City Council passed The $380 million 2025 Capital Budget last Monday evening and there were a number of green initiatives included in this year’s budget.
First off, we’re adding $750,000 for the planting of 1800 new street trees in the City. While most of these will not be in Ward 8 (we are the greenest ward in Akron), the benefits of these additional trees will reach all of Akron. Trees are planned for the south and southwest portions of Akron where our tree canopy coverage is limited the most. As we all know, trees help to remove pollutants and carbon monoxide from the air, lower rates of respiratory disease along with other physical and psychological benefits.
We also tentatively plan to provide 370 homes with solar panels through a federal grant program from the Solar For All Program. We expect $2.8 million from the grant that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help residents save on electric bills. The tentative part comes from the freeze on Federal grants and loans by President Trump, but the order was lifted on January 29 after it was paused by a federal court.
Akron is still determining eligibility requirements but this program will target lower income residents, stay tuned for further details.
