Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson introduced a proposed $540 million 2009 budget to the City Council this week that plugs an expected revenue shortfall with a balance carried over from previous years.
It includes expenditures of $541 million, a 3.5% increase from last year’s budget, and projected revenues of $512 million, down from $524 million.
“Our fiscal vigilance from 2006 to the present certainly did not anticipate the depth of the current recession, but has successfully positioned the city of Cleveland to not only weather immediate fiscal decline but positioned the city for future growth and stability,” Jackson said in a letter to the City Council Monday.
The budget includes no layoffs, though officials did not rule out the possibility of layoffs in the future if revenue continues to decline. Cleveland has another $8 million in its rainy-day fund.
