Lakewood Finance Committee Meeting - June 18, 2026 - 2027 Budget Priorities
Lakewood Finance Committee Meeting - June 18, 2026 - 2027 Budget Priorities
This meeting of the Lakewood Finance Committee focused on the initial review and discussion of 25 Council Budget Priority drafts submitted after a May 11th retreat. Council members presented their ideas, sought input from colleagues and administration, and began categorizing initiatives as budget-impacting (for 2027) or policy-focused. The committee aims to finalize priorities by late July to allow collaboration before the 2027 budget is introduced in fall.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes of the April 20, 2026 Finance Committee meeting without objection.
Discussion Items
- Large Tree Preservation (Policy): Councilman Baker proposed a regulatory framework requiring a permit and impact fee for removing large healthy trees on private property, with exceptions for danger trees. Councilman Evans expressed support, noting the loss of large trees citywide. Councilman Bixenstine suggested adding resident education to distinguish certified arborist opinions from tree removal companies. Councilor Hamilton Steiner raised concerns about property line and health variables. Baker noted South Euclid’s draft legislation as a reference and will coordinate with law and building departments. This is likely not a 2027 budget item.
- Speed Enforcement in School Zones (Budget & Policy): Baker described a proposal to authorize speed cameras in school zones as a behavior deterrent, with funds directed to traffic calming near schools. He cited alarming speed studies at Emerson and noted that police cannot stop all violators. This is more policy than budget and may not impact 2027.
- Traffic Calming Review & Enhancement (Budget & Policy): Baker proposed a committee meeting to review the existing traffic calming program, potentially codify it, and lower thresholds. Coordinated with CASE. Councilor Bullock indicated intent to refer to committee in July.
- Youth Athletics (Budget): Council President Kepple outlined an early-stage concept for the city and schools to jointly fund an Executive Director for the Lakewood Athletic Boosters to support youth sports. This may have 2027 budget impact.
- Affordability & Property Tax Relief (Policy/Budget): Councilman Bixenstine described two prongs: tax consulting/education for residents and exploring targeted relief for vulnerable groups (fixed-income seniors, low-income homeowners). Councilor Evans noted overlap with his own affordability work and a planned county workshop. Councilor Bullock clarified the difference between tax advice and direct relief, noting significant budget implications. Likely policy in 2027 with budget impact later.
- Safer Streets, Together Campaign (Policy, small budget): Councilor Steiner proposed a 90-day public education campaign promoting shared responsibility among motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians. She estimated a few thousand dollars for mailings and communications. Councilor Strebig expressed interest in joining. Public Works, Police, and Mayor’s Office identified as potential partners.
- Styrofoam Recycling (Budget $5,000): Councilor Bixenstine proposed partnering with Edgewater Surf to establish EPS foam drop-off at the Lakewood Recycling Center, leveraging the business’s proximity. Council President Kepple advised waiting to learn from Cleveland Heights’ pilot program and to check legal/fiscal structures with law and solid waste districts. Baker suggested meeting with the solid waste district.
- Ward 4 Voter Turnout/Community Engagement (Policy): Councilor Bixenstine presented a nonpartisan plan to reduce Ward 4’s historically lower voter turnout (18% vs. ~30% citywide in recent primary) through data collection and partnerships with groups like League of Women Voters. Councilor Steiner noted it also boosts overall community engagement. Director Swallow confirmed public funds cannot be used, so it is policy and engagement only.
- Capital Budgeting Reform (Policy): Councilor Bullock argued that council should have more direct involvement in shaping the capital budget, not just oversight after decisions. He expects this to affect future budgets, not 2027.
- Crossing Guards – Coverage Expansion (Budget $128,000): Councilor Bullock proposed adding 16 crossing guards (six elementary schools, two middle schools, high school) at $8,000 each. He suggested exploring a contract with Lakewood City Schools for additional staffing to overcome bottlenecks. A working group with planning, police, and public works is already engaged.
- Expanded Parks Bathroom Access (Budget $28,410–$81,622): Councilor Strebig proposed electronic locks at Cove and Edwards Parks, new porta-johns at Wagar and Merl-Bunts Parks, and design funds for a permanent gender-neutral family bathroom at Wagar Park. Director Gordon expressed concern about timeline for 2027 installation of locks and porta-johns; agreed to meet soon.
- Short Term Rental Regulations (Policy/Budget $38,000–$62,000): Councilor Bullock indicated he will submit a draft proposal for the July 6 docket, developed in coordination with the Mayor.
- Grant Support for SRTS Coordinator (Budget $25,000): Councilor Bullock proposed providing a partial match for a Safe Routes to Schools coordinator, jointly funded with schools and community foundations, to build on existing progress.
- Affordable Housing (Budget $150,000): Councilor Steiner reported progress from a meeting with planning; a strategic housing plan is envisioned for 2027 to guide long-term investments.
- Block Clubs (Budget $100,000): Councilor Hamilton Steiner noted $100,000 already allocated in 2026, and she expects to sustain that level for 2–3 years to strengthen communication and community building. A meeting Wednesday will transition program oversight from administration to council.
- Other items briefly mentioned: Mental Health Response Team, Public Art Advancement, Handball, Home Improvement Loan Programs, Charter Amendment Education, Citywide Composting, Implementation of Racial Equity Plan, Lakewood Community Circulator, Expansion of Winter Sidewalk Maintenance. Most were tabled for future meetings.
Key Outcomes
- The Finance Committee will schedule additional meetings in late June and July to continue reviewing priorities and refine budget estimates.
- Council members agreed to avoid having two members of the Finance Committee on any single working group to maintain proper committee balance.
- Directors from planning, public works, law, and police were identified as points of contact for various proposals.
- Immediate next steps include: Baker coordinating with law on tree preservation; Evans/Kepple advancing youth athletics; Strebig meeting with public works on parks bathroom access; Bullock submitting draft STR regulations; Kepple and Steiner continuing block club transition.
- No formal votes were taken; the meeting was a working session to launch the 2027 budget deliberation.
Meeting Transcript
Thank you everyone for coming. I will go ahead and call the June 22nd, second longest day of the year uh finance committee meeting to order. Right? Secondly, you're right. Thank you. Shortest night. Yeah. Pleasantries. Um first order of business uh is the revenue approval review and approval of the April 20th 2026 uh Finance Committee meeting minutes without objection, uh they are approved. Uh the second um order of business, which is the only one which since this is the first time we've kind of done it this way, um we'll see what we can get through in an hour. I know housing planning development is next for zoning um refresh update. So we'll see where we get uh within an hour of kind of what some of our priorities are. Now, some of these, as we discussed on the floor on Monday night, these are encapsulated in the letter from President Keppel uh to the June 15th docket about council budget priorities. Some of these as we go through them, I I I kind of envision this meeting us just literally going one by one, not trying to go super into the weeds um with each one, but kind of explaining them to our colleagues and to the administration and to the public should they be listening to understand what the intention is behind kind of the idea. And this is where it's you know, it's kind of a kickoff to the 2027 budget process, but some of these reading through them, I think are would be very difficult to implement in 2027, uh, but I think they start a larger conversation about what council prioritizes, what we'd like to work with the administration on, where we have shared uh priorities uh and responsibilities. Um then also as we've talked about often, you know, council members can't get in groups of plus three and talk about these things. So uh I kind of envisioned this as a little bit more of an informal discussion about these things, who might be willing to take the lead, what departments might be uh the ones that um would would be the ones that kind of we need to follow up with, who would do that following up, who would be uh the people that would lead the charge, kind of what the the high level policy goals or budget goals are associated with it. Um does that high level make sense to everyone? Yeah. Okay. Um so in no um I didn't do this, but the ones that I authored seem to be first, so I will I will go through them quickly. And also, you know, should the administration have any input? Uh I I kind of view this as more of an open house and you know I don't want to spend a tremendous amount of time, you know, more than five minutes on any one of these. Uh I do think that each one of these deserve more than five minutes, so we will have more follow-up, uh whether that be in a meeting with the mayor and some department heads, uh, or that be uh at another council meeting in another committee or something like that. Um so the first one I'll just I'll go through as quickly as I can. Uh Mr. Chair. Yes. Real fast. Um thank you for this, first of all. Second of all, in addition to your comments uh about the list, some of them are non-budgetary. And so presumably we'll touch on those and talk about them in whatever committee they might belong to. Thirdly, I guess my invitation to my colleagues here is that we're in the idea stage. We're in the creative initiative stage, and the point here is not to knit picks stage and to poke holes and shred you know a proposal. That'll come later, presuming that we have more deliberation by council ages. I guess that should be a question of the chairs. Is this the one and only meeting, or will we be working further in the future on this? Yeah, yeah. I maybe um jump from step uh one to step six. Um so the the way uh I envision this and it it we've talked about with the administration that you know before August recess, if we can have some coalescing around the things that we'd like in this this budget, this 2027 budget. Um so I'm willing to as chair of this committee schedule as many meetings between now and August recess to go through these things. I guess if that's that that's your first question. Um then the way I view that is we kind of can coalesce as a council, have some input from the administration through July and June and July. And then if we need to, we won't have council meetings in August, but it's a perfect opportunity for us to meet with department heads uh or different departments to kind of more fully flesh these things out with some you know legislation and full budget uh going into September. That is not kind of like uh the only pathway, but I think that's uh uh a helpful framing to look at it. Uh Director Mahoney has indicated that up and through September, you know, we can have kind of a review of the revenue uh expenses of this year, so we can kind of understand where we're landing in budget year 2026, going into budget year 2027 with some of our projections, um, understanding what some of the directors, you know, their priorities are, what the mayor's priorities are. Um because as the council president said, and I I agree, there's no like administration budget and council budget, it's just the city's budget. Um so we're gonna work as closely as we can to make sure we can um get it done, and obviously by the end of the year, we need to pass a budget. Um so that's the goal. Uh we're six months from the end of the year, so I think we have some time.
openpublica.com