Cleveland regularly borrows money to fix up streets, repair recreation centers, buy new vehicles and make other brick-and-mortar upgrades to property the city owns.
This year, City Hall is doing things differently. It is paying up front in cash, a move Finance Director Paul Barrett said will launch projects faster and save on borrowing costs.
The source of that cash: the General Fund’s $91 million surplus from last year. Cleveland will borrow money at the end of the year to reimburse itself for the cash it spent on capital projects…