AKRON, Ohio — In an effort to try and give Akron Police officers more money, city leaders said this could lead to potential cuts in city personnel and services.
"We are going to have to tighten our belt and going to have to look at cuts,” said Akron Mayor Shammas Malik.
Malik said he and city leaders are working with each department to figure out what this looks like and how city income taxes could help with next year’s budget.
"We're not talking about layoffs, but there are unfilled positions that we have to ask ourselves whether those positions need to be filled,” said Malik.
Other potential cuts will include looking at different city contracts that Malik said supply goods and services to see if it makes sense to continue the business.
"Everything’s on the table. But we’re trying to do it as responsibly as possible,” said Malik.
One of the reasons Malik said the city is making cuts is because of a new agreement between Akron and its police department that we first told you was in the works last month.
RELATED: Akron officers could see historic pay hike
Now the mayor said it’s official, which makes this arrangement the largest pay hike in more than 30 years for the police department.
"Folks need to be paid commensurate with the work that they're doing, and we're all seeing cost pressures,” said Malik.
While Malik said these raises are needed, At-large Councilman Eric Garrett said the following in a statement to News 5:
“I voted against the measure to increase police pay because fiscal responsibility and accountability must come before any wage increases. While I respect the work of most officers, I could not support a contract that fails to include stronger accountability measures and transparency provisions that the community has long called for. My vote was not anti-officer, it was pro-Akron taxpayer and pro-public trust. As for the potential budget cuts, it is unfortunate that the administration is framing this as an either/or situation. I believe there are better ways to balance the city’s finances without threatening essential city services or personnel who directly serve our residents. Akron deserves both fiscal stability and fairness, not fear tactics or misplaced blame.”
"I've been clear, I've never been a defund the police person. I don't believe that taking money away from an institution makes it a better institution, and I've been clear that there are things that I think we need to work on and building trust,” said Malik.
Aside from pay increases, Malik said the depletion of American Rescue Plan funding and declining federal grants used to fill dozens of police and fire roles are further reasons why he said the city has to tighten its budget and not use up all its financial reserves.
"That puts pressure on us to say, 'OK, how are you going to balance your budget?' And so that's really the work in front of us right now,” said Malik.
The mayor said discussions are still in the very beginning stages. But he hopes to have more information sometime next year.
