Development, Planning and Sustainability Committee: Community Development Block Grant Hearings, Day 2, Morning Session
Cleveland City Council
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
9:00 a.m. — 1:00 p.m. EDT
601 Lakeside Ave Cleveland, OH 44114 (Directions)
Cleveland City Hall, Mercedes Cotner Room 217 (or watch on YouTube)
It is budget season (again) in Cleveland! We’re going to document it!
On this day, Cleveland City Council will hold day 2 (the last scheduled day) of the 2024 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) budget hearings.
We do not expect you to be a budget expert. Honestly, we don’t know many people who are. We want you to lead with your curiosity. Document the process as you see it. Ask questions about what you don’t understand. And of course, follow the money.
More resources and details about CDBG hearings are below. But first, some important assignment things to know:
NOTE: This assignment is for the morning session of day 2 of CDBG budget hearings. This assignment is scheduled from 9 a.m. until council takes a lunch break. Lunch break is expected at noon, but it may come earlier or later.
When lunch break begins, please contact the Cleveland Documenters team to let us know at (216) 202-4383. That way we can give a heads up to Documenters covering the afternoon session.
Pay: For budget assignments, we treat each session (AM or PM) as a four-hour meeting, even if it runs shorter.
- Minimum pay if watching remotely: $108
- Minimum pay if watching in-person: $144
More pay is added for sessions that run longer than 4 hrs & 15 min.
Documenters covering this should be prepared for the session to last up to four hours. If the session lasts longer than four hours and you cannot continue, let the Documenters team know and note where you leave off in your meetings notes or live-tweet thread.
Live tweeters: Because we are trying to make information from these budget hearings available for residents as quickly as possible, please only accept this assignment if you can live tweet this meeting WHILE the meeting is ongoing.
Notetakers: We know officials cover a lot in these sessions. You’ll have 48 hours to submit budget notes rather than the typical 24 (note: You’ll still receive an automated email to submit assignments within 24 hours).
Watching remotely?
The meetings are streamed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ClevelandCityCouncil/streams
You can also catch livestreams on TV2O’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ClevelandTV20/live_videos
Also TV20’s website: http://www.tv20cleveland.com/watch-now/
Attending in person? Documenters: Be sure to bring your photo ID.
Who’s who?
Expect to see members of the council committee:
- Anthony Hairston, chair
- Jasmin Santana, vice chair
- Stephanie Howse-Jones
- Kris Harsh
- Joe Jones
- Kerry McCormack
- Jenny Spencer
Other members of council may also attend.
On the mayor’s administration side, Director of Community Development Alyssa Hernandez and Assistant Director Michiel Wackers will likely attend. Other administration officials may join them.
Chapter 5 of the CDBG budget book is set for review in this meeting (more on this below):
- Neighborhood Development Activity Grants
- Community Development Corportation Activity Grants
- Citywide and Development Assistance Grants
- Social Service Grants
- Community Engagement
Overflow items and final questions are also planned for this meeting.
Note: Council may not get through all of these sections in your session.
Some CDBG background
Separate from the General Fund budget hearings held in February, the annual CDBG budget hearings hone in on federal grants the city can receive from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The grants are part of a federal assistance program that aims to build stronger and more resilient communities by providing additional money to local governments for community and economic development work. They often focus on improving housing and economic opportunities for low-income residents. Being federal money, the funds have specific requirements for how the city can use them. City Council uses these hearings to learn how the mayor’s administration plans to allocate the funds and potentially legislate changes.
This year, the total available to Cleveland in these federal grants is an estimated $28,285,095. The mayor’s administration projects the money would come from the following federal programs:
- CDBG: $19,883,456
- Federal HOME Investment Partnerships Act: $4,200,829
- Emergency Solutions Grant: $1,826,276
- Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS: $2,374,534
Additional resources:
Here are some additional resources that might be useful. We’ll keep our eyes out for others; feel free to do the same!
- The CDBG “budget book”
- CDBG presentation slides
- The full City Council legislation
- A document describing the city programs Cleveland intends to fund with this money
- Documenters coverage of past CDBG hearings
- A Signal Cleveland recap of Documenters 2023 coverage
- Some CDBG FAQ and history
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out! And remember: Lead with your curiosity and feel free to note in your coverage if something doesn’t make sense.
Check the source website for additional information
Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Cleveland - OH Documenters Team
$7.5 million of neighborhood development grants remain from last year
City Council wraps up block grant discussions
Development, Planning and Sustainability Committee
Development Block Grants Hearings Day 2 Morning Session
Alllllllllll the fun starts at 9
I need more coffee
#TellYourFriends
05:47 AM May 29, 2024 CDT
Community Engagement Specialists these people will be directly working with the people of #Cleveland
@jsantanaward14 asked about bilingual people and was told there was no one who applied that made the process
@jennyspencercle spoke to the need for understanding the new language used for the former words used for the team now
Structure of the citywide area is explained
Two different groups are present
One groups working with the CDC
The second working from the city
She further stated she feels that a TeachIn is necessary
Development is necessary for the workers and council is needed
Hairston agrees with her
The department director believes that the new positions and training will enable the people hired to serve the people better
Hairston spoke to the possible collaborators in getting things done in interaction
Wacker spoke about this
Personnel has changed for this expense
Jones asked for a breakdown of the Services
Jones asked about the lack of service, Hairston said he wanted to know the denial reasons as well..
His wards are full of structures in disrepair for 30 years
Jones asked how do we really get things done?
This is a massive issue and whatever it takes needs to be done
Issues and problems should get granular with over 100 inspectors
And no help for the people who live in the city
million dollars is unspent funds according to the people in the department
Hairston explained how the prior year shows on the budget
Starr asked about the additional funds being used. And the fact that HUD has been on the city for not spending awarded funding
Starr said that there should be solutions that have been in place since Stokes and the 60s
There needs to be a Better Strategy
He advocates for a different way to benefit the people
Courage to make things right are missing he said.
Hairston agreed
There have been some improvements but the issues exist over the years. He cited Republican rules of the federal government in limiting the benefits
He asked when will it get better from the chairman. This issue has been around since the Westbrook tenure
We don't need to be the second most impoverished city.
Hairston will not give a timeline
McCormack said by next budget
Hairston said the total amount 1.8 million to 15 CDC in the city
He also asked about award memos not being used in the package
Hairston asked Wacker if the wards don't do what they promised is there any effective way to police the funds
Jones asked for a breakdown of unspent funding
By next year he wants to see different ways to fund
Spencer had some questions
Spencer asked if there is a maximum and was told no
We want to be focused on the people and their needs..
Spencer said it sounds like there will be more to come
Metrics are looked at in the hope new organizations are included in the scoring matrix he was told
How can our citizens get help when you are over the income level?
Wacker said they are working on the challenge of having 30 millions and having 300 million dollars in improvements necessary
Can we tweak the process he asked? He spoke of his resident in her 80s who was 200 over the limit of help and her frustration
No further questions on the issues
She was told the department would get her the figures
Harsh offered some correction to the budget , he offered to read a long paper.. its not necessary...
Hairston made closing remarks
These amendments are approved
Have questions? Think we got something wrong? Send any inquiries on the meeting or these tweets to
Or email us at cledocumenters@gmail.com
Until the next time continue to Be Great!
Agency Information
Cleveland City Council
See meeting notes for details
Cleveland City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Cleveland in Ohio. There are 17 elected Cleveland City Council members representing the 17 wards of the City of Cleveland. Each ward has approximately 25,000 residents. Council Members are elected to serve a four-year term. Council members serve two roles in their duties: to draft and enact legislation for the city of Cleveland and act as ombudsmen for their constituents.
Find meetings streamed at: *online on TV20 at: http://www.tv20cleveland.com/watch-now/
*The meetings are also streamed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ClevelandCityCouncil/