Cleveland had to give back $400K in unused federal funds, putting fiscal health into question

CLEVELAND (WJW) — Cleveland City Council members are demanding answers after a recent audit revealed hundreds of thousands of federal dollars being left on the table; monies many say could have been funneled into the community.

The city of Cleveland's general bond ordinance covers a number of aspects of the city's budget, including street repairs, recreational center upgrades and much more. Now, some city council members are questioning why hundreds of thousands of dollars received aren't being used and will now have to be given back.

Council members held a a roundtable discussion Monday afternoon on the fiscal health of the city and learned that the city recently paid the federal government back more than $400,000, a penalty they were charged for not spending at least 85% of federal dollars or general obligation bonds.

For example, in 2019, the city was issued more than $45.8 million, but only spent $38 million.

In 2020, the city received $56.7 million, and to-date, have only spent 60% of the obligation bond monies; which means the city is facing yet another penalty for unused funds.

Council members, including Kevin Conwell who represents Ward 9, say they want answers, particularly from the city's finance leaders.

Conwell said, "We need money, especially for a poor city like Cleveland, Ohio. You've got to monitor and control and put systems in place to monitor control of that money, because our residents need these dollars. And we should be able to have systems in place so we can get it out to the residents. But we'll find out and we'll get to the bottom of that."

Council President Blaine Griffin said, "We really need to make sure that we understand systemically where we need to invest to get these projects out the door because it is costing us. I've never heard of us getting a $404,000 arbitration."

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Majority Leader Kerry McCormack also asking if outside contractors need to be brought in to help get projects funded and out the door, to deliver, he says, for the people of Cleveland.

The finance department expected to host another meeting on Sept. 30, to discuss if those unused funds could possibly be used before the end of the year.