said.
But now, the council president says everything has been worked out.
“Yeah, they will be getting paid,” Shabazz said.
Still, Billings said he’s upset with the city’s dysfunction.
“I mean East Cleveland has always had its fair share of corruption, but this is ridiculous,” said Billings.
The reason for the confusion in East Cleveland is due to Mayor Brandon King’s legal troubles, which started this past October when a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury indicted him on 16 charges, including theft in office and unlawful interest in a public contract, among other allegations.
RELATED: East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King indicted on multiple charges
“With the indictments and everything that’s going on in his personal life, he’s taken that as taking up time for what he’s supposed to do,” said Billings.
“I don’t blame the mayor. I blame these judges that are supposed to make a decision on the mayor’s future. They’re messing around,” said Shabazz. “They got us in an uproar. We don’t know what to do, what to say.”
