Mayor Justin Bibb is budgeting for 1,350 Cleveland police officers this year.
The figure is a decrease from the prior two years. But it’s the number that city leaders say the Division of Police needs to fully staff its patrol car plan.
During Wednesday’s budget hearings, council members posed this question about that staffing claim: Says who?
“How are we actually determining what is stabilized staffing?” Ward 15 Council Member Jenny Spencer asked. “Is 1,350 the number? Is there another number? Who would be determining that ultimate number?”
Finance Director Ahmed Abonamah replied that police brass arrived at the 1,350 figure. That head count would allow the division to deploy 489 officers and supervisors in basic patrol, split into newly instituted 12-hour shifts, he said.
Cleveland’s north-star staffing number used to be higher. After voters passed an income tax hike in 2016, then-Mayor Frank Jackson set his sights on 1,600 police officers. By the end of 2023, after years of attrition and hiring difficulties, staffing stood at 1,169.
Abonamah discouraged council members from clinging to any one number. The city’s needs change over time, he said. What’s important is to focus on the conditions on the ground – which he acknowledged needs improvement.
“I think that’s a mistake the city got itself into several years ago, is that a number was thrown out and we’ve all held that to be gospel,” Abonamah said. “The circumstances that the division faces everyday change. What is the optimal number today might not be the optimal number a year ago.”
Consultant review of police staffing on hold for now
But is there some third party consultant who could give Cleveland a police head count to aim for?
The Bibb administration sought such an expert in late 2022. City Hall issued a request for proposals from consulting firms to analyze Cleveland’s police staffing needs.
That study hasn’t started yet, according to Abonamah. Late last year, the city and police unions agreed to a pay increase and a change from 10-hour to 12-hour shifts. Leadership wants to get used to those shifts before beginning a study, he said.
“We want to let the 12-hour shifts breathe a little bit before we bring in a consultant to assess the operations,” the finance director told Signal Cleveland in early February. “Because it was a really significant change to the deployment of our officers, going from the three shifts a day to the two shifts a day.”
That change reduces the number of officers needed to fully staff the daily shifts, he said.
Thanks to the pay raises, an officer with five years of experience will make more than $84,000 annually, rather than $68,000. The Bibb administration is also offering $5,000 signing bonuses for new cadets.
City officials believe the extra money will attract more recruits. The city is planning for three academy classes this year, Abonamah said. The goal is to hire 180 police officers.
Bibb and council lock antlers over police hiring
Bibb has said he is “throwing the entire kitchen sink” at bringing new officers on board. This week, council members criticized the mayor’s decision to cut vacant police jobs.
The disagreement over police staffing led to some of the sharper exchanges between council and the mayor during Bibb’s budget presentation on Tuesday.
Ward 10 Council Member Anthony Hairston characterized the cuts as “waving the white flag” – a claim that Bibb disputed.
Kris Harsh of Ward 13 deployed a different metaphor. He said the changes Bibb has made to boost recruitment – like raising the maximum hiring age – felt like “a lot of little band-aids on a much bigger wound.”
The mayor, who usually listened quietly as council members pushed him, interrupted Harsh.
“What about a 25% pay increase?” Bibb asked. “Does that feel like a band-aid to you?”
