The Cuyahoga County Council convened over several weeks to discuss the 2020-2021 biennial budget. The hearings took place over three days and featured testimony and presentations from county health and human services leaders. In this review, we will cover some of the presentations, as well as the questions that followed from county council. The committee...
Author: William Tarter, Jr.
November 18, 2019
Levy increase on the ballot next year
Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish and County Council President Dan Brady announced that the county will seek to put an eight-year, 4.7 mill levy on the March 17, 2020 ballot. If passed, the county could have two similar-size health and human services levies that would alternate every four years. Currently, the county has a 3.9...
November 11, 2019
The Council on Older Persons advocates, leads on senior issues
The Council on Older Persons (COOP) has been a standing committee of The Center for Community Solutions for more than 70 years. As we look back at 2019, COOP continues to distinguish itself as a leading destination for information about senior issues, and a vocal advocate for local seniors. Under the leadership of outgoing COOP...
November 4, 2019
County council HHSA committee hears update as foster care costs soar
The October 16 meeting of the Cuyahoga County Health, Human Services and Aging committee saw presentations from two community organizations, and also considered several contracts, one of which expands the number of providers in the foster-care system. The number of children in foster care has soared to more than 2,900 children currently in out-of-home care,...
October 14, 2019
Cuyahoga County executive releases new budget recommendations
Cuyahoga County executive Armond Budish released his third county budget last week, the 2020-2021 biennium budget. The proposed budget totals more than $1.75 billion[1] in total expenditures. With questions swirling about the future of the Justice Center, fallout from the jail conditions, questions surrounding an aging population, as well as increased demand in services for...
September 26, 2019
HHSA Committee approves contracts, senior needs increase and children in county custody skyrockets
The Health, Human Services and Aging (HHSA) committee met on September 18. It was the first committee meeting in two months. The meeting featured several contracts for consideration, as well as two presentations. There is currently a list of approximately 75 seniors waiting for services. The first contract for discussion was an amendment to the...
September 23, 2019
Freshman legislators share budget experiences at HSAN
September 16, 2019
Reflections on my trip to the Holy Land
We would like to invite you to visit Israel. With those words, written on a letter from the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, a completely unexpected journey began. When I first opened the letter, I could not believe it. I was selected to attend the 2019 Thomas and Joann Adler Mission Trip to Israel. I, along...
August 26, 2019
Packed Cuyahoga County budget panel HSAN
Last Tuesday, approximately 80 people attended the second meeting of the Human Services Advocacy Network (HSAN) in 2019. The meeting was held at Eliza Bryant Village, and featured a panel discussion comprised of Cuyahoga County officials who discussed the upcoming 2020-2021 county budget. Moderated by the President and Executive Director of The Center for Community...
August 12, 2019
Preview of the 2020-2021 Cuyahoga County budget
Introduction Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish will soon propose his third budget, the first of his second term. The 2020-2021 budget will prominently influence the future of the relatively young county government. The budget will bring a number of financial challenges. This post will briefly review the county budget process, what budget factors are known...