It was an uncommonly quiet Lakewood City Council meeting on Monday, March 31. In fifty minutes and with very little discussion, Council completed the process of approving the 2008 budget. Lakewood City Council President Michael Dever summarized the process that was used to develop the 2008 budget. Considered were recommendations by the Grow Lakewood Task Force, the development of a fiscal strength strategy, a core service survey of 470 city services and functions, and a municipal peer staffing comparison that compares the City of Lakewood’s staffing levels with five regional peers. In addition, the City of Lakewood Budget projections were examined and confirmed by the State Auditor’s office. The results of a performance audit released in a report on March 27, 2008 were also considered.

Cost reductions, staffing level attrition, consolidation of services, position layoffs, reduction of benefits for non union employees, and operating and maintenance cuts were recommended strategies for budget reduction. Dever stated that the Council and the administration, with the help of the Municipal Court were able to reallocate $400,000 until further analysis can be performed under the reduction of core service. Dever further explained that the administration had been meeting with the seven collective bargaining units since February, representing over 90% of the city’s employees, to discuss concessions on wage freezes and healthcare reductions. No agreements have been reached.

“The 2008 budget appropriation reflects values of teamwork, communication and cooperation between the city, staff, the court, the city council and the residents of Lakewood to continue to invest in long term growth, viability, and a quality of life that enhances this vibrant community that is the City of Lakewood,” said Dever.

Councilperson Butler thanked the Grow Lakewood Task Force for their leadership and help with the 2008 budget. Councilperson Antonio complimented the city employees for their help in the process. Councilperson Powers focused on the positive aspects of the process including the more visible police presence and the anticipated economic development. “You can’t cut your way out of a hole, you have to grow your way out. We have to look to the future with hope,” said Powers.

Mayor Edward Fitzgerald spoke quietly about the serious nature of this year’s budget and with hope and optimism about the participants and process that developed the 2008 budget. “In November 2007 we had a confluence of very negative trends hitting the city all at one time…..we had the worst budget deficit that the city has faced since the great depression, we had the worst housing crisis since the great depression, and we had in my opinion the worst public safety situation that the city has faced in its history. We had 90 days from the inception of this administration to try to right our financial ship.”

Fitzgerald went on to say the city was dangerously close to a state takeover. The typical reaction of mayors and councils is to be “all things to all people - that’s how we got here. It’s always popular to add services, never popular to reduce services. I think we have handled it well under the circumstances”.

As Fitzgerald explained, the first step was to define the seriousness of the financial crisis, next was an open and impartial accounting confirming the deficit and last was a transparent and open process that included opening the city’s books to anyone or any organization including the state auditor’s office, the bargaining units and the city council for examination and any recommendations. Additionally, Fitzgerald was determined to reestablish a relationship between the administration and council based on cooperation and trust. “I believe through this process we have. The administration accepts the role of council and respects their role of oversight. The challenge of the administration was not to cut a budget but instead to balance the budget…..This is the first budget in many years that doesn’t spend more money than it takes in. We haven’t had that situation in Lakewood, truly since 2002.….. It doesn’t take advantage of any one time income. This is a true reflection of income and expenditure. It is a balanced operation, as of this budget.”

Fitzgerald went on to say that he felt an additional challenge was determining whether the city could do this while making additional investments in things that could not wait. “We didn’t feel we could wait to address the crime problem, we didn’t feel we could wait to address the foreclosure crisis in our community, and we didn’t think it would be wise to put off investments in technology.” He complimented City Council for not just passing a balanced budget but also for resisting pressure to do the bare minimum with no initiatives.

According to Fitzgerald, when the budget is fully implemented the City of Lakewood will “have more police on the streets of Lakewood than ever before in Lakewood history.” The Mayor promised that there will be a few neighborhood police stations scattered throughout the city this year; the city will be obtaining foreclosed properties for the first time in Lakewood’s history and the city will be investing in technology. He continued “there has been a lot of focus on cuts, but this budget cuts in pretty broad terms across every department.” And while there will be cuts across the board, Fitzgerald contends that the city can still maintain a high level of service in all areas. “We will still provide more human services than any other suburb in Cuyahoga County.”

The Fitzgerald administration will be laying out new initiatives in the next several months beginning with law enforcement, senior services and Detroit and Madison Avenue redevelopment initiatives.

Fitzgerald believes it is a mistake to define Lakewood’s government by how much money it spends. “It’s old fashioned thinking. We ‘re going to be able to do things we’ve never done before by changing strategies and leveraging public and private capital.”

Fitzgerald finished by reporting that employee negotiations had been productive. While there have been no agreements yet, he is impressed by their willingness to talk. Outsourcing is being explored and everything is on the table. “This budget is not a solution to all our problems, but it is a responsible step that we’re going to be able to tell the people of Lakewood that they’ve had to make sacrifices in their personal households; we are now making sacrifices as well.”Council President Dever called for the vote. The motion to approve the 2008 budget for $36.7 million was unanimously approved.