Cuyahoga County has passed a budget for the next two years that includes close to $2 billion in spending each year and significant cuts to social services programs and was acknowledged by multiple council members as the hardest budget since the new county government was formed in 2011.

County Councilmember and Finance Committee Chair Meredith Turner said after Tuesday night’s vote that it took months of work to produce a balanced spending plan.

“This budget cycle demanded more of us than any in recent memory,” said Turner. “The needs were significant, the constraints were real and the decisions before us often were very difficult.”

The budget includes about $40 million in cuts, including $8.5 million over two years from the ADAMHS Board, an agency that oversees mental health and addicti

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