Ohio Claws Back $3.3M from Cleveland Over Unspent Lead Removal Funds

State officials reallocate money after city fails to meet spending deadline on grant to remove lead from homes.

Published on Feb. 9, 2026

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The state of Ohio is taking back $3.3 million in grant money from the city of Cleveland because the city failed to spend the funds on removing lead from homes by the February 2026 deadline. The money was part of a $4.9 million grant administered by the Ohio Department of Development to help Cleveland address lead hazards, but the city has only spent $1.6 million so far. State officials are now reallocating the unspent funds to other communities that have moved faster on lead remediation projects.

Why it matters

Lead poisoning, especially in children, is a major public health concern in Cleveland, where aging housing stock with lead-based paint is common. The loss of these state funds is a setback in the city's efforts to address this critical issue and protect vulnerable residents from the harmful effects of lead exposure.

The details

The grant money was intended to help Cleveland remove old windows, doors, and other sources of lead-based paint from homes. However, the city struggled to spend the funds quickly enough to meet the February 2026 deadline set by the state. As a result, Ohio officials decided to claw back the unspent $3.3 million and reallocate it to other communities that have been more successful in using the lead remediation grants.

  • The $4.9 million grant from the Ohio Department of Development had a spending deadline of February 28, 2026.
  • Over the past two years, Cleveland has only spent $1.6 million of the grant funds.

The players

Tom McNair

Cleveland's chief of integrated development, who informed City Council about the loss of the lead removal funds.

Kevin Conwell

A Cleveland City Council member who said the state was "punishing" the city for not hitting its benchmarks on the grant.

Joe Jones

A Cleveland City Council member who has been critical of the city's Community Development Department's performance on home repair projects.

David Margolius

Cleveland's public health director, who said the city's other lead remediation grants are performing better than the one that lost funding.

Ohio Department of Development

The state agency that administered the $4.9 million grant to Cleveland and is now reallocating the unspent $3.3 million to other communities.

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What they’re saying

“They want to give it to someone else who's going to execute on their projects, that's what they're really saying.”

— Kevin Conwell, Cleveland City Council member (cleveland.com)

“This is mom-and-pop shop. This is no kind of shop that the city is operating. Our numbers should be vastly larger than this.”

— Joe Jones, Cleveland City Council member (cleveland.com)

What’s next

The state will allow Cleveland to keep enough funding to complete the 71 home repair projects that are already in the pipeline or under construction, but the city will lose the remaining $3.3 million that was unspent by the February 2026 deadline.

The takeaway

This loss of state funding highlights the ongoing challenges Cleveland faces in addressing lead hazards in its aging housing stock and the need for the city to improve the performance and execution of its home repair programs to better protect residents, especially children, from the harmful effects of lead exposure.