Finance committee agrees to send amended $13.6 million capital package to council for second reading

At a Cleveland Heights Finance Committee meeting, Chair Gail Larson and committee members agreed to send an amended version of Appropriations Ordinance 011-2025 — which adds roughly $13.6 million in capital requests — back to full council for a second reading so it can be added to the Feb. 18 council agenda.

The package combines $4.4 million already in the introduced budget with about $9.2 million in additional capital requests that the administration proposed this month. The administration indicated the new items would be added to the ordinance by amending the ordinance exhibits; finance staff said most of the additional cash would be funded from special funds rather than the general fund. Assistant Director Phelps described the spreadsheet the administration provided as “the administration’s capital request for 2025. This is what we are going to be pursuing in 2025.”

Why it matters: the additional requests include vehicles, public-works equipment and infrastructure work the administration says will address deferred capital needs. Committee members expressed competing priorities: some urged adoption of the full list to address long-standing maintenance gaps; others said they wanted to review the line-item detail once final year-end financial statements are posted.

Key details from the administration’s spreadsheet include: - A $13.6 million total that combines the $4.4 million currently in the ordinance with about $9.2 million of additions. - The finance capital projects fund (Fund 402) would absorb about $4.0 million of the additions, leaving an estimated ~ $5.0 million balance in that fund after the proposed spending. - A $650,000 heavy truck for Public Works that the administration said would be largely reimbursed by a community cost share with the sewer district. - A $390,000 skate-park replacement that the administration said is grant-funded and therefore will be budgeted with corresponding revenue. - Adjustments on the Altamont water line project: engineering increased to $125,000 while construction estimates were lowered to about $740,000, producing a net project total the administration described as roughly $865,000 and reimbursable.

Committee action and next steps: Chair Larson asked whether the committee members were willing to release the ordinance back to council with the additions; members present indicated agreement and expected the amended ordinance to appear on the council agenda for a second reading in mid‑February. The committee also instructed the administration to provide department-level reconciliations that show how amounts in the published budget book map to the appropriation exhibits and to schedule department briefings (public works, fire, police, parks and recreation, planning/neighborhoods and IT were identified as priority departments) so council members can ask detailed questions about specific capital items.

Quotes from the meeting were limited to speakers in the committee. Chair Gail Larson asked the committee: “Are you willing to release the ordinance back to council for that second reading so it’s on the agenda for the 18th?” Assistant Director Phelps told members, “This is the administration’s capital request for 2025. This is what we are going to be pursuing in 2025.”

The committee did not record a roll-call vote on the floor; members indicated support during the discussion and the ordinance will proceed to full council with the administration’s proposed exhibit changes and the expectation that councilors will have the opportunity to propose amendments during the formal council meeting.