Is Cleveland City Council Breaking the Ohio Sunshine Laws?

By Ron Calhoun

Ohio’s “Sunshine Laws” give guidelines for public access to government records and meetings (The Ohio Open Meetings Act ). In short, “the Ohio Open Meetings Act requires public bodies in Ohio to take official action and conduct all deliberations upon official business ONLY in open meetings where the public may attend and observe.” Is the Cleveland City Council conducting meetings outside of what the Ohio Sunshine Laws allow, and calling the meetings a caucus, giving specificity to the topics, discussing only specific topic(s), taking detailed notes and publishing the conclusion of the discussion?

The Sunshine Laws are specific in the requirements to conduct public meetings no matter what a public body labels the meeting. The following information is a summary from the Ohio Sunshine Laws open government resource manual posted on the Ohio Attorney General’s Office website. Since January, Cleveland City Council members have held monthly caucus (special) meetings. Are their agendas and meeting minutes available? Definitions are essential to understanding and engagement.

What is a “Meeting?”

A “meeting” is (1) a prearranged gathering (2) of a majority of the members of the public body (3) who are discussing or deliberating public business. A meeting does not have to be called a “meeting” for the Open Meetings Act (OMA) requirements to apply—if the three elements given are present, the OMA requirements apply even if the gathering is called a “work session,” “retreat,” etc.

What is a “Public Body?”

A “public body” is a decision-making body at any level of government. A public body may include the committees or subcommittees of a public body, even if these committees do not make the final decisions of the public body.

What are the “Requirements?”

There are many requirements and regulations to the Ohio Sunshine Laws. The Open Meetings Act requires public bodies in Ohio to take official action and conduct all deliberations upon official business only in open meetings where the public may attend and observe. Public bodies must provide advance notice to the public indicating when and where each meeting will take place and, in the case of special meetings, the specific topics that the public body will discuss. The public body must take full and accurate minutes of all meetings and make these minutes available to the public, except in the case of permissible executive sessions.

Meetings and Attendance

Members of a public body may hold and attend public meetings and hearings by teleconference, video conference, or other electronic means.
To establish a quorum of the public body and to vote, any member of a public body who participates virtually/electronically is considered present as if he or she were present in person.
All actions taken in a virtual/electronic meeting held during the time period covered by H.B. 51 have the same effect as if they were conducted during an in-person meeting.

Notice

Public bodies must continue to provide notice to the public of their meetings. Public bodies conducting virtual/electronic meetings or hearings are required to provide public notice of the meeting or hearing at least 24 hours in advance.
Public bodies must notify the public, media that have requested notification, and parties required to be notified of a hearing by reasonable methods.
In the event of an emergency requiring immediate official action, public bodies may conduct emergency public meetings virtually/electronically by giving notice as soon as it is practicable to do so.
Notice must include the time, location, and manner in which the meeting or hearing will be conducted.

Public Access

Public bodies must provide public access to any virtual/electronic meeting or hearing that the public would otherwise be entitled to attend.

Access can be provided through live streaming, local radio, television, cable, public access channels, call-in information for a teleconference, or other similar electronic means.
Public bodies must ensure that the public is able to hear discussions and deliberations, and the votes of all members of the body participating, whether a member is doing so in-person or virtually/electronically.
For hearings, public bodies must establish a means, through the use of electronic equipment widely available to the general public, to converse with witnesses and receive documentary testimony and physical evidence.
As has always been the law, public bodies are not required to afford citizens the right of “public speech” during public meetings. However, as to public hearings, public bodies must provide an electronic mechanism for the provision of public input and interaction.

What are the duties of a public body if the OMA applies?

A public body must give appropriate notice of its meetings.
- For regular meetings, notice must include the time and place of the meeting. For all other meetings—special and emergency meetings—notice must include the time, place, and purpose of the meeting.
A public body must make all of its meetings open to the public at all times.
- Secret ballots, whispering of public business, and serial meetings or discussions are all prohibited under the openness requirement.
A public body must keep and maintain meeting minutes.
- Minutes must be promptly prepared, filed, maintained, and open to the public. Meeting minutes do not need to be verbatim transcripts but must have enough detail to allow the public to understand and appreciate the rationale behind a public body’s decisions.

Note: This information is current as of the publication of this manual and is subject to change. H.B. 51, by its terms, is effective until June 30, 2022. Legal counsel should be consulted if there is any uncertainty about whether these changes apply.

Ward 7 Councilwoman Endorses Participatory Budgeting Proposal

By Bruce Checefsky

Several dozen people packed into the Happy Dog on Detroit Avenue in the Gordon Square District on Nov. 2 for the City Club of Cleveland panel on participatory budgeting (PB CLE). The atmosphere was festive and optimistic. Erika Anthony, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Cleveland VOTES, hosted the panel discussion.

Panelists included Stephanie D. Howse, Ward 7 Councilwoman, Cleveland City Council; Michelle B. Jackson, Freelance Writer and Community Organizer, Participatory Budgeting CLE; and Kenny Medrano, Former Director, Participatory Budgeting, District 26, New York City.

A participatory budget (PB) is an innovative policy-making tool involving citizens in spending municipal funds. Participatory institutions aim to enhance governance, information sharing, and the responsiveness of political agents to citizens, leading to fiscal accountability and efficiency.

PB started in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1989 as an anti-poverty measure that helped reduce child mortality. Since then, PB has spread to over 7,000 cities worldwide and has been used to decide budgets from states, counties, cities, housing authorities, schools, and other institutions. The New York Times calls PB revolutionary civics in action by deepening democracy, building stronger communities, and creating a more equitable distribution of public resources.

Although PB holds a great deal of promise, there are limitations to the process, including limited participation of the marginalized. Some residents, especially the very poor, find participation difficult given the time and resource commitments required. PB also requires a strong commitment from the local government, and without support, expectations set by the PB process are often not met, according to some experts.

Howse served on the Cleveland City Council from 2008 to 2014 and represented District 11 of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2015 to 2021 before being reelected to City Council last year. She grew up in a civic-minded home, where her mother served as president of the local street block club and precinct committee captain. It gave the experienced councilwoman plenty of opportunities to interact with the community at a young age.

“I have early memories of handing out political fliers and candidate election materials at age six,” she said. “Politics is fun.”

Howse introduced legislation for participatory budgeting while in the Ohio House. She advocated for $1 million per house district, and with 99 house districts in Ohio, her proposal topped nearly $100 million. It went nowhere.

“Our government system is not organized for everyday people. We need new ideas and concepts to better our democracy,” she said. “The worst we could do is mess up some money, and we just did that.”

Mayor Bibb released a Rescue & Transformation Plan in May 2022, which included ten priorities to maximize the America Rescue Plan & Recovery Act (ARPA) and other federal funds coming to the City of Cleveland. Included in the plan were efforts to stabilize the budget and close the digital divide, violence prevention, public safety, lead-safe priorities, and arts & neighborhood amenities, among other investments. Bibb announced the creation of a new Center for Economic Recovery, with a strategic policy team that will engage with Cleveland City Council to shape and evaluate ideas for ARPA-funded projects that address urgent challenges. There was no mention of participatory budgeting or the PB CLE proposal.

A few weeks later, Cleveland City Council President Griffin unveiled plans to spend $53 million of ARPA funds for home repairs, housing assistance, crime prevention, and response. His rationale was to allocate money to help the entire city rather than individual neighborhoods.

PB CLE organizers want $5 million for a civic participation fund, down from the $30.8 million ask last year. The original figure represented 30.8% of people living in poverty. They expect to present a new proposal to Cleveland City Council early next year.

Molly Martin, a member of the Cleveland Catholic Worker community, director of strategic initiatives at the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, and an organizer for PB CLE, is advocating for a specific policy. A ballot initiative is not out of the question if the City Council does not support its proposal.

“Our coalition started on the premise that we want to see PB CLE happen for the good of Cleveland,” Martin said. “ARPA was meant to create the infrastructure so we can do it with other public money later,” adding that without the support of their new proposal, “we have seen the ballot initiative work in other cities.”

No Comment: City Council pauses public comments for the summer

By Doug Breehl-Pitorak, Cleveland Documenters

Public comments at Cleveland City Council are taking a summer break—a 14-week break. Here’s what you need to know in a visual from Cleveland Documenters’ Paul Rochford, followed by some more background information.

City Council’s annual summer recess starts after its June 6 meeting. The next “regular” meeting will be Sept. 12. The full council is set to meet twice during the recess, but public comments will not be allowed. Council set its summer schedule with this resolution:

Why the pause on public comments? Joan Mazzolini, council’s communications chief, gave Cleveland Documenters two reasons:

1. The two summer sessions aren’t “regular” meetings

2. Council doesn’t set specific start times for these sessions

Council’s rules say that any person may be heard during the portion of a “regular” meeting set aside for public comment. The rules define “regular meetings” as those held in the Council Chamber on Mondays at 7 p.m.

The rules also say the mayor, council president or any five members of council can call a special meeting with at least 12 hours of written notice to all council members. Public comment isn’t included at special meetings. Find the council’s rules here.

There are 14 weeks between regular council meetings and the opportunity to address full council with a public comment. But you still can speak at a committee meeting. Keep track of what committees are meeting and when on the council’s Legistar calendar page.

See an interesting committee meeting? Find the committee chair’s contact info here and ask to make a public comment at the meeting.

In the meantime, find video of recent public comments—and transcripts edited by Documenter Lauren Hakim— right here.

You can go here to leave comments online and—starting Sept. 7 at noon—register to speak at the Sept. 12 meeting.

City paint program could use a fresh coat; residents cite costly labor and slow process as issues

Tuesday Gibson outside her Buckeye-Woodhill home. Gibson didn’t complete Cleveland’s Exterior Paint Program, and she’s not alone. About 64 percent of applicants who were approved in 2020 and 2021 have not finished painting their homes. (Photo by Tim Harrison)

By Doug Breehl-Pitorak/Cleveland Documenters

Tuesday Gibson lives with her mom, Barbara, in a 107-year-old home in Cleveland’s Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood. Gibson had hoped Cleveland’s Exterior Paint Program, which offers free paint and supplies to help residents repaint their homes and safely remove any hazardous lead-based paint, would provide enough support to give the home a fresh coat.

Gibson applied and was approved, but before ever prepping her house for painting, she realized the program wasn’t going to work for her.

“It was a lot of stipulations just to get the paint to do the job,” she said.

Gibson’s home never got a new paint job, a reality shared by many applicants.

The city’s goal for the program was to have 1,000 homes painted during the last two years.

In that time, 374 applicants — 37 percent of that goal — have completed the program, said Louise Jackson, commissioner of the city’s Division of Neighborhood Services.

Return of the paint program

The Exterior Paint Program was revamped “to help residents leverage these and other city services which can help protect their home investments, improve housing stock in our neighborhoods and create a better quality of life,” former Mayor Frank Jackson said in a 2019 press release announcing the program’s return.

City Council passed legislation and a budget of $521,000 per year was approved for paint and supplies, according to Commissioner Jackson. The city paid Sherwin-Williams Co., the primary vendor, $378,063 for paint and supplies, according to public records obtained by Cleveland Documenters. Bloom Brothers, the lone other vendor participating, received $2,558.

‘A lot of stipulations’

The city hit and exceeded its goals in terms of applications and approvals.

In the last two years,1,338 residents applied and the city approved 77 percent to participate in the program, according to Jackson. Most applicants were homeowners — relatively few were tenants — and predominantly identified as Black or African-American, according to city application data. The median income of applicants was about $15,750.

However, only 36 percent of those approved got their homes fully painted, suggesting complications came after residents were approved.

Residents told Cleveland Documenters the challenges they experienced included:

Labor costs or difficulty painting
A confusing and slow-moving process
Concerns about city deadlines

For Gibson, who rents one floor of her mother’s two-family home, doubts about the program grew after she was approved. She knew residents had to find the labor, whether that meant doing the painting themselves, recruiting family or friends or hiring professionals. But contractors who visited her home gave her an estimate of $3,000 to paint. And, they said, the siding had rotted wood that would need to be replaced before painting.

Saving money for those repairs in addition to hiring painters — and having the work itself done — would push Gibson close to the city’s fall deadline, she said. And she wasn’t even sure the city’s voucher would provide enough paint to cover her roughly 2,000-square-foot home. That made the required training and multiple inspections — four total — seem less worthwhile. Gibson gave up.

Instead, she is considering saving up for vinyl siding.

“It’s the ‘give me $600 and fix it’ that’s not going to work,” she said. “Not for this size house.”

Though the 2021 application says residents could get up to $600 for paint and supplies, the legislation calls for up to $1,500 for owner-occupants and $750 for tenants. Jackson told council in March 2021 that the city lowered the amount on the application because the average voucher was for about $600. Plus, some people had used more paint because they didn’t like their first color choice or because they tried spraypainting and ended up wasting it, she said.

The painting deadline stated on the application — Oct. 31 — was top of mind for several residents.

Gibson and another resident interviewed worried they would have to pay back the voucher amount if they didn’t finish in time. Though it’s not clear in the applications, Jackson said residents can return unused supplies and paint that isn’t tinted and can request extensions to finish painting their homes.

“We want people to paint,” Jackson said.

The waiting (to paint) is the hardest part, for some
While the physical toll of painting or the cost of hiring professionals created challenges for some residents, Judy Muldoon’s problem was waiting for her vouchers to come.

Muldoon, who lives in West Park-Jefferson, gave her two-story bungalow a fresh, dark green coat — mostly by herself. That required eight-hour days and self-set deadlines.

After filling out an application, Muldoon attended the required virtual class on lead-based paint safety the first week of June. After that, she should have received a voucher for her “prep pack,” a kit of supplies for preparing homes for painting, including the removal of lead-based paint. But she didn’t get that until the end of July, which she said cost her time to paint during the summer.

“It shouldn’t take almost two months to get the voucher,” Muldoon said. “So, somewhere in there, in the mechanics of the city, it just needs to be tightened up.”
Muldoon received her first paint voucher in September and finished painting in November, she said.

Despite a rough start, Muldoon said the Bellaire Puritas Development Corporation and the Sherwin-Williams store in Brooklyn made the remaining process go smoothly. Muldoon, out of work since the pandemic, said she appreciated a program that gave her about $600 of paint.
“It started out very slow; I wasn’t happy with it in the beginning,” she said. “But once I started, I was really grateful for every last bit of it.”

For other residents who experienced a delay in receiving vouchers, the timeframe to paint was even shorter.

Marileidy Fermin applied in February of last year. She received her supply voucher in June or July and prepared her West Boulevard home for painting. Fermin then began a months-long process of calling the city — as the application instructs — in order to get the paint voucher. Fermin, a supervisor at Help Me Grow, a support network for expecting and new moms, called every week or so but didn’t reach anyone until Nov. 2, two days after the program’s deadline.

Though she doesn’t remember the name of the person she spoke with that day, details of the call have stuck with her.

Initially, she was told that the program had ended. After Fermin explained how she had tried to speak to someone, the city offered a deal, she said: if Fermin could paint her home in two days, she would get the paint voucher and not have to pay back the money in the amount of the vouchers she redeemed. If that didn’t work, she could wait until spring to paint.

Not wanting to pay back the money, risk the program’s end or deal with the arrival of new city personnel unfamiliar with her situation, Fermin paid three people to help paint, a job that took five to seven cold and rainy days in early November.
“That was the biggest challenge ever,” Fermin said, adding that she wasn’t aware of the deadline or penalty until the Nov. 2 call. “I had to … pay somebody to come and paint as soon as we can.”

Ultimately, things worked out, she said, with the program saving her money on a new coat of sky blue paint for her home.

Marileidy Fermin used Cleveland’s 2021 Exterior Paint Program to give her West Boulevard home a fresh, sky blue coat. Years ago, Fermin used a previous version of the program to remove hazardous lead-based paint. (Photo provided by Marileidy Fermin)
Labor is a key challenge

Council Member Anthony Hairston, whose Ward 10 had the highest number of program applicants — 138 — said that while the program has helped many residents beautify their homes, securing labor remains a challenge.
“I think that there are some legitimate needs that exist that we should look at,” Hairston said.

House painting in Cleveland can be difficult, especially for people without experience, said Kris Harsh, the newly elected council member for Ward 13 and former Housing Director at Metro West CDC. Harsh spent several years working with a crew painting house and said it’s not hard to spot a Cleveland home with a new coat of paint that stops at the eaves. That’s because most people can only get 40-foot ladders.

“Getting a 60-foot ladder isn’t easy,” he said, noting that they are difficult to set up and maneuver, especially on windy days.

Harsh wonders if it would be beneficial to slow down the program and, instead of enrolling new residents each year, build relationships to help overcome challenges to completing the work.

“Programs like this — you have to get a whole lot of things lined up to get it to work perfectly,” he said.

Lynn Rodemann, housing outreach specialist at Slavic Village Development, said that the cost of labor was a barrier for residents and that the lack of broadband access prevented some from taking the required lead-safe training. In some cases, her CDC used money from one of its programs to help seniors and disabled residents pay for the painting. “But our funds are limited,” she said.

Quotes for painters ranged widely, from $3,000 up to $8,000, residents told Cleveland Documenters. Some also were concerned that contractors would not safely discard lead-based paint. Jackson told the City Council last March that the city had learned of at least five contractors who did not follow proper rules for scraping or paint-chip disposal.
City Council President Blaine Griffin said the clock is ticking on the program. He doesn’t want to scrap it because programs often need three to five years to become functional, and the pandemic and staffing shortages likely hampered success. Griffin, however, said he would be hesitant about the city paying for labor without an honest assessment of costs and with concern about residents being able to choose their own contractors. Still, he is open to ideas for improvement.
“We will definitely listen to the public to figure out how we can do better,” Griffin said.

Fermin and other residents would like to see a program that offers free or low-cost labor based on income for applicants who need assistance with painting.

“You might have the paint, but then if you don’t have anybody or if you don’t have the money to pay the labor, that’s not going to work,” she said.

Reporter Rachel Dissell contributed to this story.

Find meeting notes and live-tweet coverage of local government meetings at https://cleveland.documenters.org/

Tips for Improving Communication Between Cleveland Residents and City Government

By Gennifer Harding-Gosnell

Good communication is at the center of any healthy relationship, and with a new mayor, administration and council, what better time to look at ways to improve how city government and Cleveland residents talk to one another.

Effective communication increases the chance that legislators are willing and able to hear your thoughts and opinions, and the likelihood of getting action.

The Cleveland Observer reached out to individual members of the City Council to get their thoughts and ideas on things the community can do to help improve communications with local legislators:

Get organized

Find support from other members of your community. “I always encourage residents to engage others in any project, initiative, or cause,” says Ward 15 Councilwoman Jenny Spencer. “I hope that residents will choose to organize their community rather than feeling they have to shoulder something alone.”

Running a well-structured campaign can give your cause good momentum, similar to the way lobbyists work. “It can help to know that there is a citizen movement and/or a coordinated group of residents behind any resident outreach,” says Spencer.

Online Users: This easy-to-read toolkit is only 6 pages and provides community organizing for beginners’ explanations. This article goes deeper into the concepts behind community organizing. For an example of a fully structured campaign, see the Clevelanders For Public Comment organization.

Ask for something specific

Vague or broad comments and requests about issues are harder to address and don’t provide legislators clear directions on exactly what you want them to do. You can ask for them to introduce, back, or oppose the legislation, attend community events, and write letters of support on your behalf. Focus on the problem you want to solve and be specific with your request – legislators can’t govern just on emotional pleas.

Online Users: This article explains these and other effective communication concepts more in-depth.

Utilize public comment

Public comments to City Council can be made in-person at regular Council meetings or can be submitted as written comments online. Ward 12 Councilwoman Rebecca Maurer says there should be more: “[We need to] get a public comment at committee meetings, not just council meetings. This will allow the public to engage in the nitty-gritty on substantive issues.”

Online Users: Here is the public comment information and registration page directly from Cleveland City Council. The Cleveland Documenters’ Guide To Public Comment tells you everything you need to know about the process, including a handy one-page guide to walk you through the basics.

Actively support systemic changes both residents and council members are advocating that make civic engagement easier

Encourage your legislators to educate residents on the how and why of their decision-making. This is transparency. Support and participate in efforts to educate and engage other residents, like sharing educational resources on social media, or inviting a conversation at your local park.

On Council’s end, Maurer believes they should make council meetings easier for the public to understand and follow. “Right now they are very fast-paced,” she says, “and if you don’t know how the council works, they can be hard to follow.”

“How do we expect the public to know first reading vs. second reading vs. journal, etc. Even the voting structure can be hard to understand if you aren’t used to it. Council members don’t [speak up if they] vote ‘yes’, [only] if they want to vote ‘no’. We need to slow it down and explain what we are doing.”

To make it easier for residents to attend, Maurer also suggested, “When it is COVID-safe, [why not] take council meetings to the public by holding them at parks and rec centers.”

Online Users: This one-page guide by Cleveland Documenters explains the legislative process in a nutshell, the basics of what you’ll need to understand how Cleveland City Council works.

Become a resource

Make sure you are working with as much knowledge and information on your issue as is available to you before communicating about it with legislators. Know your topic or the re-telling of your experience inside and out. Leave information for your legislators (cards, pamphlets, etc.) so they have something tangible that they can use to look into your concern and follow up with you later. Ward 17 Councilman Charles Slife says, “I appreciate when commenters offer specific resources that members can use to learn more about the topic.”

Follow up

Set a reasonable timeline for responses and actions, and be ready to follow up with legislators when those deadlines hit. Ask for your current status or if they need more information about your concerns. Address communication shortcomings with them. “Residents should hold their individual member of Council to a high standard,” says Slife, “and if necessary, explain that their communications strategy is failing to get information out to residents expeditiously.”

Meet your legislator’s half-way

Communication is a two-way street. It requires a messenger and a receiver, and both must be engaged for communication to occur. “My position has always been, if you care about your community then you need to participate in it on some level,” says Ward 8 Councilman Mike Polensek.

Don’t have the time or energy to organize a campaign or attend Council meetings? “I know there are many single moms and dads trying to raise their families and working at the same time, thereby making it difficult to participate in neighborhood evening meetings,” says Polensek. “That is why I encourage people to get ahold of me by [phone, email], whatever means they feel comfortable with.”

“Believe it or not, I still get handwritten or typed letters in the mail…I did today,” he says.

Make direct contact with your Council member, don’t rely on social media as a gauge for what is or is not known. Charles Slife points out “the importance of reaching out and making contact and not assuming that someone else has.”

“We live in an age of instant information,” he says, “but the day-to-day demands of the job don’t always let members of Council keep up in real-time. I tell residents never to assume that their Council member is up-to-speed on breaking news. Often information makes it to social media before we receive any sort of call or e-mail. There have been many instances where people are talking about an issue on Facebook, even criticizing me, and I was wholly unaware of the issue up to that point.”

Online Users: Here is the contact information for all members of Council and other city agencies.

This article was written with information obtained from Documenters.org, a news service providing coverage of local government meetings.