Murders, evictions and more: What are the top issues Akron's next mayor will need to tackle?

The next mayor of Akron will undoubtedly face many challenges .

On Tuesday, Akron residents will decide which of seven Democratic candidates they want to lead the city through these and other issues. With no Republican in the race, the top vote-getting Democrat in Tuesday's primary will almost certainly become Akron’s next mayor in 2024.

The pivotal election comes in the wake of the grand jury's divisive decision not to indict police officers who fatally shot Jayland Walker last summer.

Here's a look at which issues Akron voters want their new leader to prioritize, along with some key benchmarks that show the state of the city today:

Akron mayor's race poll results: These 3 candidates are in a virtual tie in the Akron mayoral race

Guns and gun violence, roads, crime, police brutality among top issues for Akron voters

Nothing is more important to the general public than a mayor who can curb gun violence, which is behind 90% of all murders and the top issue raised by Akronites this year in the Akron Decides survey.

Akron Decides poll results: Crime, Jayland Walker dominate public opinion in Akron mayor’s race

Murders in Akron reach record highs in recent years

Most crimes have declined in Akron in the past two decades, but murders have been on the rise.

Gun-related crimes more than quadruple in Akron before falling

Firearm-related crimes more than quadrupled in Akron from 2013 to 2020 before falling these past two years, according to a Beacon Journal analysis of police data. Akron police attribute some of the decline in 2022 to a new state law that prevents them from arresting some people who carry concealed weapons without permits, which are no longer needed.

Firearm-related incidents were up 13% at the start of this year.

Most crime actually declining in Akron

Except for murders and gun-related crimes, nearly every other major categories of crime has declined.

Half as many arsons are reported today, compared to the 1980s and 1990s. Burglaries, which peaked above 4,300 in 2010 and 2011, fell to 1,370 last year, the lowest level on record.

Auto thefts, which were consistently over 2,000 a year in the early 2000s, have been under 1,000 for the past decade. Thefts in general are half what they were 25 years ago.

And robberies, which nearly hit 1,000 in the early 1990s, were just 237 last year.

Fewer police patrolling Akron streets

The number of officers on patrol, along with reported crime, peaked in the late 1990s when the Akron Police Department averaged 493 uniforms officers. Staffing tumbled for a few years after the Great Recession but has bounced back, albeit not to where it once was.

Average staffing of 450 these past few years is about 9% below the high-water mark from 25 years ago.

Akron rental market growing faster than most big Ohio cities

Among the nine largest cities in Ohio, Akron has a faster growing rental market, in terms of the portion of all housing units, than all but Canton, Toledo and Mansfield, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Average rent in the decade before the pandemic also grew faster in Akron than everywhere but Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Youngstown and the rest of Summit County.

Vast majority of new homes planned in Akron in 2022 are big and expensive

Last year, builders pulled 48 permits for new single-family homes in Akron, according to a Beacon Journal analysis of county data. Only three of these 48 permits proposed homes with square footage below 2,000. And many are selling for nearly $300,000 or more.

Half of the permits are tied to K. Hovnanian's Auld Farms development of Diagonal Road. The city sold that lot to the developer for $1 to incentivize the project. The deal underscores the difficulty of finding price points that developers and homebuyers can afford. Meanwhile, K. Hovnanian's new two-story homes averaging about 2,400 square feet are selling for around $293,000.

Akron's eviction rate, already among worst in U.S., climbing again

Akron's eviction rate was among the worst in the nation before getting even worse heading into the pandemic. Federal rental assistance, enhanced unemployment benefits and other interventions tamped down the new court filings for a few month.

But Akron's eviction filings have rebounded — a potential crisis for a city in which about half its residents are renters.

Akron's population continues to decline

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that Akron shed 26,605 people from 2000 to 2020. That's more people than currently reside in Barberton.

The 12% population decline puts Akron in the middle of the pack among Ohio's major cities, which are all shrinking with the exception of Columbus.

Despite accounting for less than 10% of the entire city, Asian and Hispanic people have nearly doubled their respective populations in Akron since 2010. Fueled by an influx of Bhutanese and other refugees, Akron's Asian population climbed from 4,567 in 2010 to 8,750 in 2021 while the Hispanic population jumped from 3,990 to 7,451.

2020 Census highlights: Five things the 2020 census results tell us about Summit County

Sewer debt weighs down Akron's debt load

For the first time since 2011, Akron's outstanding public debt decreased last year, from $1.24 billion to $1.23 billion, even as borrowing by the city for a federally mandated sewer project continues to climb.

The sewer project, which began in earnest in 2014, has single-handedly doubled the city's debt load.

What to know about Akron's 2023 budget: Taxes, contracts, overtime and medical debt relief

Mayor Horrigan has successfully negotiated and signed two amendments to the original 2014 consent decree. Along with better financing and engineering, these tweaks have shaved hundreds of millions of dollars off the total cost of the project. The United States government, in a filing this month, is preparing to accept Horrigan's third proposed amendment. And the mayor is shooting for a fourth agreement to eliminate remaining projects.

Akron's next mayor will continue to grapple with ways to ease the cost of soaring water and sewer bills for residents and businesses.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Crime, evictions, sewer rates among key issues facing next Akron mayor