Clearing a Funding Backlog for Community Safety Grants
Cleveland is moving to resolve a two-year delay in funding for neighborhood safety initiatives through emergency ordinance 658-2026. This legislation would allow the Director of Finance, acting on behalf of the Community Police Commission (CPC), to enter into grant agreements with various organizations to support community-based violence prevention, restorative justice, and mediation programs.
What's in the file
The ordinance seeks to authorize the disbursement of grant awards from the General Fund to clear a two-year backlog affecting forty-one community-based grantees. According to the 658-2026-Legislative Summary-CLE Police Commission Grants Award, the CPC intends to combine the 2024 and 2025 grant cycles into a single consolidated disbursement to restore the program to its annual rhythm.
The summary provides the following details regarding the funding and the scope of the backlog:
| Description | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total disbursement amount | $2,226,944 |
| Number of affected grantees | 41 |
| Minimum annual grants budget | 0.5% of Division of Police appropriation |
The Legislative Summary states that the current delay has caused programmatic stalls, staffing instability, and an erosion of trust between the City and community partners. By combining the cycles, the CPC aims to provide grantees with more operationally meaningful funding without adding new application burdens to those already selected.
Who may be affected
- Small and mid-sized community-based organizations: These grantees in Cleveland neighborhoods most affected by violent crime have already designed programming and hired staff based on announced awards but have faced a two-year funding delay.
- Community participants: Residents receiving services through violence prevention, restorative justice, and mediation programs.
- Community Police Commission (CPC): The department seeking to fulfill its charter mandate and restore its grantmaking schedule.
Status and timeline
- 2026-05-14: Ordinance 658-2026 was introduced.
- Current Status: The ordinance is currently tabled.
Residents can verify the details of this legislation by reviewing the official record at the Cleveland City Council website.
Source record
- File
- 658-2026
- Type
- Emergency Ordinance
- Status
- Tabled
- Committee
- City Council
- Introduced
- May 13, 2026
Official documents
- 658-2026 Grant ags w various for violence prevention, restorative justice and mediation, Community Police Comm
- 658-2026-Legislative Summary-CLE Police Commission Grants Award
- Memo to table Ord No. 658-2026-Grant ag for violence prevention-CPC
- FINAL VERSION City Record August 28, 2026 Page 307