Thread by @DocumenterK

Hi, I'm Keith and I'll be live-tweeting today's Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021, Cleveland City Council's Finance Committee: General Fund Budget Hearings (Day 1, Part II) starting at 1:00 PM for #CLEDocumenters @cledocumenters @NeighborUpCle

If you're just tuning in and want a refresher read Cleveland Documenters' Cleveland’s Budget - A Primer

docs.google.com/document/d/1kx…

Join and watch the streaming of the Cleveland City Council's Finance Committee General Fund Budget Hearing here,

Ward 11's Brian Mooney asks Cleveland's Mayor Frank Jackson,

"What is the status of Cleveland's recyclying program?"

Mayor Jackson replies,

Last week the consultants brief me. The plan is much broader than recycling. It is general waste, bulk items, and recycling.

Ward 16's Brian Kazy is present and states to Mayor Jackson,

"Cleveland has 32 elected officials. 14 of them work in the Justice Center. 18 are elected ward wide. You are the only one elected city wide and are responsible for providing the city services.

Ward 16's Kazy continues,

We help oversee it but ultimately it is on you. ... One of the services that people take for granted until it is gone is the public utilities. The Water department is a service like no other. ... The other one is CPP (Cleveland Public Power).

Ward 16's Kazy continues,

Mayor Jackson, you said any business that will hurt the City of Cleveland we will not do business with. I want to thank you for that. ... I know that this is an issue coming up. CPP is not providing a service based on race, color, or creed.

Mayor Jackson responds,

Let me respond by another quote, 'What's the truth got to do with it?' You are absolutely correct in a political year people will say whatever they want for their advantage.

Mayor Jackson continues,

The key question here is whether or not what we are saying is in line with what we do and whether the position we taek aligns with the people versus the corporate interests. ... CPP is out asset. There is an attempt to undermine that asset.

Mayor Jackson continues,

There are people going into court to say it has been racially run and have engaged in a campaign to claim they are the saviors of CPP when in fact they may be working for another agent.

Mayor Jackson continues,

Anything of value or worth is either owned by or controlled by the City of Cleveland. There are those who covet those assets. Their whole agenda is those assets. That means you and me must focus on these assets.

Mayor Jackson concludes,

We must guarantee they (the assets Cleveland owns such as CPP, the airport, the West Side Market) are providing the services to the people. We cannot necessarily focus on the others.

Ward 1 Joe Jones would like to take a break.

It's been 4 and 1/2 hours. When will we take a 1 hour break?

Ward 13's Council President Kevin J. Kelly,

We will not be taking breaks today as we are behind. This is up to the discretion of the Committee Chair to decide. All are welcome to take breaks as needed.

Ward 13's Kelly continues,

We will continue with the agenda. ... I will go out of order and read City Planning Commission.

Council Staff Anee Tillie read Pages 122 to Page 124 as well as Page 126.

Director Freddy Collier is the director of the City Planning Commission.

We are a 7-member body: 6 are appointed by the Mayor, 1 by City Council. ... We focus on design and zoning regulation. We also have under our umbrella landmarks and the board of zoning appeals.

Director Collier continues,

2021 is a pretty aggressive year. We have a multitude of projects going on. I will leave it at the micro level and take questions.

Ward 13's Kelly asks,

Does this project provide for you to be sufficient in 2021?

Dir Collier responds,

Yes,

Ward 1 Jones states,

I will talk to you about inequity in the City of Cleveland. ... We talked about how there has been a lack of community investment as related to our financial institutions. We see how certain communities (Detroit Shoreway, Tremont, Ohio City) have improved.

Ward 1 Jones continues,

There is a night and day difference. ... As I understand part of your job is putting together comprehensive neighborhood plans. What are your plans for the Lee-Harvard Community?

Director Collier responds,

There are policies historically that have lead to this as well as market dynamics. The third prong is what are we doing about it and our role. For the last decade we have moved according to the city wide plan.

Director Collier continues,

What has occurred in the last 15 years is that you've seen neighborhoods emerged. There are others, which you refer to as middle neighborhoods, ... with respect to what you are referencing that middle agenda approach is how we will revitalize those

Director Collier continues,

neighborhoods. Housing cannot do it alone. Even if you improve housing stock you need commercial activity. Middle neighborhoods is a companion approach to the Mayor's plan.

Ward 1 Jones responds,

I want to get into the granular. ... The East Side Development Corporations do not work. ... What tools do you have at your disposal to improve the financial commercial districts on the East Side?

Director Collier asks to share his screen.

An argument breaks out.

Council President Kelly is frustrated as Ward 1's Jones for the amount of time he is taking to question Director Collier.

Ward 1's Jones is upset at being rushed and insists that this is the time to address the finances for the next year.

Council President Kelly quips this is not an open mic night. There are 16 other members.

Director Collier shares his screen and answers Ward 1's Jones questions,

The Mayor's approach is about triaging. ... On the screen is our current toolbox at our disposal. Home repair and targeted home destruction are two examples of tools.

Director Collier continues,

The Mayor has recognized that the historical policies and tools has not worked. ... We are currently innovating. ...

Ward 1's Jones responds,

What is triage? Which communities are being considered? What will happen to the other communities that are not selected?

Ward 1's Jones and Director Collier engaged in an exchange of words. Director Collier appears to be frustrated at the pointed questions from Ward 1's Jones. ard 1's Jones seeks to correct the record after the exchange of words.

Ward 1 Jones concludes with another question,

What kind of tools can you provide to us to help?

Director Collier,

We are not a financial department. Money does not come from our department. Our role is planning, advocacy, and engagement. ... If you review the charter you will see what our role is. ... The question is always, how resource are those programs?

Director Collier responds,

And, how can they be applied for the most effectiveness to help our city? Through the Neighborhood Transformation and the Middle Neighborhoods we are attempting to do this.

Ward 7 Basheer Jones is present,

He asks,

1) How many planners do you have?
2) Is that amount sufficient?

He seconds Ward 1 Joesph T Jones perspective.

NOTE: Highlighted speaker is in green.

Ward 7 Basheer Jones continues,

3) With everything going on with regards to investment, how do we make the boards more efficient? When people want to develop but they have to go through various boards they may become frustrated and abandon projects.

Director Collier responds,

I'm learning I need to shut up. *Laughs* First, the third question - our boards are great. ...We do that through design review, zoning and regulations - part of the reason we are updating zoning is to spend less time having to express what we want.

Ward 7 Jones responds,

I disagree with you about the boards. I would like that we really look at these charters. We can't handle 21st century problems in an 18th century way...I am just not sure that all these boards are efficient...We have to find a more efficient way

Ward 7 Jones continues,

1) We have a debate on the able in regards to AMI. Will the increase of it increase productivity or will it not? I think it's a problem that 35% needs to be increased because we have a large portion that are impoverished.

Ward 7 Jones continues,

Too rich to get support but too poor to fix their homes. What happen is that it's too many taxes, not enough equity. ... Future generations don't want to take care of their homes. ... So, I would like to hear you comment on AMI.

Director Collier responds,

Who gets land resources actually does matter as that speaks to prosects of wealth creation. These are city owned assets that we have to determine they can be best utilized to create a tax base.

Director Collier continues,

Our residents have been given ample opportunity to acquire land. ... Part of this notion of us stewarding our development is a focus on the land bank. Land has value. Once you dispose of land you don't get it bank.

Director Collier,

Either it will support the city's tax base or it won't.

As for the circumstances we are in, we do what we have to do. Of course having more staff would help but we do what we have to do.

Ward 8's Polensek is present and comments,

As for Ward 1 Joe Jones comments, I have the historical perspective. Lee-Harvard was one of the finest neighborhoods. What has happened over the years is that areas like Lee-Harvard, Glenville,

Ward 8's Polensek continues,

and Collinwood were left to fend for themselves, to slide.

This isn't just the Councilman. This is our constituents. There is a perspective the city is just focused on certain neighborhoods. ... We have been left to fend for ourselves.

Ward 8's Polensek continues,

So I am glad to hear the City is rethinking their approach.
It's not that Councilman Jones is angry at you, it's that our citizens believe - there is a perception the city only focus on certain neighborhoods.

Ward 8's Polensek continues,

The city has to make a concerted effort to address this perception. ... Our constituents believe there have been winners and losers.

Director Collier responds,

These things are coming. We've got a big elephant we have to tackle. We've got to take these chunks until we can consume it. We aren't one to make excuses. The reality is the narrative is often wrong.

Director Collier continues,

It is important to be clean and effective about the truth. ... All I can do is present the plans to you and you guys can decide how to legislate.

Ward 8's Polensek concludes,

I've stated my perspective and understanding. I look forward to the future of working with you.

Ward 6's Griffin is present and he states,

We can never lose sight. Some of these neighborhoods we talk about targeting now have faced years of disinvestment. We do have to recognize that. I really want these neighborhoods to succeed.

Ward 5's Giffin continues,

I hope we look at global policies on how to make every neighborhood to thrive. ... I hope we don't devolve into who gets what.

How do we focus on a neighborhood that has a lot of land but little housing?

Director Collier continues,

Every neighborhood has assets it can build off of. At E.93rd and Buckeye is a transit station. A new housing development is in works near the station. For some, that is an attractive rationale to live in an area.

Director Collier continues,

As you get more people in your neighborhood the prospect of building up becomes more plausible. Retail needs bodies. ...

It takes a lot of rigorous work to correct the wrongs of the past. ...

Director Collier continues,

This is why we talk about going into communities and triaging them. This is not a one size fits all approach.

Ward 6's Griffin,

Why don't you guys break it down to a more granular census type of data?

Director Collier responds,

These geographic boundaries are drawn for different reasons. Census tracks are obviously within SPAs. ... There is a different rationale for why you draw these boundaires. Will we get to a point where everything is aligned? I don't know.

Director Collier continues,

I don't think so. The system is not designed that way currently. We have not strategized around aligning all those boundaries. The boundaries are there for different purposes and have different rationales.

Ward 6's Griffin responds,

I really think we need to have a policy book...we need a document that the people of the neighborhood can strive for. ... Thank you Director Collier to you and your team.

Ward 15 Jenny Spencer is present and comments,

The approach really does require a neighborhood specific approach to apply the policy tools.

For my colleagues, in a neighborhood where we have a strong housing market, it creates other issues such as displacement.

Ward 15 Spencer continues,

We, my Constituents have two specific concerns. There is a really strong specific and concern about town homes and luxury apartments. A lot of concern about whether the market exists for these. So I look forward to having continued conversations.

City Council is getting giddy. People are laughing.

The City Council is not transition to Board of Zoning Appeals, tsarting at page 108.

Elizabeth Kukla is the Secretary of Board of Zoning Appeals and is present,

Board of Zoning Appeals is a five-member board, with two staff, and a court reporter. We hear approximately 350 cases a year with a 25,000 revenue. Most are variance cases though some are administrative.

Secretary Kukla continues,

This year our revenue as 18,000 with 218 cases due to pandemic. Our budget is in order and everything looks good.

Ward 8's Polensek is present and asks Secretary Kukla,

You are still doing direct mail for affected parties? What has been your response?

Secretary Kukla,

We did not have any issues until about a little before Christmas. It has been fine since.

Ward 8's Polensek,

Is it first class?

Secretary Kukla,

No, we just do direct standard.

Ward 8's Polensek,

There is no back up, currently? All cases are being held in a reasonable time?

Secretary Kukla,

Yes, that is correct, within 3 to 4 weeks.

Ward 1 Jones has the floor,

I commend Secretary Kukla's timeliness and quick turn around in answering. I really appreciate you. ... I think she is wonderful.

City Council has moved to Board of Building Standards and appeals, page 105 to page 107.

Carmella Davis is present for the Board of Building Standards and Appeals she states,

We are five-member board. I am satisfied with the budget as is.

Ward 1 Jones,

What's your volume you handle an annual basis? Will you give an example of one of those?

Sec Davis responds

300 to 400 cases typically. We received about 100 dockets for 2020. Most of our cases our code violations for housing.

Ward 1 Jones,

I did not know you handled code violations. You hear the appeals from the building and housing violations?

Sec Davis,

Yes, if the appellant feels they cannot get it done in 30 days they appeal to the board to get it done.

Ward 1 Jones,

I would like to talk more about this process. Please call me at 216-355-0017.

Ward 3 McCormack has the floor,

Secretary Davis is always on top of it and I want to thank you.

City Council has moved on to Landmarks Commision, on page 101.

Donald Petit, Secretary of Landmark Commission is present.

We are an eleven (11) member board with two (2) positions open. Seven members are appointed by the Mayor, two by the City
Council President, and two serve by virtue of office. There are two full time staff members.

Ward 8's Polensek states,

Over the years, we have landmarked a large amount of property in the City of Cleveland. We've seen these historic properties become abandoned. Have there been any internal discussions with City Planning on how to repair these?

Secretary Petit responds,

We do our best to respond and work with CDCs. ... The more we do the better off we are. You know, we've always talked about a fund to put in place to provide for minimum maintenance. It's always a struggle. I don't have a great answer for you.

Ward 8 Polensek responds,

Has there been any discussion about setting aside a percentage of the money acquired from permits?

Cheif Sharron responds,

No, there have been no internal discussions.

Ward 8 Polensek ponders,

Perhaps we can create a fund, an earmark that is tied to something to set aside some type of money to maintain or repair these properties.

City Cleveland Council transitions to the Boxing and Wresting Commission, pages 127 to page 129.

Chairman and Coach Abdul A. Muhaymin is present. He is using Herman Jackson's computer, and states,

Everything is quiet. Mainly making sure no illegal fighting is happening.

Ward 7 Basheer Jones asks,

Why isn't there more money allocated to this group?

Chief Sharon responds,

It isn't required and wasn't requested.

Ward 7 Basheer Jones states,

I think they deserve more money, as there are some great boxers coming out of the City of Cleveland. I think we should be proactive in our funding for groups like this.

Ward 1 Jones and Chairman-Coach Muhaymin discuss the nature of the activities of the Boxing and Wrestling Commission.

Chairman-Coach Muhaymin,

"All we do is make sure there is no illegal boxing. ... We have a meeting once a month to talk about what is going on."

Ward 1 Jones has several questions,

Does the Sports Commission do any promotions for these events?
Do you know how much money we give the sports commission?

Chief Sharon Dumas responds,

I do not know. I will look into it to identify the specific nature of these relationships.

Ward 9 Conwell,

I second Ward 7 Basheer Jones and Ward 1 Joe Jones comments about boxing.

The Boxing and Wrestling Commission has $28,884 allocated to it for the 2021 year. Various ward members are interested in increasing this amount

Michael Cox, Director of Public Works is present and provides additional information about boxing,

Recreation Centers have boxing matches. We provide the equipment. We do not charge for boxing matches. ... It is great for the kids, help them get aggression out.

Director Cox continues,

We were building the program up but had to slow down to the pandemic. ... We will rebuild the program as we get out of this pandemic. I appreciate everything you are saying.

Ward 7 Jones,

I will be honest with you director, the programs are sufficient. The gear isn't in great shape. There is nothing in Sterling Rec centers. ... We need to be proactive. ... This is a proactive program that can ultimately decrease crime and bring money to the city.

Wad 7 Basheer Jones,

I'm jealous of Councilman Polensek's recreation center in Collinwood.

Director Cox responds,

Last year Mayor Jackson said the same thing. He gave me 100,000 for equipment for our Rec Centers for boxing. We do agree but what has happened was the pandemic.

Ward 9 Conwell responds to Director Cox,

I disagree that we have to wait. We need to start doing it right now. Let's get the youth in there and start training them to boxing.

Director Cox responds,

Training has not stopped. Our shows have stopped.

Ward 1's Joe Jones asks his earlier questions.

Director Cox responds,

We do not give any to the Sports Commission (from Public Works).

Ward 12 Brancatelli responds,

Economic development does but will have to see how much.

City Council transitions to Office of Sustainability, Pages 130-134

Chief Dr. Jason Wood is present and reviews the Office's budget and priorities,

He notes the bulk of the budget is Salaries - $641,086 out of $1,122,905

Ward 1 Jones asks,

Do you have a list of the savings that Office of Sustainability has affected?

NOTE: Chief Woods has his question answered by someone else. His voice is hard to hear and will need to be reviewed later.

Chief Wood continues,

We were looking at electric, gas, and water usage in those areas. We were tracking and monitoring through our energy cap system. ... To help identify trends.

Ward 1 Jones follow-ups,

Is there any materials that support that? So, we can have a better understanding of what you actually do.

Chief Woods,

We can certainly provide some documents.

Ward12 Brancatelli notes,

There are publications on their website as well.

city.cleveland.oh.us/taxonomy/term/…

Ward 1 Jones asked several additional questions about the Office of Sustainability concerning the employees of the office & the work they conduct. Chief Wood notes that the 11 employees have helped out in other departments during the pandemic but their primary focus is internal.

Ward 9 Conwell and Chief Wood talk about the electric cars and changes in emissions due to less cars being on the road. Councilmember Conwell will continue the conversation another time.

Ward 7 Jones has the floor,

One thing I am seeing is that we have a whole lot of planning but there is nothing that comes out of it.

1) We should have our own recycling plant. I think it would be a great investment.

Ward 7 Jones continues,

2) Around solar, and green energy, are we utilizing the largest fresh body of water our waters as we should or do we just have a plan?

Energy should not be a problem for us here next to the Lake.

Ward 7 Jones continues,

Again, is there a plan for dumping? What do you think about investing in a recycling plant?

Chief Woods responds,

Generally, what we think about is a material recycling facility. They are various labor extensive, requires a lot of upfront capital. ... What does a roadmap look like? What are the market opportunities to support recycling? ...

Chief Woods responds,

You are absolutely about plans. Mayor Jackson has the same critiques. That's what we like about this grant is that it includes funding for implementation.

NOTE: the document Chief Woods is reflecting on is not currently available to the Council

Chief Woods continues,

You are absolutely right about the lake ... but we are focused on solar.

Ward 7 Jones comments,

Your department is very important. We have to find creative ways to make money with the assets that the City of Cleveland has.

Ward 15 Spencer asks,

What is Circular Cleveland? How did that grant come about?

Chief Woods responds,

The grant came about around the time of beginning of COVID-19. ... We were 1 of 6. ... The funder is the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Ward 12 Brancatelli comments we will have a presentation about this at the DPS hearing.

Finance Committee reviews the budget for Council and Clerk of Council, Page 82 to 86.

Patricia J. Britt, Clerk Of Council is present and has the floor for any questions.

She comments there are several vacancies in the department.

Ward 8 Polensek requests for a list of the individuals and there current salaries.

Ward 7 Basheer Jones has the floor,

It would be really great if we could get peoples name out there and their job descriptions so we know what people do.

City Council Finance Committee has transitioned to the budget of the Office of the Mayor, pages 87-90.

Sharon Dumas, Chief/Director of Finance is present and has the floor.

She summarized the budget and will take any questions from the Finance Committee.

Finance Committee reviews the budget for the Office of Prevention, Intervention, and Opportunity, pages 138-141

Tracy Martin-Thompson, Chief of the Office is present and has the floor.

She summarizes the purpose of Office, upcoming programs, and the budget.

She notes the bulk of her funds are staffing and contracted services.

Chief Martin-Thompson talks about the programs detailed on the pages 138 and 139 of the budget.

She notes that Program Area 2 Job and Career Readiness (Targeted Group: Adults Ages 18 and up) requires a different level of professional development to address this particular challenge so PIOYYA has contracted with Cleveland State University.

PIOYYA has partnered with Case Western Reserve University to address the area of Health and Wellness (Targeted Groups: Youth Grades K-12 and Adults Ages 18 and up). They have also teamed up with CWRU to expand access.

Ward 13 Kelly asks,

You used your entire budget for contractual services in 2020 despite the Pandemic, what did you spend it on?

Chief Martin-Thompson responds,

We developed hybrid programs that responded to the needs of the community.

Ward 9 Conwell talks about potential relationship with OMJ and another program Series (sp?) [which was hard to hear]

Ward 7 Basheer Jones commends Chief Martin-Thompson for the work she does. He asks Chief Martin-Thompson if they've had any issues with service providers.

Chief Martin-Thompson responds,

We have not had any issues with service providers responding to our feedback. We do have to eliminate programs based on use and need.

Ward 10 Hairston is present, he commends the Chief, and asks,

Are you working on the issues of literacy?

Chief Martin-Thompson responds,

We do look to provide literacy programs in rec programs based on need compiled from the data we collect.

Ward 10 Hairston asks,

Have we looked at partnering with organizations like Collinwood Reads, which is a teacher driven program that focuses on literacy and other aspects? Are we working with these small neighborhood programs?

Chief Martin-Thompson responds,

We issue an RFP. The organizations have to respond to the RFP. We are always open to working with organizations. We can issue the Councilmember RFPs to help spread the word about how to start the process of working with the PIOYYA.

Ward 1 Joe Jones has on the floor and asks,

"What other job duties do you have?"

Chief M-T responds, "PIOYYA, Department of Health, and Community Relations Board"

Ward 1 Joe Jones,

"I do want to talk about my key disappointment about how the Department of Health has dropped the ball since I've been elected the past 3 1/2 year but will wait until another time. I will focus on PIOYYA's six areas of focus."

Ward 1 Jones, "How much did we spend in 2020 for contractual services?"

Chief Martin-Thompson responds, "I can get you that."

Chief Dumas responds, "I would prefer to wait for the right number."

Chief Dumas, "We are contracted for the whole $3,450,000 despite COVID not permitting some of these to move forward. Chief M-T will be able to review and see what was produced."

Ward 1 Jones asks a series of questions about the program to Chief Martin-Thompson and she answers to the best of her ability. She promises to follow up with additional information for the councilmember.

Ward 6 Griffin asks,

The new County gov lead to social services being eliminated. As a city we are picking it up. Are we talking with the County to see if they can provide financial support?

Chief M-T responds, "I have not. Some conversation but not to that level."

Ward 6 Griffin reflects on the communication of systems,

The best system we've seen is the BRICK system in Boston. All of these systems communicate with each other. 1 of the problems I see is that one system will help a family but they are also communicating with other systems.

Ward 6 Griffin continues, "It leads to confusion and the systems aren't talking with each other."

Chief Martin-Thompson responds,

"We are looking at a program CMSD is using for their Say Yes initiative as we do want to streamline to make it easier for individuals.

Ward 15 Spencer asks,

Are the summer youth programs brand new or have they been around for a while?

Chief Martin-Thompson responds,

Yes, they've been around a while. Two years ago we created additional components and would like to build upon this year.

Ward 15 Spencer enquires about the various youth programs with PIOYYA, specifically Youth Opportunities Unlimited.

Chief Martin-Thompson explains, "Y.O.U helps identify applicants and employers, collects applications, career planning. There are other components ... "

Ward 15 Spencer asks, "Youth Opportunities Unlimited is the entry point to participate in these programs?"

Chief Martin-Thompson answers, "Yes,"

Ward 15 Spencer asks, "How many position are available?"

Chief Martin-Thompson answers, "About 200, pre-COVID it was about 500."

Finance Committee reviews the budget for Office of Quality Control and Performance Engagement, pages 97-100.

Sabra T. Scott Director of the program is present, has the floor, and is explaining the office, their work, and their budget.

Ward 13 Kelly comments,

"It doesn't seem like COVID interrupted your budget too much. Is that correct?"

Director Scott confirms this and notes one employee.

Ward 13 Kelly asks, "Do you have written products and reports the Council can review?"

Director Scott, "Yes, usually it belongs to department but we should be able to produce the work."

Ward 7 Basheer Jones,

"I never knew this department existed. This is my own ignorance. It seems some of our issues should be addressed to this department. My question, if a department does not live up to what it is supposed to do, your department would review?"

Director Scott,

"Yes, if they ask for it or it has been referred to us."

Ward 7 Jones, "How does this process work?"

Director Scott, "On operations and administrative work, most of the time if a department is with us it is because if we find a dep is lagging in a certain area so we will provide them guidance with how to make them more effiecent."

Ward 7 Jones, "Why don't we get this information? Is it an internal reason?"

Director Scott, "Yes, we are an internal resource for these departments."

Ward 13 Kelly, "We can certainly have access to these documents even if we need to have a hearing."

Ward 7 Jones, "Thank you, I think it'll be important for us to have access. How else will we know if a department is being responsive?"

Chief/ Director Dumas responds,

"Well, what happens is that a department generally reaches out to them or they tried implement a process that has failed to produce a result. It is not a convicting or fault-finding process, it is not like an audit. It is process improvement."

Ward 7 Basheer Jones,

"I understand. I think we should know these things so we can share how we are getting better as a city or if not, how we can assist to fix it."

Ward 1 Joe Jones comments,

"When I look at 2018 budget program for your dept there was request for ~1.4 million dollars. This year you only spent 962 thousand. We have the same kind of pattern. Yet, our staffing levels are 13. Did we lose any staff?

Ward 1 Joe Jones continues, "How is it we budgeted for this amount but still have the same staffing levels?"

Director Scott, "There was a reclassification which means we have the same amount of people but with decreased salaries.

Ward 1 Joe Jones, "This department doesn't keep records?"

Director Scott, "We keep records."

Ward 1 Joe Jones, "So you can provide us with the documents and not go to the other departments?"

Director Scott, "I would review it with my Chief who is Chief Dumas."

Ward 1 Joe Jones, "Chief, is that work product available to the Council?"

Chief Dumas, "Yes, the work product is available upon request."

Ward 1 Joe Jones, "Well, I would like to request that. ... I'm kind of like not totally understand the department...So, if you could share"

Chief Dumas, "After every hearing we have, your staff composes a list from all of the hearings of Council requests that gets forward to us, we forwarded to the deps. who collect the information, and then we forward their answers to the Council. We will follow the same process."

Ward 13 Council commits to getting the documents being requested by Ward 1 Joe Jones and Ward 7 Basheer Jones.

Ward 1 Joe Jones, "I'm having a tough time with the health department in addressing code violations on properties. What is your dept doing with the Health dept to address housing code violations?"

Director Scott answers, "We started working with the Health department when COVID happened. I don't have info that you need. We have only been COVID related."

Ward 8 Polensek questions Director Scott,

"What has been the sucess rate for individuals calling 311? Is 311 working for the best interests of our residents? I will wait to see that information."

Ward 13 Council President Kelly announces the end of today's meeting. He notes tomorrow will start at 9:00 AM tomorrow to discuss Department of Public Safety and Community Relations Board. It will be another long important day.

Meeting adjourned at ~5:30 PM. This concludes the Cleveland City Council's Finance Meeting General Fund Budget Hearings (Day 1, Part II). The next meeting is scheduled tomorrow Wed, Feb 17th, 2021. For more meeting coverage, check out documenters.org.

This was the first day of General Fund Budget Hearing.

For a quick review of City of Cleveland budget process, review these Cleveland Documenters tweets,

https://twitter.com/cledocumenters/status/1361673441707966467?s=20

Review Documenters notes on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 of the General Fund Budget Retreat (PART I) 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

cleveland.documenters.org/assignments/ge…

Review Documenters notes on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 of the General Fund Budget Retreat (PART II) 1:00 PM - end of day

cleveland.documenters.org/assignments/ge…

Watch the stream of Cleveland Council Budget Hearing from Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 here:

In addition to all the documenting of Cleveland's 2021 Budget, today Documenter Laylah @melanatedmill attended Cuyahoga County's Board of Elections meeting about several upcoming special elections

Check out her live-tweet thread here,

https://twitter.com/MelanatedMill/status/1361749268730699780?s=20

Summary:

Today, Tuesday February 16, 2021 Cleveland's City Council's Finance Committe held their General Fund Budget Hearings at 9:00 AM. The Finance committee has nine (9) Council members and is chaired by Council President Kevin J. Kelly.

To learn about the other Finance Committee Council members check out their profiles here,

clevelandcitycouncil.org/council-members

The General Fund Budget Hearings are annual meetings in which the City Council (the city Legislature) reviews the Mayor's (the city Executive) proposed budget, which is known as the "2021 Mayor's Estimate."

The budget can be accessed here,

city.cleveland.oh.us/sites/default/…

Tip: If you're at a computer, split your screen between the budget and the stream so you can jump to the page they are referencing throughout the Council's Finance meeting.

It's a great resource to hand on hand, page 1 of the Budget (PDF page 7), details how to read it:

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson was in attendance to provide remarks on the Mayor's submitted budget. Mayor Jackson introduced the balanced budget proposal for the first 30 minutes. He then joined a Question-and-Answer session for three and a half hours.

The initial conversation focused on how the City of Cleveland responded to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Council President Kelly noted, "As we look back on the last year, we managed the crisis as best as we could.

We did a very good job of going into this and conducting ourselves in such a way that we did not have to lay people off and to have a balanced budget." Council President Kelly commends Mayor Jackson for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ward 5 Councilmember Phyllis Cleveland seconded President Kelly's remarks. Ward 5's Cleveland asked if the hiring freeze was still in effect. Mayor Jackson noted it was on an as needed basis. Ward 5's Cleveland voiced concerns about whether the City is prepared for social unrest.

Ward 6 Councilmember Blaine Griffin continue the praise towards Jackson's administration for not laying anyone off during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Ward 6's Griffin noted that it is clear the City of Cleveland will need Federal assistance to address shortfalls in revenue.

Ward 6's Griffin asked Mayor Jackson "how will the City leverage its assets to acquire more Federal dollars?" Mayor Jokes answers that his administration has worked with the private and the financial sector to underwrite the risks associated with investing in distressed areas.

Mayor Jackson cites Glenville, Buckeye-Woodland, and Clark-Metro are the primary recipients of this initiative. Some of the conversation highlighted on how Mayor Jackson governs.

Mayor Jackson was insistent that he does not pick winners and losers but attempts to provide for the needs of the city according to principles of equity. Other aspects of the morning conversation reflected on the Jackson Administration's approach to housing in the city.

Generally, they've preferred to support rehabilitation of old homes versus the construction of brand new homes. Ward 6's Griffin also asked the Mayor about his public safety strategy approach and the status of the consent decree.

Some of Mayor Jackson's comments included highlighting the dramatic increase in murders in the City to the post-traumatic stress its youthful citizens may face.

Mayor Jackson argued the consent decree is separate from the issues of crime. At moments Mayor Jackson existentially pondered, "How do we create a system that is void of inequities, disparities, and racism?

How do we create that system in a way that when the system functions it does not give a group of people entitlements and breaks in life, and gives them ways to recover while condemning another group to the burden of all the ills of society and then blame them for their

behavior and give them no breaks what-so-ever? How do we do that?" For Mayor Jackson this is why it is important to support diversity in law enforcement.

Other Council Members such as Ward 12's Anthony Brancatelli stated that "You have to get in to the weeds of the budget to see these positives differences." He spoke highly of the Healthy Home Initiatives.

Ward 8's Council Member Michael Polensek is concerned about attrition from the police departments and the attempts at increasing hiring. Ward 8's Polensek stated, "I have never seen the level of indiscriminate violence against people that I see now."

Mayor Jackson noted the only time he has seen such a level of violence was during the heroine crisis in the mid 1970s. The Mayor acknowledge the issues with attrition but is attempting to maintain and build up the police force.

Ward 8's Polensek then brought up his concerns with the housing marketing, the Community Investment Act, and financial institutions who are writing off Cleveland residents.

Polensek stated, "The banks aren't loaning. The top 5 banks in the city, 70% of their deposits are going to the suburbs for loan and assistance. They are not making loans to small businesses. They are not making loans to minorities.

Polensek continued, "They are not making loans to middle and low income families. They've written us off. The City has the power through the Community Investment Act to hold them accountable to say to them 'We don't have a Fifth-Third sitting in North Glenville or in Collinwood.

We are dealing with institutions that is not making loans to our community."

Mayor Jackson replied that while redlining has been outlawed, it is still happening. Our approach is to try to provide incentive to correct it while in the other using a stick to enforce the investment.

Mayor Jackson insists there is an attempt to hold the financial institutions account in the our neighborhood initiatives and it is working.

Council Member Polensek addressed his concerns with the Mayor about the pace of demolitions throughout Cleveland, noting there are about 4,000 buildings in need of demolitions. Mayor Jackson acknowledged the issue and insists the Landbank is working towards addressing it.

Finally, Ward 8's Polensek notes that HB6 and First Energy's is actively working to destroy and discredit Cleveland Public Power. "We have seen other cities take legal action against First Energy. I want to hope that we collectively do what we can to go after First Energy.

They are an evil empire. What they have done to our city, to our customer base is ridiculous. They cannot get away with it."

Mayor Jackson responded, "I will tell you what our strategy is. You have what is going on with these lawsuits, we've looked into that. What that is about is the fees associated with HB6 concerning the subsidies of the nuclear power plant.

As you mentioned, our situations is a little different. We are under direct attack. We have a Public Utility, they don't...Our primary concern is to recover the costs of damages because of its unfair practices. It ain't no mystery. We are going after them.

I am going for the jugular. The other stuff is nice, we are the beneficiaries whether we are involved or not. ... I just want to make sure if we join other lawsuit it does not damage our ability to pursuit our challenges against First Energy for our issues."

Ward 8 Council Member Mike Polensek, "My position is that I want to kick their ass."

Mayor Frank Jackson, "We are on the same page."

Mayor Jackson recommended citizens to generally, "...Just don't talk about it, I encourage you to do something about it. ... You can't play the game if you don't get into the game."

Ward 10 Council Member Anthony Hairston and Mayor Jackson discussed safety programs and developing financial opportunities for the East Side neighborhoods of Glenville and South Collinwood.

Ward 1 Council Member Joseph Jones seconded concerns about the disturbing pattern of financial institutions investing in the suburb municipalities while neglecting Cleveland's neighborhoods.

Ward 1 Jones stated, "Mrs. Aisha Weeks talked about how five of the top banks have 73% of Cleveland deposit in their banks but they are not investing in our city, they are investing in the cities around Cleveland. We need to do something about that."

Mrs. Aisha Weeks spoke last Wednesday, February 10, 2021 to the
City Council's Development, Planning and Sustainability Committee on their Day 2 Afternoon Session of Community Development Block Grant Hearting (CDBG) about bank relations and community investment in Cleveland.

Mrs. Aisha Weeks presentation and Q&A may be viewed here,

Mrs. Aisha Weeks PowerPoint presentation is accessible here,

cityofcleveland.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&…

Additionally, Ward 1's Council Member Jones commended the street improvement project and expressed his concerns about safety in the City of Cleveland to Mayor Jackson, which mirrored other Council Members desire to see increased law enforcement presence throughout the city.

Ward 1 Councilmember Jones stated, "We've never seen this kind of murder in broad daylight in our community. Our people are frightened by it and they are moving out of it."

Mayor Jackson responded, "It takes 6 to 7 months for a cadet to go through an academy. If they start on January 1, they'll graduate in July. It takes some time. In the past we have done lateral transfers from people in other police departments...

but we have found it is not a lot of numbers...who become eligible to bring on.

In regards to safety...our focus is putting more police officers on the street but just having police officers on the street is not sufficient. It has to be coupled with other things going on.

It really takes a holistic approach in terms of dealing with the young people on the street in a diversionary kind of way, dealing with economic development, job opportunity, and education opportunity. Enforcement becomes one aspect.

If we just rely on police to deal with this then we will never solve the problem, but I agree with you that enforcement is immediate. The other things are long term and takes time to materialize."

Ward 1 Council Member Jones enquired if a relationship existed between the City and Cleveland Public Schools to mentor youth to transition to law enforcement careers. Mayor Jackson identified a previous fire fighter program; he acknowledged it did not produce high numbers

but that the totality of the relationship was a learning experience. From this, the City is considering a partnerships or potentially a youth academy to train potential youth for jobs in law enforcement.

Ward 7 Council Member Basheer Jones disputed the Mayor Jackson's statement that the consent decree did not have to do with crime but was a crime against the community from those charged to serve and protect it.

Ward 7 Council Member Jones asked for the Mayor's assessment on the direction of the City after the consent decree. Mayor Jackson responded that he felt it was headed in the right direction but there is a long way to go.

Council Member Jones and the Mayor discussed law enforcement, the civic-activist movement of "defund the police", mental health, and various tactics. The Mayor agreed with the Council Member stating,

"You are right in terms of how you articulated it.

Consent decree is not designed to reduce crime. Consent decree is designed to create a better relationship between the community and the police. As a result of the better relationship there will be less crime perpetuated on the community by the police."

Finally, Council Member Jones wishes to ease any hurdles for those seeking to economically develop in the City of Cleveland.

Ward 15's Council Member Jenny Spencer reflected, "Budget are expressions of priorities and values. It does appear to be a little bit of belt tightening. For example, last year's General Fund budgeted for 675,000,000 but this year is 659,000,000. Where are we deprioritizing?"

Mayor Jackson answered, "Our bottom line is service delivery. We have to deal with the revenues we have. ... You won't see a cut in services. The lime items associated with the saving of money is personnel. 85% or more of our budget is personnel and benefits.

When we froze hiring and delayed hiring, we were able to save money. We also settled our collective bargaining agreements so what you are seeing is an increase in costs based on those personnel we are retaining. ... Director Dumas will be able to provide more hearings."

Ward 17's Council Member Charles Slife expressed his concerns about the bubbling belief that "the word on the street is if you commit a crime you won't go to jail."

The Mayor acknowledge that this is problematic, stating:

"Not everybody needs to be in jail, some need to be in diversion. But there are some people who just need to be in jail. There is a sense that the statement coming out that "We will only be accepting violent criminals, felony ones and twos, everybody else can post a bond' -

these are hard criminals; these are not people who need to be in diversion. If you are talking to them - hell! They don't care if you put them in jail. You got to catch them. "Catch me! So what?" There is a mentality. There is an approach to life.

There are certain parts of Cleveland just like there are certain parts of urban cities throughout the world from Paris to London to Johannesburg to New York that the Police don't mean anything to them. "You got a gun? I got a gun too. So what?"

If you don't understand that mentality and you apply that mentality to the juvenile mind that is immature and then you give them a gun, you got a problem. How do you address that? I think eliminating access guns is the approach but that is not the policy coming out of DC. ...

Mayor Jackson noted, "We do work well with our local partners."

Council Member Slife expressed he is interested in defining and identifying the financial number that needs to be reached to continue providing efficient services. He would like to let residents know these goals.

Ward 2's Council Member Kevin Bishop's conversation with Mayor Jackson comprised of content about inequities and disparities highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic and how the Jackson Administration will continue to invest in its citizens.

Ward 3's Council Member Kerry McCormack asked about the opening of parks and pools for the upcoming summer season. Mayor Jackson answered that the decision to reopen all depends on the pandemic.

Council Member McCormack noted his appreciation for the Jackson Administration's support for the green energy approach & how the streetlights replacement project is a success story for the City of Cleveland. He asked if the city has seen financial benefit from the streetlights.

Mayor Jackson stated, "We will not see a benefit right away as we are still on a fixed rate from CI. ... That being said, it gives us the ability to move towards a rate based on how much energy we use."

Council Member McCormack also appreciates support for the city's brining on a consultant to address the needs of the West Side Market.

Ward 11's Council Member Brian Mooney was present and discussed the Recycling Program with the Mayor.

Ward 16's Brian Kazy was present and discussed Mayor Jackson's defense of the City and the ongoing dispute over Cleveland Public Power.

After four hours of questioning by the Cleveland City Council, Mayor Frank Jackson departed. City Council's Finance Commitee transitioned into the granular of the Budget Hearings reviewing the Mayor's Estimated budgets for the Executive's various offices.

Every office had a speaker present who discussed the budget, last year's activities, ongoing activities, and 2021 proposals.

The afternoon session of the General Fund Budget Hearing discussed the following offices and their guests,

CITY PLANNING COMMISSION with Director Freddy Collier

BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS, with Secretary Elizabeth Kukla

BOARD OF BUILDING STANDARDS AND APPEALS, with Executive Secretary Carmella Davis

LANDMARKS COMMISSION, with Secretary Donald Petit

BOXING AND WRESTING COMSSION, with Chairman Abdul A. Muhaymin

MAYOR’S OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY, with Chief Dr. Jason Wood

COUNCIL AND CLERK OF COUNCIL, with Clerk of Council Patricia J. Britt

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR, with Director of Finance Sharon Dumas

OFFICE OF PREVENTION, ITNERVENTION, AND OPPORTUNITY, with Chief Tracy Martin-Thompson

OFFICE OF QUALITY CONTROL AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT, with Director Sabra T. Scott

To become involved and for more meeting coverage, check out documenters.org.

Have questions? Think we got something wrong? Send any enquiries on the meeting or these tweets to
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Or email us at [e-mail]

Note:

What was an attempt at a summary session of the Budget Hearing's Morning Session quickly became a documentation of the City Council's Finance Committee's Question and Answer with Cleveland's Mayor Frank Jackson.

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