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Cuyahoga County developmental-disabilities official briefs council on services, levy timing
Summary
Rachel Cielkski, chief business officer for the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, outlined services funded largely by a continuous levy and said the board is likely to seek renewal in coming years.
Rachel Cielkski, chief business officer for the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, briefed the Pepper Pike City Council Tuesday on services funded by a continuous county levy and on the agency’s community grants program.
Cielkski said two-thirds of the board’s roughly $150 million budget is funded by a 3.9-mill continuous levy last approved by county voters in February 2005. She said the levy supports early-intervention services, therapies, consultative school supports, transition services for young adults, housing and employment supports, assistive-technology services and community accessibility grants.
Cielkski told council the board served 60 Pepper Pike residents last year and about 15,000 people across Cuyahoga County — a 20 percent increase in people served compared with the last levy passage in 2005. She said the board has awarded nearly $1 million in community grants since 2021 for library, arts, culture and recreation accessibility projects, and awarded $180,000 in community grants this year.
On the levy cycle, Cielkski said the board will not be on the ballot this November but that financial projections point toward a renewal request in the next few years. Council members thanked Cielkski for the presentation and asked staff to coordinate further conversations about local needs and outreach if the board seeks a future levy renewal.
Action and next steps: Informational presentation only; no formal council action. Staff and the board agreed to coordinate future outreach if and when a levy renewal is contemplated.
