Finance, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee: General Fund Budget Hearing Day 1, Morning Session
Cleveland City Council
Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023
9:00 a.m. — 1:00 p.m. EST
601 Lakeside Ave Cleveland, OH 44114 (Directions)
City Hall (Watch via YouTube), Mercedes Cotner Committee Room 217
NOTE: This assignment is for the morning session of day 1 of General Fund Budget hearings**. This assignment is scheduled from 9am 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.
It is budget season in Cleveland! We’re going to document it!
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.
To help you do that, we’ve written a Guide to Cleveland’s budget process . In it you’ll find basics on the budget process, a glossary of budget terms, which include cards you can use in your notes/tweets, city council’s role, and more.
Other 2023 budget resources:
- The 2023 Mayor’s Estimate. Council members will refer to this document in the meeting.
- Review earlier Documenters’ budget hearing coverage. *Catch up on all the 2023 budget coverage at Signal Cleveland.
On the agenda for this meeting:
- Mayor’s Letter of Transmittal (p. 2-3)
- Finance Director’s Statement
- City Council and Clerk of Council (p. 50-54)
- Office of the Mayor (p. 55-57)
- City Planning Commission (p.88-92)
- Boards and Commissions
- Boxing and Wrestling Commission (p. 93-94)
- Landmarks Commission (p. 67-70)
- Board of Building Standards and Appeals (p. 71-73)
- Board of Zoning Appeals (p. 74-76)
NOTE: The attached page numbers are the numbers in Mayor’s Estimate booklet, not the pdf numbers.
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 that you cannot continue 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.
Find live streams of this meeting:
On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/clevelandcitycouncil
On TV20: http://www.tv20cleveland.com/watch-now/
For more information go to Cleveland City Council’s website: https://www.clevelandcitycouncil.org.
Check the source website for additional information
Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Cleveland - OH Documenters Team
Mayor, council members make opening statements regarding 2023 budget
Cash Rules Everything Around Me: Good morning, Cleveland! I’m excited to kick off @cledocumenters & @signalcleveland’s Twitter coverage of the 2023 City Budget hearings. @CleCityCouncil’s Finance, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee meeting starts at 9.
#CLEdocumenters https://t.co/S5WrxBXKbL
07:14 AM Feb 14, 2023 CST
Think we got something wrong? Send any enquiries on the meeting or these tweets to @cledocumenters or email us at cledocumenters@gmail.com.
From @signalcleveland’s guide to understanding the budget process:
“[First] the mayor sends City Council a document that summarizes the administration’s budget recommendations. It’s called the Mayor’s Estimate.”
Here’s a link to the full guide:
https://signalcleveland.org/what-you-need-to-know-about-clevelands-budget-process/ https://t.co/hwicwzN3cS
From @signalcleveland’s guide to the budget process:
“[The Mayor’s Estimate] has detailed information for each city department…and includes estimates on how much money the city expects to collect through taxes and fees.”
The 2023 Mayor’s Estimate: https://www.clevelandohio.gov/sites/default/files/forms_publications/2023MayorsEstimate.pdf
The Mayor’s Estimate is over 500 pages long, but don’t let that scare you. Council only reviews a few pages at a time. They’re expected to start by hearing from @MayorBibb and the City’s Finance Director, Ahmed Abonamah.
From @signalcleveland’s budget guide:
“City Council holds budget hearings usually starting in early to mid-February. Council committee members discuss, debate & ask questions about spending priorities. [They] can agree to change portions of the budget recommended by the mayor.”
Council will use the information learned and discussed in these hearings over the next couple weeks to create an amended version of the budget that they’ll vote on later.
The hearings will be live-streamed on @CleCityCouncil’s YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@ClevelandCityCouncil
Keep up on all the news from @Cledocumenters’ coverage of the City Budget hearings at the @signalcleveland website:
And we’re off! Council President Griffin is explaining we’ll hear from the mayor first, and he laid down some ground rules & asked that everyone play nice in the sandbox. https://t.co/j1oNWHKU7I
Bibb is explaining city’s priorities for this year, including gun violence, the lakefront plan, and “bringing back the east side of Cleveland.” https://t.co/VBCZa2LKYz
Bibb is now explaining the elimination of police positions, saying these are “chronically vacant” positions & the city hopes to focus on “investing in the workforce we have”, including police pay raises. https://t.co/lW70HBUukv
Bibb brings up his frequent trips to DC which have been scrutinised a bit. He says he wants to make sure they’re bringing as much money into the city and looking for as much in federal funding as they can & compared to digging through the couch for loose change.
@CityofCleveland Chief Financial Officer Ahmed Abonamah is answering questions from Council President Blaine Griffin. @Griff4CLE6‘s asking now about the city’s rainy-day fund & when would be appropriate to use it. Abonamah says economic uncertainties justify saving that money. https://t.co/QiE1XIRbLG
Griffin is asking specific questions to the Mayor now about consent decree compliance. Bibb says they are hiring a new monitor, and expanding recruitment efforts. https://t.co/wMqxdpAfGD
Griffin says he didn’t see funding for emergency home repairs for seniors in the City Budget & stated this is a critical program & needs to be included in the General Fund Budget. https://t.co/aL05bIWlmT
I’m really only here to judge council members’ fashion sense, and I need to know if @KerryMcCormack1 knew that tie was green when he put in on this morning with a blue shirt. https://t.co/m0WhNVDxQ7
McCormack and Bibb are discussing the future of downtown, including economic recovery, infrastructure for bike & pedestrian traffic, and using @clepublicpower to innovate in clean energy.
@clepublicpower McCormack: “If [we] got fired for cuss words, nobody would be here. ” https://t.co/dtWU1Hr9Wn
Ward 8 Council Member Mike Polensek, who still owes me twenty-five cents, is talking about the decreased population, saying residents “vote with their feet” & leave the city due to safety and school concerns. https://t.co/vtt05eRbV3
On unfilled police positions, Polensek says, “If we lose another 29 [officers] we will be at the same number we had in 1923…my first year in City Council.”😊 https://t.co/L2B44pEoke
Bibb commends current police officers, saying last year there was a 9% drop in homicides and over 600 illegal guns removed from the streets. https://t.co/aaXrkogjGj
Ward 9 Council Member @kevinconwell216 compliments the City Finance Director on the work and learning he’s done in the past year, and criticizes the lack of reporting on finances and strategic planning from the administration. https://t.co/o796F32e4J
Bibb & Conwell givin’ each other a good-hearted ribbing about Conwell not endorsing Bibb. https://t.co/eyoEFxZY2P
Now @kazy_brian is usually my fashion award winner, but the ladies are really showing him up today in their great coats!! https://t.co/bylw615Ab2
Damn right that is OUR stadium. Get me a ladder, boys, I’ll take that First Energy sign down myself. https://t.co/s3ORaSITYl
Ward 1 Council Member Joe Jones is up, and he’s asking for investment in his ward to help re-populate the area. He praised the efforts of city officials in helping to reduce dirt bikes in the streets & clean up efforts in illegal dumping sites. https://t.co/V4cl0zLsCq
The Mayor commends Ward 4 Council Member Deborah Gray for going to New York to confront out-of-state landlords about housing violations & poor living conditions for tenants.
Here’s a national story on Gray’s trip:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/peopleandplaces/councilwoman-goes-to-nyc-to-confront-apt-owners-about-cle-living-conditions/vi-AA17lZAa
Ward 17 Council member @ADayInTheSlife expresses his concerns to the Mayor about eliminating over 140 police positions and the City’s ability to overcome the deficit if it turns out those positions are really needed. https://t.co/64IJNLliDr
Ward 15 Council Member @jennyspencercle & @MayorBibb are discussing getting support & funding from state & federal resources. https://t.co/4joeYMMVvu
Ward 4 Council Member Deborah Gray talks about her motivation for going to New York & some of the people she’s heard from across the country with poor living conditions & unresponsive/non-existent landlords. https://t.co/vbZNLM7R2w
Interesting. Mayor Bibb just said they teamed up with Ward 2 Council Member Kevin Bishop who is now in New York researching blight reduction strategies. He’ll report his findings to them upon return. https://t.co/HtMLkNZ4D9
Ward 5 Council Member @R1chardStarr wants to see more black-owned contractors being interviewed & doing work in the city, and an easier invoicing & payment process, after an administration error left a community group working w/out a contract. https://t.co/4djer9OeAu
@R1chardStarr just namedropped my girl Gwendolyn Garth. 🤘🏻
https://twitter.com/GenniferwithaG_/status/1568794133354905600
Ward 7 Council Member Stephanie Howse goes straight to the numbers & straight for the jugular: “A household in Ward 7…average household median income is $20, 997…how does this budget benefit them?” https://t.co/qpmBLdaj8h
Stephanie Howse says she does not believe this is an “equitable budget” with so much money going to the police, who show up after a crime occurs.
“If this our stance, we have to be very clear with community members, we are focused on after violence happens, not before.”
😳
Mayor Bibb is answering questions by Ward 12 Council Member Rebecca Maurer about updating the city’s parking payment system and its related jobs, and more questions on illegal dumping, specifically near Train Ave. https://t.co/LPeP3kubyh
Harsh asked about efforts to reduce the digital divide. The mayor said they are in the process of selecting future vendors for the project.
The Mayor’s question time has ended and the group has adjourned for a break. Council will return at 2:10 for the Finance Director’s Statement.
This concludes my coverage of @CleCityCouncil’s Finance, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee meeting for #CLEDocumenters. For more news and information on the City Budget hearings, visit the @signalcleveland website at https://signalcleveland.org/governmentmeetings/.
Attachments
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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/