City councilors and charter-review commissioners spent a substantial portion of the Jan. 25 meeting on proposed Article 9 changes that would update how Cleveland Heights prepares, publishes and adopts its annual budget.

What council considered

- Budget calendar and deadlines: The CRC draft sets a formal fiscal-year definition and includes a November 15 deadline for certain budget materials to be provided to the council (the draft also specifies adoption and effective-date rules). Members asked the law department to check whether local charter language can set an earlier local deadline than state law or whether that requirement must be done by ordinance.

- Publication and transparency: The proposed draft says the mayor's proposed budget and supporting materials must be made available to council and the public and publish hearings held. Council members asked staff to add an explicit website/publication requirement or an ordinance trigger so the public can readily access budget materials before hearings.

- Interim/temporary budgets and reserves: Members raised questions about how an initial, balanced appropriation requirement should interact with the practical use of reserves (for capital spending or other uses). Discussion noted that Ohio law allows certain interim budgets and that the charter language and ordinance language should be consistent with statutory deadlines for a final appropriation (counsel asked staff to reconcile the current December 31 adoption language with the practical need for a temporary appropriation in some years).

- Audits and timing: Council asked the law and finance staff to confirm the state-auditor deadlines referenced in the draft and, where appropriate, to tie local audit reporting language to the time frames required by Ohio law rather than a fixed calendar date.

Why it matters

Budget-calendar and publishing language affects when council receives information and when the public gets a chance to review and comment. Council members said clearer calendar expectations and a durable publishing requirement would reduce the repeated delays and uncertainty experienced in recent budget cycles.

Next steps

Council asked finance and law staff to: (a) confirm which deadlines must follow state law and which can be advanced by local ordinance or charter language; (b) provide model language for posting budget materials on the city website (or other prescribed public means); and (c) present recommended language that reconciles temporary appropriation rules with any December 31 adoption language so a legally compliant interim budget remains available if needed.

Ending

No new charter text was adopted on Jan. 25. Council members asked for a clean draft that aligns Article 9's dates and publication rules with state law and operational practice ahead of the next meeting.