More than one thousand attendees gathered in Public Auditorium for Mayor Justin Bibb’s State of the City address on Wednesday — his fourth, and final, address in his current term.
Bibb and WKYC journalist Russ Mitchell discussed a handful of topics, followed by a Q&A with the audience, in the one-hour event hosted by The City Club. Here are a few things Bibb talked about.
Federal Cuts
Bibb says the past 90 days have presented unique challenges, due to federal funding cuts and changes since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. “One thing I've learned over the last 90-plus days since Donald Trump has taken the White House: Washington is not coming to save us,” Bibb said. “We must continue to find ways to be resilient, to make sure our progress can be sustained over time.”
In particular, Bibb detailed some of the ways funding cuts are affecting the city. He noted potential Department of Justice cuts around violence prevention in Cleveland, and also mentioned cuts that could “decimate” the local healthcare infrastructure and “potentially could put MetroHealth out of business.” He also brought up that cuts to SNAP benefits could put strain on businesses like Dave’s Market.
“We have a promising outlook,” Bibb said, “but there are choppy headwinds facing Cleveland and facing cities all across the country.”
Browns Battle
Does Mayor Bibb think the Browns will stay in Cleveland, or move to Brook Park? In his address, he put the odds at 50-50.
Bibb shouted out Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne for his support on keeping the Browns in Cleveland. Despite that, he noted that funding plans for the Browns’ potential move to Brook Park are currently in the hands of the governor and state legislature.
“We're going to keep fighting to keep the Browns playing good or bad football on the lakefront, and if they do get the money [to move to Brook Park], we're going to find a way to be resilient and keep Cleveland growing,” Bibb said, “because hell or high water, we are going to develop a world class lakefront that our residents can be proud of once and for all.”
Focus On Safety
Since taking office in 2022, Bibb’s administration has placed a continued emphasis on safety, and he shared that homicides in Cleveland have gone down 46% since he took office, with 134 cadets joining the police department last year — the highest number in five years. Bibb has increased police pay by 34%, and has also created a $10 million neighborhood safety fund to address violent crime.
When Mitchell asked Bibb about Senator Bernie Moreno’s recent letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to reexamine consent decrees like Cleveland’s, Bibb noted the changes the city’s police department has made in the past decade, while acknowledging challenges in regard to spending. He estimated that the city is two to three years away from reaching compliance.
“The progress has been made, but I will say this: the DOJ has to stop moving the goal post. We've spent over $40 million in 10 years on the consent decree. So we want to make sure that the monitor gives us a clear methodology and a clear end date to say when we can be compliant,” Bibb said. “Now, once we are compliant, we still have work to do to make sure that those reforms are sustained, to ensure we're still building trust between police and residents.”
“The Cleveland Era”
Bibb already has his sights set on a second term, and has big-picture goals set for what he calls the “Cleveland Era” — a new economic agenda for the region. He celebrated massive investments in Cleveland’s waterfront, Cleveland Hopkins Airport and a housing fund for more affordable housing in the city.
“I want to make Cleveland that city where folks are not choosing Chicago over Cleveland or New York or Cleveland,” Bibb said. “They are choosing Cleveland as their primary destination.”
Check out the full State of the City address below:
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