Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities outlines services, funding history and levy timeline to council

Amber Gibbs, CEO of the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, briefed Cleveland City Council on the agency’s services and funding ahead of an anticipated levy timeline.

Gibbs said two-thirds of the board’s roughly $180,000,000 budget comes from a 3.9-mill continuous levy last approved by voters in February 2005. She said the board told voters in 2005 it would not return for at least 10 years; it has been 20. Gibbs said the board served 5,000 people in the city of Cleveland last year and about 15,000 people across Cuyahoga County, a 20% increase since 2005.

The board’s programs, Gibbs said, include early-intervention services, occupational and speech therapies, consultative services for schools, transition services for adults, housing and employment supports, assistive technology, and strategic community investments. Since 2021 the board has granted nearly $1,000,000 to more than 50 community organizations and cities to improve accessibility; she listed partner sites in Cleveland that received support, including the Frederick Douglass Recreation Center and several playgrounds that received communication boards.

Why it matters: Gibbs framed the briefing as both a reminder of services funded by the levy and as advance notice that levy planning is underway. She asked council members to refer residents who may be eligible and described the board as a resource for constituents.

Supporting details: Gibbs said the levy is a continuous 3.9-mill levy passed in 02/2005 and that the agency has stretched that funding longer than anticipated. She gave recipient examples for accessibility investments and summarized core services. The transcript records the presentation as public comment with no council action recorded on the levy during the meeting.