TOLEDO, Ohio — On Tuesday, city council approved the 2022 City of Toledo Budget.
Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said, "Tonight’s passage of balanced general fund and capital budgets allows Toledo to make critical investments in its neighborhoods, particularly in public safety, while safeguarding the long-term financial health of our future."
Kapszukiewicz said the budgets focus on core city services, particularly public safety, roads and parks.
The vote will allow Toledo to hire 130 additional police officers and firefighters, as well as an additional domestic violence prosecutor. It will also allow the purchase of 15 new police squad cars and a new ladder truck for the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department.
Kapszukiewicz pointed out that the balanced budgets passed will allow Toledo to break the all-time record for road and sidewalk repair in the history of the city—a record set just last year. Building on the road repair efforts from 2021, this year Toledo will resurface 154 roads and 61.5 lane miles—both significant increases from the record-breaking work done last year.
Along with the resources from the American Rescue Plan, Toledo’s balanced budget will also allow investment of $5.3 million in city parks, a six-fold increase over what was invested in 2021. The budget passed will allow Toledo to more than quadruple the number of total playground replacements from 2021.
"This positive news for Toledo would not have been possible without the thoughtful and helpful partnership with Toledo City Council. In particular, President Matt Cherry and Finance Chair George Sarantou provided serious-minded leadership throughout this process, and they should be congratulated for their work building the consensus necessary to pass a balanced budget that meets the short-and long-term needs of the taxpayers," Kapszukiewicz said. "Moving forward, tonight’s vote will allow Toledo to build on its economic momentum and continue to shape our city as a place people want to live, work and raise a family.”
