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Sheriff defends downtown safety patrol, outlines jail budget pressures and DOJ carjacking grant
Summary
Sheriff Portell updated the committee on jail finances, staffing and operations, described a $1 million DOJ carjacking-reduction grant, and defended an ongoing downtown safety patrol amid council criticism that Cleveland benefits disproportionately and that municipal billing disputes have left the county with unpaid invoices.
Sheriff Portell briefed the committee on a range of operational and budget issues, including contract invoicing disputes, staffing and an ongoing debate over a downtown safety patrol (DSP) the sheriff's office has deployed in Cleveland.
Portell said the department absorbed post-2024 contract invoice corrections (one cited example: MetroHealth invoicing adjustments carried into the 2025 budget) and is implementing a new jail management system. He told the committee that collective bargaining settlements increased the department's obligations and that a 10-hour shift trial has reduced some mandates and overtime, with a fuller overtime report to follow by mid-February.
Donna Khalil, the sheriff's business services manager, explained the revenue variance from 2024 to 2025 by noting 2024 included multi-year back billing (for example, the city of Cleveland eventually paid several years of security invoices), which inflated 2024 actual revenue and makes 2025 comparisons appear lower.
Portell announced a DOJ-funded carjacking reduction grant of $1,000,000 over three years that will fund personnel and a researcher to produce an evaluative report tied to DOJ goals; he described the award as competitive and aimed at producing a replicable study for future investments.
The meeting turned contentious when council members questioned the equity and cost of the downtown safety patrol. Some council members argued the patrol appeared targeted to downtown Cleveland and that Cleveland had not paid the county the same boarding or service fees other municipalities pay, leaving the county financially disadvantaged. One council member said the program "smells" like favoritism and urged that any impact unit be budgeted and applied countywide. Portell said the unit reduced firearm violence in downtown Cleveland and argued the sheriff's office can operate anywhere in the county; he acknowledged the program's name had created a perception issue and suggested rebranding and countywide deployment.
Council members requested a meeting with the prosecutor and law department to examine whether legal remedies or contractual enforcement actions are appropriate in the municipal billing dispute. They also pressed for data: month-by-month crime and seizure statistics since the DSP began, overtime and vacancy savings calculations, the scoring-panel membership for the MetroHealth RFP, and timeline/GMP information for the jail construction effort.
Next steps: the sheriff's office will deliver requested financial and operational reports (overtime and vacancy impact, panel membership), and the council plans a follow-up meeting on municipal billing and legal options.
