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Why Columbus Could Pass Issue 5 — and Why Cuyahoga County Can’t Follow the Same Path

Marty Flask May 14, 2026
Columbus voters’ overwhelming approval of Issue 5, a 24/7 non-police crisis response system staffed by trained behavioral health professionals, has generated significant discussion here in Northeast Ohio. As communities across the country continue exploring alternatives and complements to traditional emergency response systems, many have naturally begun asking whether a similar model could work in Greater Cleveland and Cuyahoga County.
But comparing the two regions also highlights an important reality:
Columbus and Cuyahoga County operate under fundamentally different governmental and public safety structures.

For all practical purposes, Columbus functions as the dominant governmental and public safety entity within Franklin County. That level of structural alignment gives Columbus a degree of centralized coordination that is difficult to replicate in Northeast Ohio. With more unified oversight of emergency communications, public safety services, and municipal governance, Columbus was positioned to pursue a citywide restructuring of crisis response through a single voter-approved initiative.

Cuyahoga County’s 59 independent municipalities create significant challenges for implementing a unified countywide crisis response system.

Cuyahoga County is a patchwork of 59 independent municipalities, each with its own mayor, council and with few exceptions, police department, fire service, dispatch center, and political priorities. No single city governs even a third of the county’s population, and the county government itself does not operate police, fire, or 911. As a result, there is no single ballot box through which residents could authorize a unified crisis response system.

Columbus and Cuyahoga County operate under fundamentally different governmental and public safety structures.

Even if there were broad interest in pursuing a more unified system — and it’s unclear that such a consensus exists — doing so would likely require substantial regional coordination, new funding mechanisms, and an unprecedented level of political and operational agreement among municipalities and county governments alike.

The county’s historical approach to service delivery also shapes this conversation. Cuyahoga County government has generally favored supporting municipalities through funding initiatives, partnerships, grants, and collaborative programs rather than directly operating large-scale public safety services itself. Current investments in co-responder programs, behavioral health partnerships, suburban expansion grants, and support for diversion initiatives reflect that more decentralized strategy.

Current investments in co-responder programs, behavioral health partnerships, suburban expansion grants, and support for diversion initiatives reflect that more decentralized strategy.

As a result, crisis response efforts across the county continue to evolve on a community-by-community basis. Cleveland is advancing civilian crisis response efforts through Tanisha’s Law, while several suburbs, including communities such as Shaker Heights and Euclid, have explored or implemented co-responder and behavioral health response models tailored to local needs. Other municipalities, particularly smaller communities with lower call volumes or limited resources, may conclude that a crisis response model is unnecessary for their residents or that alternative approaches are better suited to fit their circumstances.    

At this stage, there does not appear to be a single countywide consensus regarding what an ideal crisis response model should look like for Northeast Ohio. Instead, the region is continuing to navigate these questions through local experimentation, partnership building, and ongoing public discussion.

The comparison to Columbus may ultimately serve less as a roadmap and more as a reminder that every region must build systems that reflect its own governmental structure, operational realities, and community priorities.

The broader conversation surrounding behavioral health response, public safety, and community wellbeing will likely continue evolving as communities determine what approaches best meet their local needs.
Press Release: Doug Merritt Named Executive Director of the Partnership for a Safer ClevelandPress Release: Doug Merritt Named Executive Director of the Partnership for a Safer ClevelandMarch 15, 2026

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