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Committee approves technical budget adjustments and adopts amendment shifting casino revenue, restoring MetroHealth subsidy
Summary
The Committee of the Whole approved administration technical amendments, adopted a council amendment that reallocates casino revenue (reducing ED transfers and directing funds to the general fund), restores parts of the HHS levy subsidy for MetroHealth, and requires monthly sheriff reporting; the amended biennial budget was referred to full council for second reading.
The Cuyahoga County Council Committee of the Whole approved the administration's technical budget adjustments and adopted a major council amendment that reorganizes casino revenue transfers and partially restores Health & Human Services funding.
Trevor Mackler (council staff) and Walter Perfiauetz (budget office) briefed members on the package. Perfiauetz said the technical amendments adjusted the sales tax growth assumption from 2.5% to 3% (adding roughly $1.8 million per year) and trimmed the capital improvement subsidy by $2.0 million in 2026 and $0.5 million in 2027. "Those two technical adjustments leave the executive's recommended with a small surplus in each year," Perfiauetz told the committee.
Council amendment 1 (sponsored by Council President Miller, Vice President Conwell and Finance Chair Turner) changed the spending language for casino revenue and made multiple reallocations: it reduced the transfer to the Economic Development (ED) fund from $2.5 million to $1.5 million annually, designated $1.0 million for the CBSG program, allocated about $1.2 million to gateway debt, increased an annual transfer to the general fund by $4.5 million to help balance operations, and left $700,000 in the community development fund. The amendment also created a new accounting unit for the sheriff's community support unit and proposed a $1.4 million transfer to that unit to increase transparency in reporting.
On HHS levy matters, the amendment restored MetroHealth’s subsidy to $35,000,000 annually and partially restored funding for workforce scholarships, Canopy child-protection funding, and Family & Children First Council programs; staff estimated the amendment would utilize approximately $3.425 million of levy reserves in 2026 and roughly $2.1 million in 2027.
Council members questioned the tradeoffs, with some expressing concern about reduced capacity for city and township allocations out of casino revenue and others pressing for clarity on the sheriff's overtime and staffing projections. Staff noted the ED fund carried an existing balance (described as roughly $30 million) and that certain transfers would leave a modest positive net effect to the general fund.
A motion to adopt amendment 1 was made and seconded; the committee adopted the amendment by voice vote. After completing the council amendment cycle, staff moved the biannual budget (as amended) to be referred to the full council for second reading at the next scheduled council meeting and third reading/possible adoption on December 9.
Next steps: OBM will incorporate the adopted council amendments into an updated budget schedule for the full council’s second-reading consideration.
