Council presses Public Safety on co-responder budget spike and $18,500 monthly rent for Family Justice Center

Cleveland City Council questioned Department of Public Safety officials on multiple budget lines Tuesday, pressing them to explain a roughly $400,000 increase tied to the co-responder program and to justify city payments for space at 75 Erieview, the Family Justice Center.

The questioning focused on public-safety administration pages in the proposed 2026 budget, where staff flagged a $400,000 difference associated with the co-responder program and a $3.2 million entry for Justice Center rental under 'other administrative.' Councilman Casey also noted the city is paying about $18,500 a month — roughly $221,000 annually, as he cited — for space at 75 Erieview and asked which other jurisdictions contribute to that cost.

Why it matters: Council members said they support the Family Justice Center’s work for victims of domestic violence but urged transparency about who pays and what Cleveland is subsidizing. They also want clarity on the co-responder program’s staffing, contractor payments and vehicle needs before approving larger budget allocations.

Director Wayne Drummond, introduced to the council as director of public safety, said the co-responder program is part of the department’s contractual obligations under a consent decree and includes contracted clinicians. “We have the co responder program… which includes the clinicians,” Drummond said, describing clinician contracts and the officers that partner with them. He added that some budget increases also cover vehicles to support the program.

On the Family Justice Center, Drummond said the site is run by the county and by nonprofit partners and is not exclusive to Cleveland residents, but that Cleveland participates financially because the majority of the center’s clients are city residents. “We believe it’s money well spent to make sure that there’s a location for our residents,” he said.

Council members pressed staff for more specifics. Budget administrator Nicole Gallagher said Justice Center rent appears under 'other administrative' (not the police budget) and pointed council members to the pages where those entries are recorded. Staff committed to producing a report listing all employees identified as 'special assistant' across departments and to providing a personnel and contractor breakdown for the co-responder program, including which contractors are paid and how vehicle costs are accounted for.

Other items raised included a $155,000 training allocation tied to the former ambassador program, which Drummond said has been rebranded and is being redeveloped as the Public Safety Leadership Outreach and Access Program; staff said they expect to present a detailed budget and aim to launch the new program by summer.

No formal motions or votes were recorded on these items during the administration segment. Council members asked staff to flag the Justice Center rental line for follow-up and to provide the requested breakdowns at a later point in the budget review process.

Next steps: Staff will produce the requested breakdowns — special-assistant listings, co-responder personnel and contractor details, and the Justice Center rental accounting — and the council will revisit those line items when the budget reaches the appropriate pages.