Get the redistricting markers ready.
Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin has picked a team of consultants to help him redraw ward boundaries this year.
The stakes are high for council’s 17 members. Thanks to Cleveland’s declining population, Griffin must cut council to 15 wards. That means as many as four council members will have to duke it out in the next election for the remaining musical chairs.
Griffin has turned to an old political hand for help with the painful business. He’s hired Bob Dykes of Triad Research Group, a veteran pollster who has been drawing Cleveland ward boundaries for decades. Helping Dykes will be local political consultant Kent Whitley and Mark Salling, a data expert at Cleveland State University.
The contract will cost $100,000, council spokesperson Darryle Torbert said.
The council president aims to have the work done by the end of the year – which would give members plenty of time to consider their political futures before the 2025 election.
Reappraisals add headwinds to CMSD levy campaign
Cleveland residents should not be surprised that the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is going to ask them for more money this November. The district has been dropping anvil-sized hints for months while revealing it faces a $110 million negative cash balance by 2027 without more cuts or new revenue.
But residents may be surprised by their new bills if the levy passes. Right now, the district says that the levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $301 a year. (A related bond issuance will cost $93 per $100,000 of value.) That’s accurate, but only in the abstract, because a $100,000 home may be worth a lot more on paper by November.
Cleveland’s home values jumped significantly in the last reappraisal, which captured the national spike in home values. Cuyahoga County’s sexennial reappraisal is underway now.
“Reappraisal is an ongoing process and final reappraisal is an ongoing process and final reappraisal amounts aren’t available,” CMSD’s Chief Financial Officer Kevin Stockdale said.
Most school tax campaigns start against headwinds. Persuading homeowners and landlords still in shock over their new taxable property values will make it even more challenging.
Mayor Justin Bibb, who oversees the schools, is pledging to put his political muscle behind passing the campaign.
