CLEVELAND — Cleveland residents and city leaders, both for and against the People's Budget charter amendment on the November ballot, are gearing up for campaigns to collect votes.
The initiative, if passed by voters, would allow Cleveland residents to vote on how the equivalent of 2% of Cleveland's budget, or roughly $14 million, is spent to support neighborhood and capital projects.
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Andre White, with the People’s Budget Steering Committee, believes there will be enough votes to make a People's Budget a reality, and collecting more than 6,400 signatures from registered Cleveland voters is just one strong indicator of residents what a choice on how some of their tax dollars are spent.
"That says that the community really supports it. They really support it because they want to see tax dollars come back into their community," White said. “It’s very important they come out and support this and get the money and the tax dollars that they deserve to make things happen and projects in their community.”
White said the tax dollars out of the Cleveland capital and general fund budgets would be increased gradually to a maximum of 2% over a four-year period. White said the budget initiative would get more Cleveland residents involved in the political process in a city that generally has only about one-third of registered voters heading to the polls.
“This is about getting people to come out and vote. This is about democracy," White said. “Each year, we’re taking a few dollars out, so it won’t be $14 million right away and totally destroy the budget.”
But, the majority of Cleveland city leaders, like Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Ward 8 Councilman Micheal Polensek, are against the proposal. Polensek believes taking millions out of the general fund budget could lead to cuts in crucial city services, especially if there is an economic downturn.
“Then we’re going to take $14 million dollars out of the general fund budget. Nobody knows what the future holds from the standpoint of the economy," Polensek said. “They’re guaranteed $14 million. Now, do we have to lay off policemen, firemen, EMS, and recreation? What do we cut? Tell me where do we cut."
Cleveland city council president Blaine Griffin confirmed Cleveland council members, key labor unions, and organizations will create a coalition in the coming weeks to educate voters about the potential issues that could be created by taking millions out of the general fund.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb issued the following statement on why he no longer supports the People's Budget charter amendment:
"I supported creating a participatory budgeting pilot program here in Cleveland, to help direct a portion of our one-time federal stimulus. My Administration brought legislation for the pilot before City Council, which rejected the proposal. I continue to support resident involvement in the civic process and have demonstrated that with several city projects.
This ballot issue is a permanent charter amendment rather than a pilot program. And instead of using federal funds, it will force critical cuts to other parts of the city’s budget. This is very different from the initiative I proposed.
I do not support this initiative because I truly do not believe it is in the best financial interest of Clevelanders but it’s ultimately up to the residents of the City of Cleveland to decide."
At the same time, White told News 5 People's Budget Cleveland will be conducting a door-to-door and social media campaign to collect the votes needed, setting up a heated battle over the next three months.
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