An 85-page 'Budget Book' certainly doesn't hurt in that transition.
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Mayor-elect Jim Petras will have a lot working in his favor when he takes office in January.that were overwhelmingly passed by voters last week that align with the elected-mayor form of government, which is going into its fifth year.
for 2026 as he finishes out his second year on City Council. In addition to a recalibrated Finance Department led by interim director Rachun Caldwell, credit goes to Acting Mayor Tony Cuda, the former council president who took over afterAlong the way, Cuda won re-election to council for a second term as part of the overall ticket he campaigned with -- including Petras.in a Nov. 7 city email blast, Cuda said he and Petras had already met twice last week to discuss a transition plan. “Our mutual goal is to put the mayor-elect and the city in the best position possible on Jim’s first day in office,” Cuda said. The groundwork includes setting up meetings with department directors and putting together job descriptions for city administrator and finance and human resources directors.Final, unofficial results from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections showed Petraswith 6,533 votes over Council Vice President Davida Russell, who tallied 5,341 votes . Those unofficial results show that turnout was a bit higher for this mayoral election, with 11,874 votes cast, compared to 11,481 in the city’s first-ever mayor’s race four years ago.In his own post-election message to residents, Petras noted that “our city has been through enough.”Petras pledged to restore trust in City Hall and provide stable leadership, strong city services and “roads that don’t take out the front end of your car.” Russell did not seek re-election to the council seat she had held since 2019, opting to run for mayor instead. “I’m grateful to have served our community for the past six years and look forward to finishing my term as vice president of council,” Russell said on her campaign Facebook page after the election.“I am proud of all the work we have done together and look forward to what the future holds.”Meanwhile, current City Planning Commission Chair Jessica Cohen won a seat on council with the second-highest number of votes -- unofficially with 7,868 , followed by incumbent Craig Cobb with 7,572 votes . Newcomer Joseph DeWitt-Foy took the fourth open seat with 6,360 votes , outdistancing Adam Dew with 3,969 votes and Seren ally Anthony Mattox Jr. with 3,636 votes . Mattox’s unofficial total comes in at 1,410 fewer votes than he received to win election to his first term in 2021.An overhaul of the city charter, appearing as “Issue 7,” received overwhelming approval at the polls, with 8,093 votes in favor and 3,101 against.The majority of City Council took exception to that, along with the latest Charter Review Commission . The nine-member CRC held 39 meetings over the course of nearly a year, turning in its final report in May 2024. They incorporated much of what the previous 15-member CRC had recommended in 2019 that wound up getting "The amendments -- the first major rewrite of the charter in more than 40 years -- aim to clarify the balance of power between the elected mayor and City Council, as well as modernize city operations. Current CRC Chair Linda Striefsky wondered whether the city would be able to put together another panel if the amendments had failed. Critics also argued that voters should have seen various “buckets” of amendments separately, although a stand-alone recommendation for ranked-choice voting could appear before voters as early as next year. With passage, council will also have more of a “right of inquiry” with the city administration, although it’s likely that Petras and his department directors will beAs promised, Cuda, Caldwell and interim City Administrator Sharon Dumas delivered the 2026 Budget Book to council Nov. 1, with hearings now under way.in favor of a temporary package -- which Petras largely drafted on his own. Cuda has also contracted with former Cleveland Heights finance director Andy Unetic, who retired at the end of 2023 and now works as a consultant. “The 2026 budget has been crafted during a time of transition for our city,” Cuda noted in the introduction. Cuda recognized that any newly elected mayor may choose to make some adjustments to align the budget with their policy goals. “This administration’s objective is to provide a strong and responsible financial foundation that can serve the incoming mayor and his team,” Cuda said. The outline includes a balanced budget in the 2026 General Fund, with revenue and expenditures both projected at $62.1 million. After about $15 million in recommended budget transfers, Caldwell projects an unencumbered cash balance of about $20 million that could be carried into the new year. Some of the transfers will go toward 2026 capital expense requests totaling about $23 million, an increase of almost $7.9 million from this year.Read more from the
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