Delete WardCleveland City Council Discusses Forty-five Pieces of Legislation at December 5 Committee of the Whole; Moves Forward Key Legislation for Final Vote at Its Last Meeting of 2022
Dec 05, 2022
Cleveland City Council Discusses Forty-five Pieces of Legislation at December 5 Committee of the Whole; Moves Forward Key Legislation for Final Vote at Its Last Meeting of 2022
Cleveland, OH (Dec. 5) - Earlier today, Cleveland City Council held a Committee of the Whole. The meeting began at 9:00 am and ran past 6:00 pm. The meeting included a review of legislation to be heard at the regularly scheduled December 5, 7:00 pm council meeting. The December 5 meeting will also serve as Council’s last scheduled meeting of 2022.
During the Committee of the Whole, council members discussed forty-five pieces of legislation. At tonight’s council meeting, Council is scheduled to vote on sixty-one pieces of legislation that if passed will go to the Mayor for his signature. An additional six pieces of legislation will be introduced and sent to administrative review and then to the appropriate committee for additional deliberation.
Some of the major pieces of legislation discussed at the Committee of the Whole and which will be on the agenda for passage at tonight’s council meeting include:
Paid Safe Leave (Ordinance #756-2022) - Paid Safe Leave provides an additional bank of time off for full-time and some part-time non-union employees experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault - or who is a parent/legal guardian of a child experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault. It is believed that Cleveland will be the first city in Ohio, and one of only a handful of cities in the country to provide Paid Safe Leave to employees. Council hopes and expects union employees will also receive this benefit as part of their Collective Bargaining agreements and negotiations.
Wage Theft & Payroll Fraud Prevention (Ordinance No. 892-2022) - If passed, the ordinance will enact measures to prevent wage theft and payroll fraud on City service contracts, construction and improvement contracts, and contracts for financial assistance. Any person or entity that bids on a city service or construction contract, or that applies for financial assistance from the City must disclose any adverse determinations that occurred in the previous 3 years to the Fair Employment Wage Board (FEWB) and the contracting department. Any person or entity receiving an adverse determination within the previous 3 years of the due date of the bid or proposal or application for assistance is not eligible to enter into any contract with the City, or apply for assistance, for 3 years from the date of the last adverse determination.
Retention bonuses for Cleveland Division of Police (Ordinance No. 1146-2022) - The Cleveland Division of Police competes with other police departments and divisions in Ohio and beyond for experienced and highly trained police officers. If passed, the ordinance would approve the Director of Public Safety to seek grant funding from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services for the Ohio ARPA Law Enforcement Violence Reduction and Staffing Grant to provide funding for retention bonuses for police officers. Sworn officers who agree to stay of staff until at least December 1, 2024, will receive a bonus of $1,500. After December 1, 2024, those same officers will receive another $1,500. Up to 1,405 officers will receive the bonus.
Lakefront Development and Improvement (Ordinance Nos. 1202-2022 & 1232-2022) - Ordinance 1202-2022 would allow City government to work with partners for improvements and enhancements to the area surrounding the East 55th Street Marina. Partners involved in the work would include Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority, Cleveland Metroparks, Black Environmental Leaders Association, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and the Ohio Department of Transportation. Ordinance No. 1232-2022 would provide approval for the City of Cleveland to move forward with a consultant to produce a North Coast Lakefront Master Plan, with the expectation of improving access to Lake Erie.
Transferring ARPA funding to General Fund (Ordinance No. 1267-2022) – Based on federal government calculations, the City of Cleveland lost more than $300 million dollars in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal guidelines allow the city to use a portion of the $511 million dollars for revenue recovery. With the approval of Ordinance No.1267-2022, the city would deposit $215 million in ARPA funding to the city’s general fund.
Approving Members to Community Police Commission (Resolution No. 1293-2022) Although not discussed at today’s Committee of the Whole, Council will move forward with a Resolution to approve thirteen members to the newly formed Community Police Commission. On Thursday December 1 and Friday December 2, the Mayor’s Appointments Committee, chaired by Councilman Joseph T. Jones recommended the approval of Council’s three appointments, and Mayor Bibb’s ten appointments to the Community Police Commission.
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