At the top of the list of Cleveland's 2018 hiring priorities will be officers at the Cleveland Division of Police.
Jackson鈥檚 budget for this year includes 177 new uniformed officers, taking the total to just over 1600. But in last year鈥檚 budget, the goal was to increase the force by 164 officers. Instead, it shrunk by 9 because of attrition.
Mayor Jackson told city council Tuesday, during the first day of budget hearings, that the city has fixed its hiring problem.
鈥淲e knew that it would take all of 鈥�17 not only for most of that hiring to happen but also to look at our system, the way it functioned,鈥� said Jackson.
The city has four classes of cadets planned for this year, and a fifth in the first quarter of next year.
The passage of Issue 32, a 0.5 percent increase in the income tax, in 2016, added about $80 million a year to the city鈥檚 general fund.
City council will hold hearings on the mayor鈥檚 $623 million dollar general fund budget over the next two weeks.
