LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- The Cuyahoga County Board of Health has asked the city of Lakewood to pay the board 12% more each of the next two years to maintain and expand public health services it provides in the city, as both entities brace for significant budget shortages due to reductions in federal and state funding.

Suzanne Hrusch, the Board’s Director of External Affairs, presented the proposal to Lakewood’s Health and Human Services Committee on Monday, citing looming cuts and uncertainty surrounding several grants, including ones that fund the department’s lead remediation work.

“We’ve been told that both the state and federal level anticipate getting less monies trickling down,” Hrusch said. “There’s a large number of our grants that are questionable—lead being one of them. And that’s s

See Full Page