Amid financial challenges, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik has revealed his proposed 2025 operating budget, a $798 million expenditure plan representing a 2.0% decrease from last year's figures, as a City of Akron press release reported. The budget prioritizes public safety and core services, allocating 71% of the general fund for staff needs, including maintaining the number of uniformed police officers and firefighters/medics. A noteworthy investment includes $1 million to update cardiac monitors in EMS vehicles and funds to support the Citizens' Police Oversight Board. In tandem with Chief Henderson and others, a new role will be created to manage Public Safety.
Confronting a $13 million shortfall in revenue versus expenditures, Malik's budget strategizes to, somewhat precariously, balance the city's finances. This gap is attributed to the combined effects of dwindling federal support and a limitation from the community voted 2.25% income tax rate, which is not keeping pace with inflation. The city is turning to various measures to plug this shortfall, including an $8 million reliance on ARPA interest earnings and pulling $5 million from IT4 funding. "We will always invest in public safety as the top priority of this administration and we will continue to deliver our core city services, focusing on our personnel as the top asset of the city," Mayor Malik stressed in a statement obtained by the City of Akron press release.
Malik's budget also underlines a commitment to city services, with plans to sell an aging fleet of trash trucks and lease newer models, which aims to improve cost-efficiency and reliability. An upgrade to the city’s vehicle location system is also on the books. Additionally, the Plans and Permits Division is set to expand, adding two new roles to expedite permit processing. Investments in strategic initiatives haven't been overlooked either, with $125,000 earmarked for a pre-k and childcare initiative and $73,000 for a Violence Intervention coordinator, with hopes to mitigate gun violence impacts through partnerships with hospitals.
While the budget includes a broad array of plans, the prospect for future revenue sources will truly define Akron's fiscal landscape. The city is exploring options from photo speed enforcement in school zones to potential state-level public safety funding and support for stadium improvements. A community town hall will be held on March 11 to dive into the budget details, followed by a Facebook Live event six days later for increased accessibility. City Council, which has a March 31 deadline to pass the budget, is set to have a sequence of hearings live-streamed for public viewing, starting from March 3.
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