Cuts, reserves or revenue -- Cuyahoga County must act now: Emily Campbell

OpinionInflation, federal budget cuts, state policy and local regulations have pushed Cuyahoga County’s health and human service budget to the breaking point. John Pana, cleveland.comBy Guest columnist, cleveland.comGuest columnist Emily Campbell is president and chief executive officer of The Center for Community Solutions.Cuyahoga County government faces a budget hole it didn’t create -- one with limited options to solve. Inflation, federal budget cuts, state policy and local regulations have pushed the county’s health and human service budget to the breaking point. We face deep service reductions, a search for substantial new money, depleted reserves or some combination of the three. The earlier policymakers act, the less disruption to critical services. Public systems are pressured by the same inflationary forces and labor market realities everyone faces. Cuyahoga County employs more than 5,000 people. A hiring freeze is projected to save over $1 million in the Division of Job and Family Services alone. But wait times rise when there aren’t enough people to answer the phones. County workers carrying ever-larger caseloads spend less time with each resident in need. Employee retention becomes more challenging, and residents suffer the effects of lower-quality services. The federal government can deficit spend, but other governments must balance their budgets every year. Rising costs mean public dollars buy less than before. The same emergency food assistance now serves fewer families. The cost of caring for children in foster care keeps rising. For many residents, these services are not optional. Looming federal cuts compound the challenge. The federal government, through the state, pays counties to administer the SNAP food assistance program. Last year, Congress cut that funding in half without changing the amount of work, leaving Cuyahoga County to absorb around $9 million per year. The state is barely helping, covering just $226,000 -- one of many reductions in H.R. 1. Cuyahoga County does have a reserve fund. The county executive and County Council would both have to agree to dip into those dollars. While draining the reserves is a short-term fix with cascading fiscal consequences, the current $30 million balance target is too high to maintain given current realities. Absorbing federal reductions, lack of state help,and growing costs -- without dipping into reserves -- would mean a complete elimination of programs for vulnerable older adults or gutting investments in universal pre-kindergarten that strengthen our workforce. Such cuts would cause immediate pain in the community, erase past investments and mortgage our future. Voters consistently approve health and human service levies for critical services. The $259 million collected annually stays in Cuyahoga County, applied solely to local priorities. The amount generated by a health and human service levy in Ohio remains stagnant over its duration. The levy expiring in 2028 collects about $145 million per year, and every dollar is already allocated.The most stable course for Cuyahoga County is a combination of budget interventions. Local officials must carefully consider asking strapped homeowners to contribute more, but stable revenue must be part of the solution.Protecting the levy is the only way to avoid reductions in vital local services today and make investments in our future. Washington policymakers gutted programs and called it “efficiency.” There is too much at stake too close to home for local government to repeat those mistakes. Cuyahoga County leaders must use every avenue available toward a solution. And they need voters’ help.Readers are invited to submit Opinion page essays on topics of regional or general interest. Send your 500-word essay for consideration to Ann Norman at anorman@cleveland.com. Essays must include a brief bio and headshot of the writer. Essays rebutting today’s topics are also welcome.