Council passes a flood of legislation in final 2022 meeting; Division of Children and Family Services short staffed

Meeting coverage by Cleveland Documenters | Compiled by Signal Cleveland’s Doug Breehl-Pitorak

Here’s what happened last week in local public government meetings covered by Cleveland Documenters.

Cleveland Public Meetings Report – The week of Dec. 5, 2022

Council committee advances loads of legislation ahead of year’s final meeting

Dec. 5 – Committee of the Whole, Cleveland City Council
Covered by Documenters Daniel McLaughlin, Gennifer Harding-Gosnell, Marvetta Rutherford, and Tina Scott

City officials pack the Mercedes Cotner Committee Room at City Hall on Dec. 5 to discuss legislation before council’s last regular meeting of 2022. (Credit: Cleveland City Council YouTube / Org: Cleveland City Council).

What happened: City Council met as a Committee of the Whole for more than eight hours on Dec. 5. Four Documenters split up the task of covering the marathon meeting. Council members discussed and advanced dozens of emergency ordinances ahead of the final regular meeting of 2022 later that night. Here are some items that the committee approved and that the full council passed at its 7 p.m. meeting:

Paid safe leave: Full and part-time city employees who are victims or who are a parent or guardian of a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking get paid leave. The legislation applies only to non-union employees. Ward 17 Council Member Charles Slife said council amended the legislation to require the administration to provide updates on whether city worker unions also get a paid safe leave policy.
East Side lakefront study: The city contributes $150,000 to a study assessing proposed greenspace along Lake Erie on the city’s East Side. Partners include the Cleveland MetroParks, the Port of Cleveland, Black Environmental Leaders, and others. Kelly Coffman, principal planner with the MetroParks, said funders have committed $6 million for construction and engineering. Coffman added that the total cost of development would be about $300 million.
Compost at West Side Market: Rust Belt Riders will run a pilot compost program at the West Side Market. Sarah O’Keeffe, Cleveland’s director of sustainability and climate justice, said Rust Belt Riders will send some of the compost materials to the Rid-All Green Partnership in Kinsman. Ward 8 Council Member Mike Polensek said he wants the administration to create a residential composting program.

Left wondering: Documenter Daniel McLaughlin asked, “Why is so much crammed into this last meeting of the year, anyway? How much of it has an urgent or hard deadline at the end of 2022? How much of it could have just as easily waited until next year?”

Curious about how council moves legislation? Check out our one-page guide to council’s legislative process.

Community members call for participatory budgeting, commend legislation for wage theft and paid safe leave

Dec. 5 – Cleveland City Council
Covered by Documenters Kellie Morris and Jenna Thomas

Ward 3 resident Ellen Kubit talks about participatory budgeting. (Credit: Cleveland City Council YouTube / Org: Cleveland City Council).

What happened: Eight community members wrapped up public comment for 2022. Ward 15 resident Sabrina Otis thanked council for passing paid safe leave legislation. Justin Strekal, of Guardians for Fair Work, thanked community leaders and city officials for taking a stand against wage theft. Half of the speakers urged the city to support participatory budgeting, a process allowing community members to decide part of the city budget. Budget hearings typically begin in February. Rosie Palfy, a community advocate (and Cleveland Documenter) spoke about the uncertain state of the Mental Health Response Advisory Committee (MHRAC). Palfy serves on the committee. The Cuyahoga County Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services Board informed the city in early November that it would no longer lead MHRAC, leaving it to complete city control. “That was 31 days ago. We have not heard anything from Cleveland Division of Police or the administration,” Palfy said. “We have not heard anything about the future plans for moving forward.” Lots of legislation: Council passed 55 city laws at its last meeting of the year. Here are some examples:

Lease for police headquarters: The city renewed the space it leases at the Justice Center for its police headquarters. It’s a space the city previously owned and sold to the county for $9.25 million in 2018. “This piece of legislation here may go down in history as one of the biggest dupes that the city ever got,” said Ward 16 Council Member Brian Kazy in the Committee of the Whole meeting earlier that day. Kazy voted against the legislation. Signal Cleveland’s Paul Rochford reported that the city is on track to pay more in rent than it earned from the sale.
Wage theft: The city will not contract with companies that have engaged in wage theft, which could mean not paying workers minimum wage or stealing workers’ tips. In the Committee of the Whole Meeting, Ward 15 Council Member Jenny Spencer spoke about funding community education around wage theft. Guardians for Fair Work pushed for this legislation. Signal Cleveland’s Olivera Perkins has more.
ARPA shuffling: The city created a “Strategic Priority Subfund.” It will transfer $215 million from the General Fund into the new fund. The $215 million was American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money the city received in the summer, said Chief Finance Officer Ahmed Abonamah in the Committee of the Whole Meeting. He said the ARPA requirements — summarized here — gives cities options to calculate actual revenue loss due to the pandemic. That amount — $215 million — can go into the General Fund for typical government services. Moving the money to the Strategic Priority Subfund is partly for transparency, Abonamah said. He added that the federal restrictions tied to ARPA funds do not apply to this money. However, the city’s legislation does require the city to spend money from the subfund on previously identified ARPA uses, such as housing for all and violence prevention.

And also: Council approved all 13 nominees to the Community Police Commission, which has final say over police discipline. Signal Cleveland’s Stephanie Casanova has more.

You can also watch the full public comments or read transcripts edited by Documenter Carolyn Cooper on Public Comment CLE (website created by Ohio City resident Angelo Trivisonno).

DCFS Advisory Board discusses staff vacancies

Dec. 5 – Cuyahoga County Division of Family Services Advisory Board
Covered by Documenter Daniel McLaughlin

Jacqueline Fletcher, interim director of the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS), talks to the advisory board. (Credit: Image taken of meeting on Zoom by Documenter Daniel McLaughlin).

What happened: The Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Advisory Board advises leadership of the Cuyahoga County agency. It discussed several issues in this meeting. A board member asked whether kids are still staying overnight at the Jane Edna Hunter officer building. DCFS Interim Director Jacqueline Fletcher said there are. Fletcher said The Centers, a social services organization, is setting up eight emergency beds to help address the issue.

Caseworker shortage: Advisory Board Member David Crampton spoke about DCFS staffing levels. Of the 516 available full-time caseworker positions, 133 are vacant (more than 25 percent of them). The starting salary is $26 per hour. The vacancies are likely due to burnout, Crampton said.

And also: The board discussed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between DCFS and law enforcement agencies. It is about reporting child abuse and neglect. At the time of the meeting, 52 law enforcement entities out of a possible 93 had signed the updated memorandum. The Cleveland Division of Police had not yet signed.

Wondering about support services for youth experiencing homelessness? Learn more about some options on the county website.

A Look Back
Highlights of the Dec. 2 City Planning Commission meeting

City accepting public input on townhouse code through Jan. 5

Dec. 2 – City Planning Commission
Covered by Documenters Marvetta Rutherford and Christina Easter

City Planner Shannan Leonard presents the city’s goals with updating the townhouse code. (Credit: City Planning Commission YouTube / Org: Cleveland City Planning).

What happened: The commission discussed potential updates to the city’s townhouse code. Residents can provide public input on the proposal through Jan. 5. The commission also approved the Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute expansion. And, an Ohio City funeral home is set to become a suit-fitting shop and will feature entertainment and speakeasy spaces.

Director of City Planning Joyce Pan Huang discussed her vision for the department at a June 28 City Club forum on Public Square. Check out this Twitter thread by Signal Cleveland’s Paul Rochford for a recap of the conversation.

Civic Term of the Week:

Curious about more local-government lingo? Check out this glossary of terms from Signal Cleveland’s Paul Rochford.

What’s ahead?

A look at the meetings Documenters are set to cover the week of Dec. 12.

Dec. 12