Cuyahoga County departments that receive general-fund money have been asked to propose 3.3% reductions for the 2027 budget, while health and human services agencies could face cuts of up to 8% if voters reject a November levy. The request is part of an effort to address a projected $19.2 million general-fund deficit and an $18 million shortfall in health and human services, according to Ideastream Public Media.
The immediate dispute is over whether the prosecutor’s office should absorb the requested reduction before county leaders examine their own spending. Prosecutor Michael O’Malley told County Executive Chris Ronayne and Council President Dale Miller that he would not reduce his office’s previously allocated 2027 budget by 3.3% unless they first review spending and salaries in their own offices, Cleveland.com reported. Ronayne and Miller face the same reduction target. In an Aug. 14 memorandum, they attributed the county’s financial strain largely to reductions in state and federal support; O’Malley has instead argued that the county’s expansion over several years is a central cause.
What O’Malley wants reviewed
O’Malley has proposed a committee review the growth of county government and identify staff or functions he considers nonessential. He also has called for lower pay for executive and County Council staff. Cleveland.com’s account of his letter and interviews described O’Malley’s position as an argument that his office has maintained a comparatively restrained structure and responsibly managed taxpayer money.
The salary comparisons came from a spreadsheet O’Malley provided showing county base pay as of August; the data exclude overtime and other benefits. The spreadsheet listed 26 employees above $200,000, including ADAMHS Board CEO Jason Joyce at more than $274,000, the county’s top IT official at $270,000 and Chief of Staff Erik Janas at nearly $222,000, Cleveland.com reported.
The same report said 771 county employees earned between $100,000 and $200,000 in base pay. It listed eight County Council employees at or above $100,000, including Chief of Staff Joseph Nanni at nearly $196,000 and budget adviser Trevor McAleer at $180,000. O’Malley earns about $165,000; most assistant prosecutors earn about $107,000, while law department attorneys earn between $96,000 and $120,000, according to the figures cited by Cleveland.com.
Competing views of county growth
County spokeswoman Kelly Woodard rejected O’Malley’s description of county spending and salaries. She pointed to a smaller workforce than in 2019 and to continuing state and federal funding reductions, while declining to provide specifics in the account reviewed here. Separate Cleveland.com reporting found that the county had 544 fewer employees in 2025 than in 2019, although staffing had risen from its pandemic-era low; that report also said the county added positions in areas including human services and public safety.
What the budget documents show
The available budget context does not provide a line-item breakdown of the prosecutor’s office or identify which of its functions are mandated rather than discretionary. It does show that the County Executive, Fiscal Officer and Prosecutor serve on the county’s Budget Commission, which audits annual tax budgets and determines property tax rates for taxing authorities, according to the Cuyahoga County Budget Commission.
Public safety is a substantial part of the county’s general-fund spending. The County Council’s recommended 2024/2025 biennial budget allocated 42.8% of total General Fund spending to public safety—$256.7 million in 2024 and $261.9 million in 2025—according to the County Council’s recommended biennial budget.
What the budget process establishes
The 3.3% figure is a request made during the preparation of the 2027 budget, not an adopted appropriation. The Cuyahoga County Office of Budget and Management defines the Recommended Budget as the document that communicates the proposed operating budget for the upcoming year. The materials cited here therefore establish the planning status of the reduction request, but not a separate authority for the county executive or council to impose a final cut outside the budget process. The prosecutor’s office also has duties that are not automatically discretionary. An Ohio attorney general opinion issued Sept. 5, 2025, says the Cuyahoga County prosecutor has the duties and responsibilities assigned by R.C. 305.14, 309.08 and 309.09. That legal framework means the effect of any reduction cannot be assessed solely by counting positions or comparing salaries; it also depends on how the office would continue carrying out those responsibilities.
The broader budget picture includes a proposed health and human services levy. County Council voted to place Issue 11 on the Nov. 3 ballot, a 10-year, 2.5-mill property-tax increase projected to raise about $110.76 million annually. The measure would cost roughly $87.50 per $100,000 of home value, according to WKYC.
The county also approved a budget in December 2025 that reduced health and human services funding by $16.5 million in 2026 and $20.5 million in 2027, according to the article’s cited Signal Cleveland reporting. At the same time, Ronayne’s office has proposed $3 million for agencies supporting the county’s Business Boost initiative, which offers up to $250,000 in grants to help small businesses modernize and grow, Cleveland.com reported. Those competing commitments will be part of the debate as the 2027 budget process continues.
