BROADVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio — A Cuyahoga County city is facing a potential shutdown based on how and when its budget was approved.
Broadview Heights could be without law enforcement and emergency services — among other things — for more than two weeks in January.
Barely 20,000 people live in Broadview Heights, but just one vote made all the difference for the 2025 budget. Had the city council vote passed 5-2, it could have taken effect immediately. But the council approved it 4-3, so the budget won't take effect for 30 days.
Dreary December weather hung over the community just one day after the city's budget passed. Ward 3 Councilman Brian Dunlap wondered why the city waited until this late in the year to hold a vote.
"I don't want to use the word complacent," Dunlap cautioned, "but I'd think (with) the mayor being seasoned like he is, a seasoned politician, why would you take the chances and wait until the 11th hour?"
In a Dec. 17 work session, the budget passed 4-3, but because it passed with just four approving votes and not five or greater, there is a 30-day waiting period before it takes effect.
That means the budget is not active until that window closes, and no Broadview Heights city spending is allowed from January 1-16, 2025.
"You voted it down. There's nothing we can do," Council President Robert Boldt can be heard saying as the Dec. 17 meeting ended. "They need to bring legislation again. We shut down Jan. 1."
Multiple city councilmembers tell 3News that means no police, fire, snowplow, or food pantry services during that time. Other city services will be impacted as well.
Dunlap and two other councilmembers say they voted "nay" because of how the city pays its top employees: the mayor, fire chief and police chief.
"The fire and police chief get a percentage above the officer below them," Dunlap explained.
He says EMS pay is tethered to both chiefs and the mayor's salaries. When Level 1 staff gets a raise, so do the people in charge, an act not everyone agrees with.
"I brought this up. I said, 'You're going to be asking me to vote on an in-term pay raise with a budget,'" Dunlap admitted. "And it just fell on deaf ears."
The city could still hold a re-vote and get the five "ayes" needed to pass immediately. It's not a decision Dunlap — or the other councilmembers who spoke off-camera with 3News — take lightly.
"Shutting anything down is not good. It's not a favorable choice of councils," Dunlap conceded. "It could affect us, but I would hope the administration and the mayor would step up and say, 'Hey, let's make these two modest adjustments and we're done.'"
3News Investigates reached out numerous times and left messages with Broadview Heights Mayor Samuel Alai's office and Finance Director Dave Pfaff's office, looking for more information about how the city shutdown could affect residents. We never heard back.