Mayor Leiken Writes Letter On Cuts To Be Made If Tax Vote Fails

With two and a half weeks left until election day in Shaker Heights, city officials continue looking for ways to express the importance of the upcoming income tax issue.

On Aug. 7, voters will decide whether to approve that would produce $6 million and help the city fight losses from decreasing state aid. When Mayor Earl Leiken spoke about the issue and its potential impact last week at a Sussex Community Association meeting, some residents complained that he was not specific enough.

In response, Leiken is sending a letter to residents that lays out the cuts Shaker Heights would need to make in order to cover the $6 million the city says it will lose from cuts to the state local government fund and estate tax receipts. The letter is signed by Leiken and all members of Shaker Heights City Council.

Read below for an excerpt of the letter. Click 'PDFs' to the right in order to read the entire letter.

"Many residents have asked for specific information about what may happen if the income tax is defeated in August and the lost state revenue is not replaced. The following will give you a sense of what would have to be done to cut $6 million from the budget. The financial gap is too large to overcome by cuts to one or even a few departments. Cuts will have an impact on almost all City operations and on our residents.

Elimination of backyard trash pick‐up, the Health Department, school crossing guards, senior transportation, and support for the Shaker Family Center and the Shaker Youth Center would result in only approximately $1.0 million in reductions. This would lead to the closing of the Family Center building, the loss of medical services in Shaker to seniors and families and loss of adult supervision of traffic crossing for schoolchildren.

To reach $6.0 million, additional cuts would be necessary:

Cut an additional 10 Police Officers (17% of Police Department): $1,000,000

Outcome: Reduced police presence in neighborhoods to deter crime, longer response time for other than most serious crimes, reduced investigative capacity to solve crimes, loss of national accreditation, reduced police presence on streets to deter speeding and traffic violations; and

Cut an additional 10 Firefighter/EMTs (17% of Fire Department): $1,000,000

Outcome: Reduced ability to respond to emergency medical calls (EMS) and fires, slower response times; and

Cut an additional 15 Public Works Employees (20% of Department): $1,125,000

Outcome: Require residents to place trash on tree lawns and to contract privately for brush removal, substantially slower snow and ice removal, leaf pick‐up and filling of potholes, fewer roads being resurfaced, end of large item drop‐off at Service Center; and

Cut 5 Community Life (Rec) Employees (33% of Department): $375,000

Outcome: Likely closing of ice rink for use by hockey teams and learn‐to‐skate programs,

significant reduction in programs, camps and classes offered by Shaker recreation; and

Eliminate 4 Departments, 20 Employees: $1,518,750 (Housing, Planning, Neighborhood Revitalization and Communications & Outreach)

Outcome: Elimination of most efforts to stabilize housing in most vulnerable neighborhoods, no monitoring or remediation of deteriorating homes and abandoned properties, elimination of housing inspection and point of sale inspections to maintain housing standards, loss of expertise to obtain federal, county and state funding for infrastructure and redevelopment, loss of marketing to prospective residents.

TOTAL CITY BUDGET CUTS: $6,000,000

The Mayor, City Council and the citizen members of the Financial Task Force have all recommended the tax increase to avoid the cutbacks noted above. We believe that Shaker has a bright future and that these cuts are inconsistent with achieving that future and with the quality associated with Shaker in the past 100 years. We further believe that these cuts will make it more difficult to retain and attract residents and businesses needed to assure a strong and stable community.

We are sending you this letter because we feel it is our responsibility to respond to your questions and to provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision."

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