Following a year of strong revenues, Cleveland is bracing for a tighter budget in 2026.

Mayor Justin Bibb released his $2.3 billion budget proposal this weekend, kicking off a month in which City Council takes a closer look at city spending — and typically makes noise about what’s not working in city government. 

Among the biggest new expenses in the budget are city employees and brick-and-mortar capital projects. The city agreed to 3% annual raises for many of its unionized workers. Drawing on leftover cash from last year, Cleveland is budgeting $92 million for capital projects, the kind of work that could include road resurfacing, recreation center repairs and new city vehicles. 

Finance Director Paul Barrett described his approach to the budget as “realistically conservative.” He said he asked city departments to keep their budget requests similar to last year’s, with the exception of pay increases. 

“We’re anticipating a tight year in 2026,” he told Signal Cleveland. “We want to make sure we have the money to do everything that we need to do. And we don’t want to get into a situation where, if revenue falls short, we’re caught in a bad situation.” 

Council President Blaine Griffin said the city will have to be more frugal, he said. With raises to workers and no more American Rescue Plan Act dollars left to allocate, the city will face a new set of challenges, he said. 

“I think we are running into leaner times,” Griffin said. “I think that we’re going to have to do some belt-tightening.” 

Introductory letters in the budget from Barrett and Bibb pointed to other challenges, such as uncertain federal funding and rising construction costs. 

“My administration presents this budget at a time of broad uncertainty and unpredictability, conditions that make long-term planning more complex for cities across the nation,” Bibb wrote in his letter. “In response, Cleveland is leading with clarity and discipline through a focused agenda for a safer, more affordable, and more opportunity-rich city for every resident.”

Here are a few takeaways from the proposal. 

Cleveland General Fund budget approaching $1 billion

Last year, the city brought in $825 million in General Fund revenue, a step above the $806 million it projected.

This year, spending in the General Fund — which covers basic city services — outpaces revenue. Cleveland has budgeted $920 million in General Fund expenses and $831 million in revenue. 

One reason for the overage is that the city is using last year’s leftover cash, known as the “carryover,” to front expenses for capital projects. The city began the year with $91 million left over in the General Fund and plans to end the year with $2 million. 

That’s not the last word on the carryover. The city plans to borrow money at the end of the year to reimburse itself for what it spent on capital projects, Barrett said. It’s part of a new approach to capital spending that Barrett argued will save money in the long term. More on that below. 

Despite the slim end-of-year balance in the General Fund, Cleveland’s rainy-day fund is flush with cash. The city added $2.7 million to the reserve fund last year, bringing it to a total of more than $70 million. Another reserve fund set aside for paying workers is stocked with $73 million. 

Money for mortar

In the past, the city has paid for its capital projects by borrowing large sums up front and spending them over time. Barrett said the city is now trying something different. 

Now, Cleveland will use its leftover cash as a revenue source to get projects started. Then it will borrow money only for projects that are actually underway. That way, the city won’t rack up interest payments on borrowings for projects that haven’t started, he said.  

“By changing this program, we’re not going to borrow for any contracts that haven’t been executed,” Barrett said. “So the savings should continue on projects that aren’t started.”

Raises for city workers

Cleveland has negotiated contracts with 85% of its more than 30 unions, according to the budget proposal. That means that many workers are getting raises — and not just police. For example, firefighters received a 12% raise last year, followed by 3% annual raises. 

All told, the city is budgeting more than $859 million for salaries and benefits across all funds this year. That’s about an 8% increase over the amount spent on salaries and benefits last year. 

Cleveland police staffing goal: 1,350

Cleveland is again budgeting for 1,350 police officers, a number the city hasn’t hit since 2021. At the end of last year, there were 1,185 officers on the force, not including cadets in the academy.  

That’s a small increase over the force strength of 1,142 at the end of 2024, suggesting that the Division of Police has grown after years of attrition. In recent years, the city has raised police pay and offered signing bonuses in a bid to attract officers. 

There were 778 employees in the Division of Fire at the end of the year, five more positions than originally budgeted. The division also spent about $11.4 million more than its original budget last year, driven by higher-than-budgeted spending on pay and overtime. 

Barrett said that the fire academy graduated more trainees than were in the budgeted head count. 

“So we said, okay, we’ll find a way to give you those positions so that you guys can be fully staffed with the extra head count,” he said. “And a lot of this too is to really address the overtime issue.”

Last year’s fire overtime came in about $850,000 below the 2024 total.

There are vacancies in EMS; out of 315 budgeted positions, there were 278 people working in the division at the end of last year. 

Despite the deficit in EMS staffing, the division brought in a wave of new revenue last year. Cleveland raised $37 million in EMS bills in 2025 after outsourcing collections, a large increase over the $4 million raised the year prior. This year, the city is budgeting for $18 million in EMS bills. 

Public safety is the biggest category of expenses in the city’s General Fund budget. This year, 46% of the General Fund’s $920 million are budgeted toward safety.