2026-09-28 - Finance, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee

00:09[music]

00:49down. Hey

00:52Hey, hey, hey.

01:00[music]

01:31>> [music]

01:42[music]

01:43>> hey

01:55honey.

02:08Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

02:14[music]

02:22[music]

02:49>> [music]

03:43[music]

03:54>> Hey, hey, hey.

03:57Hey. Hey. Hey.

04:14[music]

04:51>> [music]

05:00[music]

05:52>> Good afternoon. Today is Monday,

05:54September the 28th,

05:562026.

05:58This committee of finance, diversity,

06:00equity, and inclusion is called to

06:02order. Madame clerk, please call the

06:04role

06:06>> here.

06:11>> Present.

06:17Thank you. Uh we'll begin by MUN Court.

06:19If MUN Court can come to the table as

06:21MUN Court here, municipal court, please

06:23join us at the table.

06:30All right. This is ordinance number

06:32930-2026

06:35as amended by council member Griffin by

06:37departmental request. an emergency

06:40ordinance authorizing the clerk of the

06:41Cleveland Municipal Court and the

06:43director of finance to employ one or

06:45more professional consultants to process

06:48and collect parking infraction tickets

06:50and other civil tickets for a term not

06:53to exceed three years with one two-year

06:57option to renew exercisable by the clerk

07:00of Cleveland Municipal Court or the

07:02director of or the director of finance

07:05as as appropriate. Uh there is an

07:09amendment. The amendment states that

07:10there is no legal objection to this

07:12legislation if amended as follows. One

07:14in section one line two after contrary

07:17insert the director of finance on behalf

07:19of this is dated 9126 signed by Patricia

07:22M. McGinty assistant uh Patricia McGinty

07:26Aston director of law. Hello. Please

07:29introduce yourself and

07:33>> and uh press the green and

07:37>> Yeah, just touch it. There you go. Right

07:39there.

07:40>> Good afternoon. I'm Holly Murphy. I'm

07:42the purchasing manager for Cleveland

07:43Municipal Clerk of Courts. And we're

07:45here to request approval to do the RFP

07:48process for our parking infractions

07:51contract for um additional years. The

07:53current one expires in um is it June or

07:57May? the end of May of 2027.

08:00>> Thank you. So, it's pretty routine

08:02contract. This is relieved by municipal

08:04services. Uh, does anybody have any

08:07questions for this? Councilman Brian

08:09Casey.

08:09>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman,

08:11Miss Mur, Miss Murphy, Miss Murphy, can

08:13you tell us what other civil tickets

08:15are?

08:17>> I'm going to refer that question to John

08:19Gailick who's our director. Good

08:20afternoon.

08:21>> John, director of parking violations. uh

08:23other civil tickets uh currently

08:25referred to the waste collection

08:27tickets.

08:28>> Okay.

08:29>> Um go ahead.

08:30>> Do any of these any of this other civil

08:32tickets, Mr. Chairman, to to our

08:34presenters include the old red light

08:37camera tickets?

08:39>> Uh to the chairman, to the councilman.

08:41Uh that is part uh the way

08:46um we we we worked the collections. That

08:48was all part of the parking contract

08:50initially.

08:52Um, so no, at this particular point,

08:55this does not this only refers to the

08:57waste collection and parking. This does

08:59not refer to the photo old photo

09:01infractions. So I'm just looking through

09:04the legislation, Mr. Chairman, and it I

09:08don't see that it doesn't include

09:14it's just respecting civil tickets

09:16issued under chapter 551.

09:19And I'm not familiar with 551.

09:22Um, and I only ask, Mr. Chairman, to to

09:26our presenters because this council

09:28recently passed a resolution that I'm

09:30sure you're very familiar with um asking

09:34the clerk of courts not to uh collect

09:39old traffic and for or the the old

09:44>> speed speed tickets or what I forgot

09:46what we're calling them. So, I want to

09:48make sure that this leg that we're not

09:52sending a mixed message, right? That

09:53we're not saying don't collect them and

09:55then we're giving you the ability to go

09:57out there and collect for them.

09:59>> Correct. Uh uh again, the this is only

10:03to allow to enter into a new contract

10:05with with a either the existing vendor

10:07or uh a new vendor for the parking

10:10tickets. Um, anything that's on the

10:13database

10:15would still be collectible if the clerk

10:17decides to to go forward with that.

10:24So, this says that the entity is to

10:27provide services in processing and

10:28collecting parking parking and

10:31infraction tickets and judgments.

10:34Correct. So that's all you would be and

10:37then your whereas

10:40um states the process in collecting

10:41services required for parking

10:43infractions is comparable to that needed

10:45with respect to waste disposal

10:47infractions.

10:49So is this just stating that you're just

10:52doing parking

10:54and waste?

10:55>> Correct. 551 refers specifically to

10:58waste collection.

10:59>> Okay. And then you're telling us that

11:01you're not collecting under this piece

11:04of legislation, whoever your third party

11:06vendor is that you're going to select

11:08will not be going after old speed camera

11:11tickets.

11:11>> Uh I I I'm not I'm not able to answer

11:14that at this moment.

11:15>> All right. Well, do Mr. Chairman, to to

11:17to John, with with all due respect, do

11:20you know when you're going to know?

11:21>> Um I that is is is the decision of the

11:25clerk? I you know, I can't speak for

11:27that.

11:38All right. Well, this won't go without

11:40objection, Mr. Chairman.

11:43>> And you guys can't you don't have

11:45anybody that can provide that answer.

11:48>> Not at the moment.

11:48>> Not at the moment. I do not sorry to the

11:50council person.

11:51>> Okay. And just for clarification, man,

11:52Councilman uh Kazy cuz uh what they're

11:56probably going to do is make sure that

11:58they reach out to the clerk and I know

11:59that this is going to come up this

12:01evening, but what is clarification to

12:03make sure that everybody understands the

12:05question that you have that they can't

12:06answer?

12:08>> Are you asking you?

12:09>> Yeah. Could you tell me one more time so

12:11I can make sure I understand the

12:12question? So, we want to make sure that

12:14whoever the third party vendor is that

12:16is selected will not be going after

12:20>> uh the old traffic camera tickets, which

12:22the newest one is at least 12 years old.

12:25>> Correct. Right.

12:26>> Right.

12:26>> Okay.

12:27>> So, you know, we passed the resolution

12:30two weeks ago um encouraging the clerk

12:34not to not to collect those anymore and

12:35we did it as a courtesy through a

12:37resolution and not

12:39>> not legislation. Right. And I just want

12:42to make sure that we're not passing that

12:44two weeks ago and then all of a sudden

12:45giving you the ability to go out and

12:48collect them through your third party.

12:50So I want to make sure that your third

12:51party vendor is not going to be out

12:54there attempting to collect the third

12:56party tickets or the clerk itself. Okay.

13:00>> Thank you.

13:00>> Thank you for the clarification,

13:01Councilman. And if you could um I'm

13:04going to at least recommend this for

13:07passage, but it'd be good if you can get

13:08that answer to the councilman

13:10expeditiously. Okay.

13:12>> Excellent.

13:12>> All right. Thank you.

13:13>> Thank you.

13:14>> Uh I know that Councilman Kazy has a

13:16follow-up question, but anyone else uh

13:19>> see Councilman Joseph Jones.

13:22>> Mr. Chairman, briefly, um I think um my

13:25colleague Council Kazy brings up a a

13:28line of questioning that I want to tag

13:30in on real quick. So basically, do we

13:33know that part of this is is waste

13:36collection uh civil tickets um and the

13:41other part of this is um collection

13:44services required for all parking

13:46infractions. So it would be that would

13:48be all over the entire city of

13:50Cleveland, Mr. Chairman. Uh to the

13:52distinguished gentleman.

13:54>> Correct. Um yes, that would be anywhere

13:56in in the city. That's correct.

13:58>> Mr. Chairman, to the distinguished

13:59gentleman. I'm sorry. What's your name?

14:00>> John. John Gayen.

14:01>> Uh, Mr. Chairman, to uh John

14:03>> Gayen.

14:04>> Gayen.

14:05>> Yes.

14:05>> Uh, to Mr. Galen. Um, is this all of the

14:08the tickets that that that you you will

14:11be collecting off this particular

14:12ordinance?

14:14>> Off of these two ordinance, correct? We

14:16will be collecting parking tickets and

14:18waste collection tickets.

14:19>> I see. And so, Mr. Chairman, to Mr.

14:21Galen, um, do we know what vendor that

14:23we're going with?

14:24>> Uh, that has not been determined yet. We

14:26have not published the RFP yet.

14:28>> I see. So, Mr. Mr. Chairman, um the last

14:31two RFPs that have been published, who

14:33did we go with, Mr. Chairman

14:35>> to Mr. Galen, or who can answer?

14:37>> We've the previous uh currently it's uh

14:40a trellent corporation uh of Modaxel is

14:46their parent company. Uh previously to

14:49that was a company called Conduit

14:52Technologies. And so what they will be

14:55doing basically is is is handling the

14:57administrative function of this and then

14:59going and collecting all of the fees and

15:01fines that

15:02>> correctly.

15:03>> How does this work?

15:04>> Well, we we do all the collecting in our

15:06office. They handle um all the equipment

15:10um all the computers in the office, all

15:12the phone system, any interfacing with

15:15agencies, your motor vehicles, Cleveland

15:18police, that kind of a thing. uh we

15:20supply the people and answer the phones

15:22who process payments and and adjudicate.

15:24>> So all they all they just clarity here

15:28all they we're purchasing from them is

15:31just um hardware

15:34>> hardware but they also do all our

15:35mailings for us and they um again do all

15:39the interfacing with the different

15:40agencies that kind of thing.

15:42>> So they communicate with when you say

15:43the different agencies. Can you give an

15:45example? uh for example the uh the the

15:47Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles um they'll

15:50interface with them to get a name and

15:51address or make a vehicle that kind of

15:54thing.

15:54>> And Mr. Chairman, what is the the the

15:56contract? I didn't see a price here on

15:58the legislation.

16:00>> I don't have it here.

16:02>> Mr. Chairman, to the council. Um we did

16:05not tie a pricing to it because we um

16:07are going to take it out of the budget

16:09in 20 2027.

16:11So, I mean, it should be based around

16:13what it was previously. And I believe I

16:16I didn't bring that figure with me, but

16:17I think we've in the past have incumbred

16:20or like 250,000 or 350,000

16:23right off the gat, but it's usually

16:24about 600,000 annually that we're paying

16:27the vendor to do their portion.

16:30>> I see. So, so Mr. Chairman, just so that

16:33it makes sense to me because we've had

16:35two different vendors uh within a space

16:38of what type of time period? every 10

16:40years.

16:41>> 10 years. So every 10 years you get a

16:43it's like for the last 20 years now uh

16:45you've had two vendors that have done

16:47dealt with this work. Is that correct

16:49Mr. Chairman to Mr. Leman?

16:51>> Um conduitent was um I believe at least

16:54two contracts. So at least 10 years.

16:56>> All right. So how do we Mr. Chairman

16:58just because now you made it

17:00logistically now as my mind is working

17:03on a whole different level. Mr. Sherman,

17:04how do you um deal with the existing

17:07hardware that you have given the fact

17:09that are you going to get all new

17:10hardware? Is this all a part of the

17:12quarter of a mill? Is it roughly the

17:14quarter of a million dollars we're

17:15talking about in terms of a contract or

17:16what are we talking about?

17:17>> Well, the the hardware itself um when

17:20there's a new vendor, the old vendor

17:22would remove the old hardware.

17:23>> I see. So, but what what because it it's

17:26difficult for me to kind of like, you

17:28know, I'm gauging in my mind the the

17:31administrative functionality. I'm also

17:32gauging, Mr. Chairman, uh to the

17:35distinguished chairman, Mr. Leman. I'm

17:36also looking at what we're talking about

17:38in terms of capacity of equipment. So,

17:41do you have a breakdown, Mr. Chairman,

17:42uh to Mr. Leman, that you can provide to

17:44this council in terms of what that looks

17:46like? Give us a better clarity of what

17:48we're passing. Uh I yeah as far as

17:50computer terminals for example of

17:54somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to

17:5622 23 computer terminals uh I believe

18:00there's two LPRs license plate

18:03recognition that gets mounted in police

18:05vehicle that uh scans license plates uh

18:08phone system for every uh uh station. Um

18:14I think it was six cashier stations as

18:16well. So here here's what I would do

18:18because I know that the the chairman has

18:20a lot of legislation in front of him. So

18:22I want to make it really short. Mr.

18:24Chairman, uh to the distinguished

18:25gentleman, can you just provide for us

18:27that information in writing?

18:28>> Yeah, absolutely.

18:29>> I appreciate that. And thank you, Mr.

18:30Chairman.

18:31>> Thank you, Councilman. Uh Councilman

18:34Kevin Conwell.

18:35>> Thank you. And I'll be real quick. Um

18:39ordinance number 9302026.

18:43the director of finance employ one or

18:46more professional consultants. So what

18:48is the in the contract cost for how much

18:52money that you're going to give them or

18:54broke broken down to how much money were

18:57they made per manh hour or what?

19:02>> I'm I'm sorry. How much

19:03>> the dollars? How much dollars are we

19:04going are we talking about?

19:06>> How much is is the total cost? The

19:09>> total cost of the contract uh generally

19:11speaking over a 12-month period is

19:14anywhere from 500 to 600,000 depending

19:17on how many uh tickets get added to the

19:19system, how many notices get mailed.

19:23>> So they'll make at least 500,000. Is

19:28that correct? I mean I don't know

19:29maxing.

19:32>> Yeah, that that's what we would pay them

19:33normally over a 12-month period. Yeah.

19:35In that in that order of of amount. Yes.

19:38And so for that 12-month period, tickets

19:41coming in, let's say revenue coming in

19:43is how much?

19:45>> Parking ticket revenue usually

19:47>> for that what they're going to collect.

19:49>> Uh again, we do the collecting. Uh

19:51>> right, you do collecting,

19:52>> but uh it's parking ticket revenue is

19:54generally around 3 million a year

19:58>> out of out of the 500,000. 3 million a

20:00year.

20:00>> Correct.

20:01>> Right. And if you don't hit the 3

20:03million, you might do like 2.5 million.

20:04At least you'll do over 2 million. Is

20:06that your assumption? You think?

20:08>> I'm sorry. One more time, please. I'm

20:09sorry.

20:09>> So, if you don't hit the 3 million, you

20:11hit 2.5 million or whatever, but you're

20:13going to hit over 2 million. You think

20:15>> it's it's heavily dependent on issuance,

20:17but absolutely we'll be over 2.5. I

20:20think we're already 2.7 in that area

20:22right now. So,

20:23>> Oh, okay. No, no, I'm I'm good. I'm

20:25good. I'm good. Thank you.

20:28>> All right. Thank you. Seeing no other

20:29questions, ordinance number 930-2026,

20:32as amended, stands approved.

20:35>> Thank you.

20:36>> Thank you, everybody. Thank you.

20:38Please get that information back for

20:40Councilman Kazy uh if we could around uh

20:43making sure that the third party vendor

20:46is not going to be uh

20:48>> collecting camera tickets.

20:49>> Collecting camera tickets.

20:51>> Thank you.

20:56>> All right. Next up is Community

20:58Relations Board 9, ordinance number

21:009006-2026

21:02as amended by council members Pinsic and

21:05Griffin by departmental request an

21:07emergency ordinance to authorize an

21:09amendment to the agreement entered into

21:12with Kyhoga County Court of Common

21:15Police Juvenile Division under ordinance

21:17number 624-2025

21:20passed June 2, 2025 relating to conduct

21:24of the PASS program

21:27and the amendment.

21:30There are several amendments that are on

21:33your tablet. I would just have you

21:35acknowledge the amendments on your

21:36tablets.

21:38Okay. Director,

21:42>> good afternoon to the chair and to the

21:45body. Um, this is a pilot project that

21:48we just started at the beginning of this

21:49year, uh, through a grant and in

21:52partnership with the Kyhoga County

21:53Common, Please Juvenile Division. Uh,

21:55I'm going to let everyone introduce

21:57themselves who's here at the table

21:58working on the project. This is our

22:00pre-arrest support service pilot. Um, so

22:03everything that you're looking at, keep

22:04in mind, we've only been uh, working at

22:07this for the last seven months. So, I'm

22:08going to start with our partners at the

22:10county and let everyone introduce

22:11themselves.

22:12>> Good afternoon. Thomas Pipkin. I'm the

22:14director of grants and program

22:15development at Kahoo County Juvenile

22:17Court.

22:18>> Hello, I'm Monet Karfin, the past

22:20program specialist. Shereice Dawson,

22:23administrative manager, community

22:25relations.

22:29>> All right.

22:30>> So, this program uh is when actually we

22:33are now we when we started the pilot, we

22:35only started in the first and the fifth

22:37police district. This is where police

22:38officers have the opportunity to make a

22:41referral on low-level offenses to our

22:43youth diversion program. Um, what we

22:46shared with the safety committee last

22:48week is this is a project that we're

22:50trying to prevent young people under the

22:52ages of 18 getting that record in

22:56juvenile court. um that carries on with

22:58them uh as they try to apply for jobs

23:00once they do get over the age of 18 and

23:02don't realize they have a juvenile kind

23:04of track record of um of uh offenses or

23:08what have you that prevent background

23:11checks. So, this is where an officer

23:13within the police district can go ahead

23:14and make a direct referral to our

23:16department uh and we put them in the

23:18program to use youth diversion under the

23:21leadership of Miss Dawson. Um we started

23:24in of course the first and the fifth and

23:26now we've extended to the second as well

23:28as the third. The third is where we've

23:30had a lot of good traction and we're

23:32rolling out to the fourth district this

23:34week.

23:35Thank you. Anybody else want to add

23:38anything?

23:40All right, we're going to a line of

23:41questioning. Uh Councilman Palinsk is

23:45stepped out. Uh Councilman Joseph Jones

23:47and then Councilman Kevin Conwell.

23:50>> First of all, thank you uh Mr. Chairman,

23:52just uh listening to the director uh

23:55talk about the significance of the

23:57program and you know I I must concur um

24:01having a program like this to to help

24:04young people um uh not

24:09be discriminated against as relates to

24:11moving along in life and helping them

24:14along is certainly needed. Um the

24:16director talked about the passport for a

24:19program working in a number of um

24:21communities. When do we anticipate uh

24:24the fourth district uh having the

24:26opportunity to um have the program

24:30>> to the chair and to Councilman Jones? Uh

24:32we anticipate this week that we're going

24:34to the roll calls. We've been

24:36participating in the police district

24:37roll calls um all of their roll calls. I

24:40see.

24:40>> So the fourth district should be rolled

24:42out of this week beginning of next week.

24:44>> And Mr. chairman to the director. How

24:46much are we um we have in the program

24:49right now? I see a figure, but I'm not

24:51sure if that is written in gold. Is that

24:54the max that can be used? Is that

24:57150,000?

25:00>> Yes. Um these funds were garnered

25:02through uh the court via a competitive

25:05>> I'm sorry, I can't hear you. Sorry.

25:08>> Yes. These funds were garnered through

25:09the court via a competitive reclaim

25:11grant that was provided by the

25:13department of youth services. Um those

25:16funds that were awarded give us a max of

25:18150,000

25:20and and how many people Mr. Chairman to

25:23the director will this grant actually

25:26impact

25:28>> to the chair and to Councilman Jones?

25:31right now. Um again, it's based on after

25:34we get the referrals from the police, uh

25:36our staff does do an engagement to get

25:38the parents that have to kind of sign

25:41on. Um this was a discussion we had

25:44lively kind of in the safety committee

25:46meeting that parents still have to agree

25:48to sign up to be a part of the services.

25:51Uh so right now with the referral we had

25:53referrals of 15 but we only had 13

25:55families that have actually agreed to be

25:57participating uh into the program

26:00>> and then that referrals is made by the

26:02police department. Mr. Chairman to

26:04director

26:05>> to the chair to the councilman. Yes.

26:07>> Can you give us an example how that

26:08works?

26:09>> Sure. I'm going to defer to Miss Dawson

26:11and Miss uh car staff to to expel upon

26:15that

26:16>> through the chair to the councilman.

26:18Basically, if a an officer comes in

26:21contact with the youth that commits a

26:22low-level offense, they uh reach out to

26:25the youth, they will call juvenile court

26:27to screen the youth to make sure they

26:30don't have any open warrants or have a

26:32history of highle felonies. Um once that

26:35is cleared, they will take the young

26:37person home. They will provide the

26:39parent with a card that the parent can

26:42scan that will give them information on

26:44the program and we'll let them know to

26:46expect a call from us within 48 hours.

26:50After that, they will do their internal

26:53reporting that they need to do. nothing

26:55is transmitted through the prosecutor's

26:57portal that generates the charges and

27:00then we will contact the family within

27:0248 hours and we'll start our intake

27:04process and make referrals to services.

27:08>> And and what do you do, Mr. Chairman? I

27:10mean, and just there's a couple things I

27:12see here, right? So, if the person uh um

27:16you're saying that if they have a high

27:18level of previously offense, they may

27:20not be able to get into the program

27:23>> through the chair to the councilman.

27:24That is correct.

27:25>> And and why wouldn't those be the people

27:28we would want to touch and try to help

27:30with referral services? And then when we

27:32talk about, Mr. Chairman, the referral

27:34services, what what would you be what

27:37what is referral services?

27:39>> Okay. Through the chair, through the to

27:41the councilman. So, in reference to the

27:43services, it depends on, you know, where

27:45the youth risk at. It could be they need

27:48mental health counseling, we'll refer

27:49them to mental health counseling. If

27:51they need drug and alcohol counseling,

27:53we'll refer them to those services. A

27:55lot of our youth are in need of positive

27:57structured activities. So, we link them

27:58with positive structured activities in

28:00the community. Um, we have a lot of

28:02supportive services that we offer our

28:04families inhouse such as bed referrals,

28:07clothing, coats, shoes. So whatever the

28:10family needs, that's what we try to do

28:12to assist the family and we make

28:13referrals as needed.

28:15>> So explain to me, Mr. Chairman, uh to

28:17the director, why would we exclude

28:19anybody that would come through the

28:21process? Was it that we got too many

28:22people who got issues or

28:24>> or you know, I mean, can you explain

28:28that to me because, you know, I know

28:30some folks that they they do need those

28:32services and probably if they had them

28:34the first time, they would you wouldn't

28:35be seeing them second or a third time.

28:37So why shouldn't we uh help those people

28:41who um uh are just getting in trouble?

28:46>> I can respond to that. So um this is a

28:49law enforcement diversion. So um from a

28:53screening standpoint, yes, this is only

28:55meant for youth that don't currently

28:57have probation involvement. Um those

29:00youth are already receiving services um

29:03through the court, so they would not be

29:05eligible for this diversion process.

29:06This is hopefully to keep them from ever

29:09coming through the front door of the

29:10court. Um with but as I said with this

29:13being a law enforcement diversion

29:14opportunity, the officers that are on

29:17the ground in that moment interacting

29:19with those youth um kind of are driving

29:23um whether or not that youth is going to

29:24get something official or they're going

29:26to be um afforded the opportunity to go

29:28through the PASS program. Youth can

29:30engage in the past program more than

29:32once. Um, so typically right now from a

29:35court standpoint, the majority of our

29:38lower level misdemeanors are also

29:40getting this diversion option if it does

29:42go official. Um, but this really just

29:44gives us a stop gap to not even have

29:46them come in our door. Um, but also

29:48provide them with the same level of

29:49services in the community prior to. So

29:52that's just a distinction that we've

29:54agreed upon with local law enforcement

29:56meetings with commanders that lower

29:59level misdemeanor offenses would be

30:00eligible for the program, but felony

30:02level um um complaints would just go

30:06through the traditional probation route.

30:09>> So I see it's a long long explanation.

30:11So let me let me just say this, Mr.

30:14Chairman. Um

30:16if I may, you know, I I would suggest

30:20that you try to And just make sure I'm

30:22hearing this correctly. You're saying

30:24people who may have juveniles who may

30:26have a little bit more of a tougher

30:28stringent record or or potential

30:30felonies won't or excluded from this and

30:34that they already have programs

30:36available that's helping them. Am I

30:38hearing that

30:40if they're currently involved with

30:42juvenile court? Yes. I'm not saying each

30:45youth um who you know may have had court

30:47involvement in the past and then came

30:49back to law enforcement's attention are

30:51still receiving those services. Um but

30:54you know this was a started out as a

30:56pilot. So you know we can tweak that's

30:59one of the things we have that feedback

31:01in place for law enforcement. If it's

31:03working they'll let us know if not.

31:04>> So my suggestion Mr. chairman to the

31:06group as you begin to, you know,

31:08evaluate these processes out and see how

31:11this program works as a pilot program

31:13would be to also look at some of those

31:16situations. Mr. Chairman, to the

31:18distinguished gentleman, I'm sorry,

31:19what's your name?

31:20>> Thomas Pipkin.

31:21>> Mr. Pipkins.

31:22>> Yes, sir.

31:23>> I like that name. Um, uh, Mr. Chairman

31:26to Mr. Pipkins. Um,

31:29one of the concerns that I have is being

31:32able to help people. And I'm not so sure

31:36that the programs that we have in place

31:38for those juveniles who who do rank to

31:41the level of having major issues or

31:43felonies are really getting the kind of

31:45assistance and attention that they

31:46technically need to have. And so, Mr.

31:49Chairman, we have some really great

31:50dynamic young people that may be at that

31:53level. Um, but uh certainly we've seen

31:56people who've been at that level come

31:58back around and turn their life around

32:00because they had an opportunity or a

32:01program that was able to assist them. So

32:03I would suggest Mr. Chairman a little

32:05bit more flexibility in your program as

32:07you continue to move forward. I think

32:09the other issue that's in concern Mr.

32:10Chairman to u Mr. Pipkins is the fact

32:13that a lot of the times if if the police

32:16officers are the only ones making

32:18recommendations you may not be getting

32:19the kind of referrals you technically

32:21need to do. So you need to look at Mr.

32:23Chairman to Mr. Pick Pipkins another

32:26revenue of selection process because

32:28sometimes uh and this is not throwing

32:30any shade on the police department. So

32:32I'm just make sure I say this again.

32:34This is not throwing any shade on the

32:35police department, but we're dealing

32:36with human beings and dynamic human

32:38beings. And so Mr. Chairman, I would

32:41suggest that we also have another look

32:42at who makes those decisions on who gets

32:46selected. Um so with that being said,

32:48thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I I

32:50conclude.

32:51>> Thank you, Councilman. And uh I just

32:53want to make sure that I caution

32:55everybody. This was also heard in safety

32:57councilman Mike Valenc. So I want to

32:59make sure that um as chair of safety uh

33:02you get a chance to

33:03>> Yes, Mr. Chairman. We did hear we did

33:05vet it. The only question we had that

33:07were concerned we wanted to see uh the

33:10numbers increase as it pertains to uh

33:12the number of youth uh participating and

33:15families in the program. So, um, that

33:18was our only concern and we were assured

33:20that they would work aggressively to see

33:23if they could increase those numbers.

33:25But again, it's voluntarily. It's up

33:27that the family has to volunteer. Um,

33:30and so that's a challenge before us. But

33:33other than that, we support it

33:35wholeheartedly.

33:36>> Thank you. And I just want to caution

33:38all my colleagues. Um when we are

33:39actually vetting these pieces, one of

33:41the reasons that we run them through the

33:43committee process is so that more of the

33:45operational side uh that Councilman

33:47Palencic uh identified as one of the

33:49concerns and that Councilman Jones

33:51identified as some of the

33:52recommendations that those are made

33:55during those committees. So then when we

33:57get to finance, we see if the

33:59recommendations were actually received

34:00or not because I think you both bring up

34:02some good points and I think I just

34:04would like to see those come out in the

34:06safety committees or the committees

34:08before they get the finance. So then

34:09that way we know if they follow through

34:11or not. Okay, Councilman Kevin Conwell,

34:13>> thank you very much.

34:15>> You know, I like um programs like this.

34:18Um,

34:20is this our first time to the chair to

34:22the director doing this?

34:25>> To the chair and to Councilman Conway?

34:26Yes, this is the first time. This is a

34:28pilot. Like I said, we just started

34:30literally the beginning of this year

34:32with this.

34:33>> Mhm. And cuz you know in the um suburbs,

34:38you know, Cleveland Heights, South

34:40Uklid, they protect their youth and they

34:44don't send their youth straight to the

34:45county so they they can get um uh a

34:49misdemeanor on them. Those charges will

34:52follow them and it would create a

34:53barrier to employment or whatever the

34:56case may be. they send them into some um

34:59diversion program so that they don't

35:01have to deal with that. But saying that

35:06in your scope, how many young people

35:08will you be able to deal with with this

35:11um little bit of money?

35:14>> And and if we could expound on

35:16Councilman Conwell's point, because I

35:18think he's bringing up a very very

35:20important point. Mhm.

35:22>> In the past, we as a city moved away

35:26from allowing the prosecutor to make

35:28decisions on the youth and making sure

35:32that the probation department or the

35:34diversion program made the

35:36determinations. And he is exactly right.

35:39The disparity was glaring where people

35:42in the city and the young kids in the

35:44city received charges uh to whereas the

35:47children in the suburbs and Mr. Austin

35:49knows we fought this fight a long time.

35:51So we reverse that. So it's kind of a

35:54little bit interesting to I don't want

35:56to divert from his question, but he's

35:57bringing up a very important topic that

35:59I think needs to be clarified.

36:01>> And you know CP, it's hard for them the

36:03children to get into um when they have

36:06that uh mark on them to get into

36:08colleges, Kent State, Bowling Green,

36:11whatever the case may be, a trade

36:12school, and then they're stuck right

36:14there in abject poverty. and um we got

36:18to not let them get into that.

36:20>> So, if you can answer the councilman's

36:22two questions about why is the

36:23prosecutor and law enforcement making a

36:25decision and also are we able to serve

36:28the adequate amount of people with that

36:29amount of money?

36:32>> Yeah. So, in relations to the

36:34prosecutor's office, keep in mind this

36:36is a version track. So, the prosecutors

36:38do not determine if these youth get to

36:40participate in this program. Nothing

36:42official goes to juvenile court through

36:44the prosecutor's portal. This is just a

36:47on-site referral. They actually do it

36:48through a QR code on their phone. Um

36:51they provide the use um demographic

36:54information, contact information. They

36:55hit submit and it goes directly to our

36:58liaison community relations board. So

37:00the prosecutor is not involved at all.

37:03Um as it relates to funding, we did

37:05understand it was it's grant funding.

37:07So, um, this is something that DY put

37:10out specifically for law enforcement

37:13diversion that we applied for and were

37:15awarded. Um, so that 150 was given for a

37:18two-year time u frame. Um, but those

37:21funds may be given an additional

37:24opportunity. They may put out another

37:26competitive that has been something that

37:27they've been trying to do to get that

37:29front end divergence. So there may be

37:30another opportunity, but the court will

37:32try to do what we can to go after their

37:34other funding opportunities,

37:36whatever the case may be to extend the

37:38program if it's identified to be a

37:41successful and viable program. Um,

37:44>> so I think that's why we started as a

37:47pilot with the first and the fifth

37:49district first because we didn't know

37:50what the capacity would be or what the

37:52volume of referrals would be.

37:54>> Once we saw that we could maintain,

37:56that's when we continue to add

37:57additional police districts. now with

37:59the fourth district being the last

38:00district that we're going to include.

38:02So, we haven't seen the volume that it

38:04would overload our past specialists at

38:07this point. So, we want to expand it out

38:08to all the police districts in the city

38:10of Cleveland. So, hopefully we can

38:11continue to get more kids engaged in the

38:14program.

38:14>> So, let me ask you, do the children do

38:17they see through the chair? Do they see

38:19you?

38:20Um, pickings, right?

38:22>> Yeah. Pip Kim,

38:23>> do they do they see you? Children need

38:26to see success every single day. And

38:28young African-American males who don't

38:30have a father figure

38:32>> need to see if they just see you

38:34>> that can benefit us from right there

38:37because they don't know how to act if

38:38dad is not there and uh sometime they

38:41even act up. But even in the schools

38:44when children go to to uh to the schools

38:46in CMSD,

38:49they mainly see um they don't see

38:51African-American male teachers. So they

38:54got the absence of that. So they don't

38:56know how to act and they do what they do

38:58and they don't even know emotional

39:00intelligence. But when they see you then

39:03that's that's right on through the

39:05chair.

39:06So they don't see me directly, but we

39:09currently have Miss Carfan is our um

39:12prere support specialist. So she and her

39:15um chain of command are the ones that

39:17are directly engaging with youth and

39:18families going out to the homes, going

39:20out to the schools.

39:21>> Do so is is there any males director do

39:24they get a chance to see? And that's

39:27very very important

39:29>> to the chair and the councilman Conwell.

39:30Also keep in mind you have your

39:32officers.

39:33>> You do what?

39:33>> You also have your officers. Um, so they

39:36do come in contact with our officers as

39:38well that also become um, and you've got

39:41a very very distinguished class of

39:44officers that are younger and also of

39:46color. Um, and so they represent the

39:49diversity exactly of what you're talking

39:50about that a lot of them come in contact

39:52with um, and that immediately gravitate

39:55towards and do kind of urge their

39:57parents to get them involved in the

39:58program. Again, these are low-level

40:00offenses. So, we're trying to attack

40:02this early on so they don't try to

40:04explore going any further uh in the

40:07world of doing something wrong. Um so,

40:10the advice they get in the time from

40:12that interaction with the officer um

40:14sets a tone as well.

40:16>> You know what? Send the tone.

40:19Here's a competitive disadvantage with

40:20that. A lot of our police officers to

40:24the chair, they they are not um

40:28African-American males and a lot of our

40:32our police officers, I'm not saying

40:34they're bad, it's just it is what it is.

40:36Meaning it's the way the energy compels

40:38it to be. Okay? And a lot of our police

40:42officers

40:44don't even live in the city of Cleveland

40:47and so they don't know about their

40:48issues and concerns. They don't know

40:50Glennville. They don't know Fairfax.

40:52They don't know Huff. They don't know uh

40:55um even the parts of the west side. And

40:57so when they try to talk with them, they

41:00they if you got someone that have an

41:02uplose view and a genuine concern and a

41:05sensitive ear to listen to their issues,

41:07you get it right there from where the

41:10police are at through the chair to um to

41:14the director.

41:16>> To the chair and to the councilman. I

41:18don't disagree in your assessment of

41:20what you're seeing. Um, but again, this

41:22is a pilot that we hope to grow. So,

41:24when you say, uh, will the staff

41:26eventually have male figures of this

41:29sort, we hope to explore that to add

41:31male figures to the team.

41:33>> Um, and I understand the sensitive

41:35nature about knowing the neighborhoods.

41:37>> Yeah, you do. and being able having to

41:39have people on staff that understand not

41:41just boots on the ground but also

41:43understanding the elements of the

41:44different neighborhoods because we're

41:45clear and all five police districts all

41:48of the neighborhoods are unique in their

41:49own way. So it is good to have someone

41:52from the neighborhood that understands

41:53the neighborhood that can relate to the

41:55conditions that are going on to also be

41:58that face as well as the youth is going

42:00through this program to also be another

42:02figure that they can look up to and

42:04guide them as well.

42:06>> Yeah. So monitor who's going who's who's

42:08evaluating the program. You don't have

42:10enough money to evaluate the program and

42:13uh I'm very interested in it. So we look

42:15at the evaluation process.

42:18Um we look at having role models. Is

42:21there you could bring in some role

42:22models from the Cavs, from the Browns,

42:24whatever the case may be. Um

42:28you know, you bring you bring me in to

42:30talk with them. You know, you have to

42:32see children have to see success every

42:34single day. And I don't care if Brian Ky

42:36looking at his clock or not. I don't

42:38care about that. This means a lot to me.

42:40>> If Come on, guys. We just keep

42:42everything.

42:42>> No, no. This mean a lot to me.

42:43>> Everything through the chair. If we

42:44could this mean through the chair. This

42:47means a lot to me. And this program,

42:50whatever, you know what you guys are

42:51doing means a lot to me. And um who's

42:55going to evaluate it?

42:57>> To the chair, to councilman Conwell.

42:59Right now, this is a state, like we

43:01said, funded project. So the state is

43:03definitely evaluating and that's why

43:05they've been gracious to give us some

43:06extensions with this. Um so in addition

43:09to the state uh office of youth services

43:13of course our our partners at common

43:15police court and the juvenile division

43:17are evaluating the the um how the

43:19process and the pilot goes as well.

43:21That's why we were able to go beyond

43:23just the first and the fifth police

43:25districts um to go a larger space. I

43:28think we welcome you all at the council

43:30table to be a part of this project and

43:32most definitely I know Miss Dawson just

43:33took notes so we will be reaching out to

43:35you all to be a part of the sessions

43:37because they do conduct sessions uh

43:39within the diversion program that do

43:41allow leaders to come and speak um to

43:43the different youth that they have

43:44involved and engaged and also they're

43:46looking for community service hours. I

43:48can't stress that enough. So if any of

43:49you are at the table looking for young

43:51people uh to participate in community

43:53service hours, please coordinate with

43:55us. We're more than happy to to work

43:56with you. Thank you, Councilman Conwell.

43:58Any closing remarks?

43:59>> Yeah, I do have closing remarks on it.

44:03You do individual service plans because

44:06every

44:08household is not the same,

44:10>> right? And so when you do that and you

44:13monitor it and you're doing pre-esting

44:15and post- testing also and you also

44:18forwarding people through the chair to

44:20towards employment or places like that.

44:23Sometime people need jobs, whatever the

44:25case may be. And you know what uh CP you

44:28mean you did stuff like this. It's not

44:30just the children sometime they come

44:33from a household

44:36that's um beating up the children either

44:38mentally or physically and telling them

44:42that they will not amount to anything.

44:44So I mean that stuff means a lot to me

44:46and to see this program work it need to

44:50be there. I would also talk with Sher

44:52Ulary too and see what we have with them

44:55to help the children out uh the young

44:58adults, you know, that way that

45:00prevention um I don't want to see them

45:02get a record or anything like that.

45:05>> To the chair and to Councilman Conwell.

45:07So, we utilize all partners. We utilize

45:10our PIO division. We utilize even our

45:13rec division. We utilize every

45:14employment services we can touch our

45:16hands on because we're very clear.

45:17That's why this is about families. So

45:19the data we're giving you is not just

45:21the youth enroll. It's the family being

45:22involved. This is trying to address all

45:24the needs of the family because we

45:26understand uh the young person does need

45:29that structure uh that community kind of

45:31built around them. So we are assessing

45:33the families as well uh making sure we

45:36can get mom whether it's mom,

45:37grandmother, auntie, uncle uh you know

45:40brother, older brother, what have you uh

45:42that has guardianship. Um, we are trying

45:44to work along with them to make sure

45:46that they can help the youth stay on

45:48track, but also that they're on track as

45:49well.

45:49>> Thank you, Councilman. That's the time.

45:52I know past your time already.

45:54>> Let me close it. Get in touch with

45:56Kimberly Dent downstate and get some of

45:59that tanniff money, temporary assistant

46:01for needy families. Get some of that

46:04money after you evaluate it so it can

46:06help us out. Also, you know the state.

46:09You called me down there to set it up.

46:11You make that happen with Kimberly. All

46:14right. Until I sent you. Thank you very

46:16much.

46:16>> Thank you, Councilman Brian Casey.

46:18>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'll be brief,

46:20Mr. Chairman, to the to the director.

46:22Um,

46:24police officers in these districts will

46:26refer youth that they come into contact

46:28with that meet the following criteria.

46:31Considered at risk of further

46:33delinquency matters, under the age of

46:3518, and reside in Kyogre County. So,

46:38does that mean if a kid from Parma gets

46:41caught in the first district and we

46:44realize that he's he fits this, this is

46:47still open to him? This is just not for

46:49Cleveland kids. Correct.

46:50>> Correct.

46:52>> To the chair and to Councilman Kazy, you

46:54are correct.

46:55>> But then if we have one of our youth,

46:57and by that I mean a Cleveland kid, get

46:59caught in Parma, right? He wouldn't know

47:03about this or wouldn't be eligible.

47:05Correct. to the chair and to the

47:07councilman, I would have to say to a

47:09degree that's correct because they still

47:11could qualify for our actual youth

47:13diversion program. Um,

47:14>> right. But for this for this,

47:16>> for this particular pilot, you are

47:17correct.

47:18>> Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you,

47:20Councilman Casey. Uh, seeing no other

47:22questions, ordinance number 9006-2026

47:25as amended, stands approved. Please sign

47:28on and please watch that closely. Um,

47:30Miss Dawson knows very well how hard we

47:33fought to get civil rights organizations

47:35and others to make it a more equitable

47:37policy so that prosecutors and law

47:40enforcement weren't making charging

47:41decisions when diversion should be um

47:44the the primary front line. Thank you.

47:47>> Thank you.

47:48>> Okay. All right. Thank you.

47:53Next uh we have Office of Equal

47:55Opportunity. is Office of Equal

47:57Opportunity here.

47:59Uh, ordinance number 1044-2026.

48:03I don't see them. And I want to caution

48:05my colleagues. We have a lot of

48:07legislation left. So, if you could, I've

48:10already shortened the clock on

48:11everybody. Uh, but if you can keep your

48:13comments limited. Once again, I would

48:16really appreciate it. Thank you. Next,

48:18we have public works. This is ordinance

48:20number 1033-2026

48:23as amended

48:25by council members Bishop and Griffin by

48:27departmental request an emergency

48:29ordinance authorizing the purchase by

48:31one or more standard and requirement

48:33contracts for the purchase lease or

48:35lease with option to purchase of various

48:38on-road vehicles apparatus and off-road

48:40equipment cabs bodies and accessories

48:43equipment and other aftermarket items

48:46necessary to equip the vehicles

48:47authorized for their intended purposes,

48:50including vehicle rehabilitation

48:52training and inspections as needed for

48:55the Department of Public Works. And the

48:57amendment states as follows. There's no

49:01legal objection to this legislation if

49:03amended as follows. One, in section two

49:06at the end, the director of public works

49:08shall provide written notice to the

49:10clerk of council whenever any purchase

49:13is made through the cooperative process.

49:16Which notice shall include the details

49:18of such cooperative purchases? Dated

49:2192826

49:23signed by Patricia M. McGinty McGinty As

49:27Patricia McGinty Aton assistant director

49:30of law. Director.

49:32>> Thank you, Council President. Uh this

49:34piece is passage of this legislation

49:36will is necessary for us to uh ensure

49:38that we can replace city vehicles and

49:40equipment that have outlived their

49:42useful life. Specifically, we have uh

49:44equipment for this the uh division of

49:47streets for mostly related to his rec

49:49resurfacing program. And we have another

49:51piece another piece of equipment for a

49:54recreation, the Zamboni machine that'll

49:56be used at Howerin Recreation Center. I

49:58have with me uh Commissioner uh Jeff

50:00Brown to answer any questions about this

50:02piece.

50:03>> Thank you, Councilman Kevin Bishop.

50:08>> Uh yes, Mr. President. We uh vetted this

50:10this morning and fully recommend it for

50:12pass.

50:13>> Thank you. Uh do any questions for Mr.

50:15Brown? Councilman Joseph Jones.

50:17>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's just a

50:18suggestion. Um and the suggestion comes

50:22in way of um looking at a piece earlier

50:27in um municipal um services where um we

50:32had an organization that um really broke

50:36down um how it was saving the city

50:39money. And you know, I've sat at this

50:42table here for quite some time and we've

50:45we we've passed off on hundreds of

50:48millions of dollars worth of vehicles

50:49over the space of almost 30 years. So,

50:53Mr. Chairman, my question would be to

50:55the director um looking at how we do our

51:00our processings and purchasing and have

51:02we looked at I know that we have an

51:05analytical department that looks at

51:06that, you know, what are we saving? how

51:09are we saving? So when we bring these

51:12various different um uh vehicles and the

51:16vehicle purchases sometimes there there

51:19quite extensive. So is there some kind

51:21of way that we Mr. chairman uh to the

51:25director can begin the proposition to

51:27say hey we've done it for a space of

51:29time so long is there any other methods

51:31by which we could potentially save the

51:34city and taxpayers money by the way in

51:36which we purchase our vehicles and Mr.

51:39Chairman I would suggest that you know

51:41we take a look at how we do our business

51:43and is is and what's the best practices

51:47uh with other cities that making major

51:49purchases like this um or do we parlay

51:52Mr. chairman to the director um working

51:55with other municipalities to

51:57collectively um lower our cost. Can you

52:00talk a little bit about

52:02>> [sighs]

52:02>> uh how we do our business and are we

52:05open to new ideals, new concepts,

52:08especially Mr. Chairman, when we have

52:09new technology and artificial

52:10intelligence that just really is

52:13amazing, Mr. Chairman. So, can you

52:15explore that with us or are you open,

52:17Mr. chairman um to to look at new

52:20concepts and ideas on how we we purchase

52:22and make decisions here.

52:23>> So, director,

52:24>> yeah, through the chair to the

52:25councilman. I'll try to be brief and

52:27I'll let the commissioner jump in as

52:28well. I think uh the choice of equipment

52:31that we are selecting is one of the ways

52:33that we try to save. For instance, one

52:35of the things we want to do is the uh

52:37the begala I believe pieces on your

52:39right.

52:39>> I'm sorry, I can't hear. M

52:41>> one of the pieces that we want to get

52:42are the bagala machines. These are the

52:44the pieces of equipment we use to

52:46recycle asphalt. So as opposed to us

52:49using cold patch which is very expensive

52:50and not that effective, we actually take

52:54old wall asphalt, recycle it and use

52:56that to fill potholes. So it in my mind

52:58the the type of equipment we purchase is

53:01helping us to save. Uh also the way that

53:04we purchase I'll let Commissioner um

53:05Brown talk about that, but he finds very

53:07creative ways for us to do things like

53:10lease options to purchase. Um there are

53:13sometimes we can get used pieces of

53:14equipment that are just as good. he's

53:17able to get those for a much lower

53:18price. But I'll let the commissioner

53:19speak to that.

53:20>> Uh so through through the chair today,

53:22Councilman, uh we utilize a number of uh

53:26methods to purchase equipment. Uh each

53:28time an ordinance like this is is

53:31passed, we look at the equipment we're

53:33going to purchase and what options we

53:35have to purchase it, whether it's

53:36through competitive bid or uh utilizing

53:39cooperative contracts like Sourcewell,

53:42HAC,

53:43uh or Ohio buys. and and we search

53:46through those to make sure we're getting

53:48the most competitive price. We don't

53:49just, you know, just just buy it because

53:52it's available. Uh we we we we and

53:56typically because we're trying to get

53:58the biggest bang for our buck every

54:00year, all the time, we search through

54:03what we're buying, why we're buying it,

54:05if there are any alternatives that are

54:07just as good that would be cheaper. And

54:09that that's done on a regular basis by

54:11uh the division of motor vehicle

54:13maintenance and the division of

54:14purchasing supplies.

54:16>> And Mr. Chairman, you know, first I want

54:18to thank um um the director and his his

54:21administration for what you do do. Um

54:24and this was again a a friendly

54:26suggestion. Um, I know that we purchase

54:29so many vehicles each year that's just

54:32boilerplate and I, you know, I never

54:35hear about, you know, sitting here at

54:37this end of the table, uh, as relates

54:39to, uh, working as a group collective.

54:43So, you know, that would be something

54:46that I would be interested in looking at

54:48seeing if we're looking at the the

54:50number of municipalities around us, how

54:52we can come into an agreement working

54:54together. For an example, if you know,

54:56we know Shaker buys so many police uh

54:59vehicles. We know the city of Cleveland

55:01does. We know the surrounding folks will

55:03always be in the proposition, Mr.

55:04Chairman, of purchasing, how do we

55:07create those agreements and then push

55:09our prices down? We might be able to

55:10push them down as far as five or 10 or

55:12maybe 15 or 20,000 per vehicle if we're

55:15buying by bulk volume uh with various

55:17different other municipalities. And Mr.

55:20chairman, it was a time that we talked

55:22about regionalization

55:24and how we could um um have the biggest

55:28bang for our bucks and I think that we

55:31should still continue to explore that uh

55:34as relates to um the proposition of

55:37purchasing

55:38>> for the chair to the councilman

55:40wholeheartedly open to any collective.

55:42We we do do cooperative purchasing. Uh a

55:45lot of the purchases that we do are

55:46through co-ops. um like sometimes we

55:49find some of our best deals as working

55:51through whether it be a state co-op and

55:53there are some cases we've actually used

55:54co-ops that are in other states. Uh so

55:57but we are open to to more um so we are

56:00you know we haven't found the we haven't

56:02gotten to the mountain top yet we're

56:03absolutely open to that.

56:04>> Thank you Mr. Chair. Thank you. Seeing

56:08no other questions ordinance number

56:131033-2026

56:15as amended stands approved. Thank you.

56:24Next up is public safety.

56:33First ordinance is ordinance number

56:359007-2026

56:37as amended by council members Pinsic and

56:40Griffin by departmental request an

56:41emergency ordinance authorizing the

56:43director of public safety to apply for

56:45and accept a grant from the United

56:47States Department of Justice Bureau of

56:49Justice Assistance

56:51for fiscal year 26 burn discretionary

56:55community projects fund for the

56:57Cleveland Public Safety Radio Program.

56:59Uh, director. Um, I'll read the

57:01amendment.

57:03The amendment states

57:07there is no legal objection to this

57:09legislation if amended as follows. One,

57:11in the title, starting in line five and

57:14in section one, line four, strike burn

57:16discretionary community project fund and

57:18insert burn discretionary grants program

57:21in both places. Number two in section

57:23four at the end insert the director of

57:25public safety shall provide written

57:27notice to the clerk of council whenever

57:29any purchase is made through the

57:31cooperative process which notice shall

57:34include the details of such cooperative

57:37process. This was dated 9:23 and it was

57:40signed by Mary Cornley assistant

57:43director of law director.

57:46>> Yes chair and the body. Um, this

57:48[clears throat] ordinance is uh number

57:50uh 9072026

57:53and the purpose of the grant is to

57:55ensure first responders are provided

57:57with durable forward- facing future

57:59proofing

58:01mobile radios in the city of Cleveland.

58:03This grant will be used to purchase

58:04radios for the division of fire, EMS,

58:08and police for use by officers and

58:11firefighters and paramedics. the grant

58:13term and the amount. The grant amount is

58:16$1,31,000

58:17for a period of from October 2026

58:21through September 2028. And there is no

58:24local match. [clears throat]

58:26The

58:29funding will be for 151 mobile radios.

58:35Um we have uh 10 will be going to EMS,

58:3920 of the radios to fire, and 121 of the

58:42radios to the division of police. And

58:46that's approximately 19% of what we need

58:50for the the all the total mobile radios.

58:53Um we have a total of 778

58:56mobile radios are needed and the grant

58:59will pay for approximately 90% of those

59:02uh radios.

59:05Thank you.

59:07>> Also, I'm sorry, at the table with me is

59:09Don Hardong to my left, Detective Ni to

59:11my right. He's here for the other piece.

59:14>> Okay. Thank you. Uh just real quick, um

59:18one of those things where I just have a

59:20little bit of history around this stuff.

59:22Are we done with the Motorola contract

59:24that we still had so much money tied

59:26into even though we know that that

59:28Motorola contract that we can't really

59:30use a lot of those radios equipment? Are

59:32we still tied into that

59:34>> to the chair? We still have Motorola

59:36radios and I believe we do have the

59:37contract. This particular grant uh was

59:40from the uh like I said the fiscal year

59:4226 burn discretionary grant was part of

59:45uh Representative Shantel Brown uh part

59:47of the uh congressionally directed

59:49funds.

59:50>> Okay, great. Do we know? Um because

59:53technology changes rapidly and one of

59:56the things that I was really always a

59:58little disturbed about is we pay for

1:00:00equipment that becomes obsolete in a

1:00:02very quick period of time. How are we

1:00:05making sure that this equipment is

1:00:06resilient where we can actually um make

1:00:09it adjust or make sure that we're not

1:00:12just making an investment right now just

1:00:13to have them on the shelf in another two

1:00:15years or so.

1:00:17>> Through the chair to the chair that's a

1:00:19really good question. And generally when

1:00:20we go into contract with vendors whether

1:00:23it's small roller and others we want to

1:00:25make sure that part of the contract is

1:00:27that we can um update the radios as they

1:00:30come in. Uh to your point which is again

1:00:32a very good question for example our

1:00:34body cameras um we uh with uh right

1:00:37under with Exxon and u through them we

1:00:40have a contract which uh we'll update

1:00:42the radios as the new models come out

1:00:44and the same applies for the radios.

1:00:47>> Okay. Uh,

1:00:50I'm good. Councilman, uh, Mike Palinsky.

1:00:53Uh, this was heard in public safety.

1:00:55>> Yes, Mr. Chairman. We we vetted the

1:00:57legislation. As you know, it's in the

1:00:59intent of the council to support all

1:01:02upgrades in the division of police,

1:01:04fire, EMS. This is another step in that

1:01:08process to see that the radio system is

1:01:11um improved upon. And I want to thank

1:01:13the director and his team for uh going

1:01:16about this. Uh every place we can

1:01:18upgrade our systems, we need to do so.

1:01:21So we wholeheartly supported it. Thank

1:01:23you,

1:01:24>> Charlie. Um Councilman Slice.

1:01:26>> Uh yes. Uh if I could make a a quick

1:01:28amendment. Uh during safety committee,

1:01:30we did the the amendment we've been

1:01:32doing about the cooperative purchases uh

1:01:34but just flubbed up uh one part of the

1:01:36Sutton. So if I could make a a if I

1:01:40could move to amend uh in section 4 at

1:01:44the very end of uh the section. So

1:01:47include the details of any such

1:01:49cooperative. It says process that should

1:01:51be purchases.

1:01:53>> Second.

1:02:01>> Okay. All right. And I got a

1:02:05>> purchas it should be purchases not

1:02:07process.

1:02:07>> Okay. So I need to read this amendment

1:02:10into the title that

1:02:13>> um this is just the second.

1:02:14>> So I moved I moved this was just for

1:02:16context council president. We made this

1:02:18amendment at safety committee.

1:02:20>> Okay.

1:02:20>> Uh and it was voted in but it was just

1:02:22erroneous that it should be cooperative

1:02:24purchases not cooperative process.

1:02:26>> Okay. So I have an amendment on the

1:02:27floor. Uh do I have a second?

1:02:29>> Second.

1:02:30>> Councilman Brian Kazy a second. Is there

1:02:32any discussion? Seeing no discussion,

1:02:34all in favor say I.

1:02:36>> I.

1:02:37>> Any opposed? The eyes have it. The

1:02:39amendment carries. Please move forward.

1:02:44>> I have Councilman Brian Kazy.

1:02:46Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman,

1:02:49to the director, I just have one quick

1:02:50question. Is this proprietary equipment?

1:02:52So, is Motorola providing this? And if

1:02:55something happens, we have to go back to

1:02:57Motorola

1:02:59chair Councilman Case, I believe. So,

1:03:02>> okay. Thank you.

1:03:04>> Okay. Uh, seeing no other questions

1:03:07regarding ordinance number 9007-2026

1:03:11as amended, stands approved. Thank you.

1:03:15Please sign on.

1:03:17All right. I got to get my paperwork

1:03:19back.

1:03:22There we go. No, no problem. No problem.

1:03:23You're good. You're good. You're good.

1:03:25All right. Uh, next up is ordinance

1:03:27number 910-2026

1:03:29as amended by council members Valenc and

1:03:32Griffin by departmental request. An

1:03:33emergency ordinance authorizing the

1:03:35director of public safety to apply for

1:03:37and accept a grant from the Ohio

1:03:39Attorney General for the fiscal year 26

1:03:42shine a light on dumpsters grant program

1:03:45and authorizing the director to enter

1:03:47into one or more contracts with various

1:03:49agencies or entities to implement the

1:03:52grant. And the amendment states as

1:03:55follows. There is no legal objection to

1:03:57this legislation if amended as follows.

1:04:00One in the title section line four and

1:04:03in section one line three strike general

1:04:06and insert general's office in both

1:04:09places. Number two in section four at

1:04:12the end insert the director of public

1:04:14safety shall provide written notice to

1:04:17the clerk of council whenever any

1:04:18purchase is made through the cooperative

1:04:21process. which notice shall include the

1:04:23details of any such cooperative

1:04:25purchases. This amendment was dated

1:04:2892326

1:04:30signed by Mary Cornley, assistant

1:04:31director of law director. Thank you uh

1:04:34chair and to the body. Um with me at the

1:04:37table again to my left is Rachel Murphy.

1:04:39She's part of our grants team in the

1:04:42department of public safety uh doing a

1:04:44tremendous job. And to my right again is

1:04:46Detective Nagi. He's part of the

1:04:47environmental crimes task force and the

1:04:50p purchase of the grant um and the goal

1:04:53of the fiscal year 26 shine a light on

1:04:56dumpster grant programs to help prevent

1:04:59future environmental damage caused by

1:05:01the open dumping of solid waste and

1:05:03demolition debris as the primary law

1:05:06enforcement partner for the Cleveland ka

1:05:09county environmental crime crimes task

1:05:11force. Uh the CPD environmental crimes

1:05:15task force often lends recruitment to

1:05:17partner agencies. This grant will enable

1:05:19the city to purchase additional

1:05:21equipment to monitor known illegal dump

1:05:23sites. the grant term and amount. The

1:05:26amount is $17,579

1:05:29and again it's about it's uh to purchase

1:05:32equipment and the

1:05:35the award period will begin

1:05:39the day the award is received and end

1:05:42end uh next year in July

1:05:47and there this is a new grant and there

1:05:49is no local match.

1:05:51>> Thanks. And uh who's the uh the

1:05:55gentleman that you have with us? Is he

1:05:56the new Andy Ezo?

1:05:58>> Well, uh to the chair, he actually

1:06:00worked with uh Sergeant Ezo. Sergeant

1:06:03Matthew West is the new Andy Ezo and

1:06:06Detective Hegy is part assigned to that

1:06:08particular environmental crime.

1:06:09>> I don't know why you I don't know why

1:06:11you put him at the table because uh he

1:06:13know that everybody's going to get his

1:06:15number on speed now after today.

1:06:17>> That's okay. So look, glad to uh meet

1:06:19you and hopefully um we can all um get

1:06:22your number on speed dial. This is a

1:06:24huge issue in all of our neighborhoods.

1:06:25So definitely want to work closely with

1:06:27you and I'll be honest with you, I kind

1:06:28of lost contact after Mr. Ezo retired.

1:06:31So glad to see that you got uh Mr. West

1:06:33on board now. Okay. All right,

1:06:35Councilman Michael Penci.

1:06:36>> Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman,

1:06:38honorable colleagues. We heard the

1:06:39legislation. We vetted it uh and we've

1:06:43uh uh supported overwhelmingly, but we

1:06:45also stressed to the director and

1:06:48Sergeant West who is here at the table

1:06:50that um we need to have more cameras

1:06:53obviously out in our neighborhoods. I

1:06:56don't know if the director saw what I

1:06:57experienced over the weekend. The

1:06:59pictures that I sent in was unreal what

1:07:02they did on Mandandalay Road. Came right

1:07:03off of a dump truck right in the street.

1:07:07And the question that I want to pose at

1:07:09the table because we support this. There

1:07:12were cameras. There's cameras all over

1:07:14there. [clears throat]

1:07:16Why aren't we picking up searching

1:07:19across the city where this illegal

1:07:21dumping is taking place and going after

1:07:23these people? This is repeatedly taking

1:07:26place on many of our neighborhoods where

1:07:28we have safety and security cameras up

1:07:30already. through the chair, the

1:07:32Councilman uh Penzy, we certainly

1:07:35understand um your concern. We uh share

1:07:38the same concern. Uh Detective uh Hegy

1:07:41and Sergeant West and I believe there

1:07:43maybe one or two sheriff deputies also

1:07:45assigned to the task force and a part of

1:07:48their investigation is to go to the site

1:07:50um to determine whether or not there are

1:07:52video cameras, utilize the video

1:07:54cameras, hopefully capture um the

1:07:56individuals dumping and then work

1:07:58backwards from there. also look at the

1:08:00actual evidence that's there. See if

1:08:02they can, you know, get discern

1:08:04information from there. Again, work

1:08:05backwards to to try to locate uh the

1:08:08culprits that's responsible for it.

1:08:10Also, you know, this grant has helped us

1:08:12buy some cameras, but um if uh there are

1:08:14other methods or funding sources for us

1:08:18to get additional um cameras, we'll work

1:08:21with council uh because again, the more

1:08:23cameras we have, uh the more

1:08:25opportunities we'll have to put in

1:08:27various dumping sites. When we get

1:08:28complaints in the environmental crimes

1:08:30task force, they have cameras, they have

1:08:32mobile cameras they can put in there. Um

1:08:34but we have additional cameras that give

1:08:36us the ability to to extend our

1:08:38capabilities and capacity to surveil

1:08:41other areas.

1:08:42>> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Last

1:08:43thing we stress to the administration,

1:08:45if there's anything anywhere within

1:08:47existing ordinances, codified ordinance

1:08:49that they believe that we need to

1:08:51tighten up or embellish more, then

1:08:54please let us know. If we want if if you

1:08:56think we should increase penalties, if

1:08:58you think there's other things we need

1:08:59to do just as we did on the nuisance

1:09:01law, please come back to us because

1:09:03there there will be nobody at this table

1:09:05who's going to support uh will not

1:09:07support improvement and trying to better

1:09:10send a message with these people that

1:09:11are legally dumping in our city. Thank

1:09:13you, Mr. Chairman.

1:09:14>> Thank you. And I can

1:09:16>> thank you um Dean and I can concur

1:09:19because uh if there are resources that

1:09:21we have as um some of our discretionary

1:09:24funding, it would be great if we could

1:09:26always work with uh Sergeant West and uh

1:09:29is it Sergeant Hegy?

1:09:30>> Uh Detective Hegy. detective to make

1:09:33sure that we um identify hotspots and

1:09:36share information because I know you

1:09:38have undercover cameras, but sometimes

1:09:40it's good to put one of those big flash

1:09:42and blue light cameras to make sure we

1:09:44put people on notice, too.

1:09:45>> Absolutely agree 100%.

1:09:46>> But the question that I want to just

1:09:47follow up with is that it's not always

1:09:49in discreet places anymore. It's almost

1:09:51like so blatant. Yeah.

1:09:53>> That they'll just put it on just

1:09:55anywhere. And I want to state this for

1:09:57the record and I was going to reach out

1:09:59to Commander Smith as well as building

1:10:01and housing. Um, we also have streets

1:10:04like between East 88th and East 93rd in

1:10:07Bessmer that I walked last week that are

1:10:11just horrible where people are dumping

1:10:13boats. Um, and I hope you also in

1:10:16addition with that are working with

1:10:18building and how I'm working with

1:10:20economic development because some of our

1:10:22vacant city lots that are official city

1:10:25lots, people are literally just dumping

1:10:28boats, dumping uh trailers, dumping just

1:10:32debris. And these are lots that are

1:10:34city-owned lots. One of the 13,000 um

1:10:37residential and one of the 18 one of the

1:10:405,000 commercial. and uh you know this

1:10:43is probably one of the top five most

1:10:45prevalent issues in the city of

1:10:46Cleveland. That's why I would tell you

1:10:48that you know his position is one of

1:10:50those positions that nobody might know

1:10:51about but it's probably more essential

1:10:53to the city than uh most people would

1:10:55believe.

1:10:56>> Yeah. And the chair that you're

1:10:57absolutely right and uh again I believe

1:11:00that the uh environmental crimes task

1:11:02force they are on a committee with

1:11:04various city agencies as well as county

1:11:06agencies to to identify areas where

1:11:09dumping is taking place and again having

1:11:11the ability to purchase additional

1:11:13cameras will help us hopefully again

1:11:14hold folks responsible for dumping in

1:11:16our city.

1:11:17>> Thank you. I'm going to ask if

1:11:18Councilman Palinski, and I know that,

1:11:20you know, you guys are the

1:11:21administration that I don't do this

1:11:23often, but I think it would be great if

1:11:25Councilman Palinski, and I'll leave it

1:11:26to his discretion, if he wants to assign

1:11:29somebody from the safety committee to

1:11:31kind of meet with that environmental uh

1:11:33crimes task force or if his agenda would

1:11:37allow for that to come and do a hearing

1:11:39on that because I would tell you that

1:11:41that is one of, you know, when I it was

1:11:43almost like that Native American uh that

1:11:46scene because the rivers polluted back

1:11:48in the day when we had those commercials

1:11:50back in the day when I walked down

1:11:51Bessmer and it was just an urban tragedy

1:11:54of what of seeing what people did on

1:11:56that street and and it's all over the

1:11:58city of Cleveland. So,

1:11:59>> um Councilman Valencia, I would love if

1:12:01you would entertain that.

1:12:02>> We will take up your suggestion. Thank

1:12:03you.

1:12:04>> Thank you. Appreciate it. All right. Any

1:12:06other questions regarding ordinance

1:12:08number 910-2026

1:12:10as amended?

1:12:11>> Ask me, Mr. Chairman.

1:12:12>> He got back just in time.

1:12:14>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate

1:12:15you. I'm always on time. God always make

1:12:18it so that I'm always get it right when

1:12:20I need to. Um here's the the question I

1:12:23have. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh to um

1:12:26Director Drummond. Now, I stated in the

1:12:29safety committee that we wanted to be

1:12:30able to purchase for our neighborhood.

1:12:34Now, how do we make that happen through

1:12:35this piece of legislation?

1:12:38>> Through the chair, Councilman Jones. I'm

1:12:39not quite sure you can do it through

1:12:40this legislation, but we certainly

1:12:42before you came in, we I was talking

1:12:44with the uh the body about working

1:12:46collaboratively with identifying

1:12:49potentially other funding sources to get

1:12:51additional um cameras and equipment for

1:12:54the environmental crimes task force

1:12:56because we can work with you again um

1:12:58separate from this.

1:12:59>> I want to be able to Mr. Chairman work

1:13:01with you. I don't want to be blown off

1:13:03[snorts] and and let me and not saying

1:13:05you you're doing that, Mr. chairman is

1:13:07just to say that we've been working with

1:13:09um or attempting to try to work with

1:13:11previously

1:13:13uh back in 2018 2019 your group at that

1:13:18time to purchase cameras to deal with

1:13:20the illegal dumping. Now I can't talk

1:13:23for everybody else but I certainly can

1:13:25talk from my neighborhood Mr. chairman

1:13:26to the director where we're being

1:13:28inundated with illegal dumping and and I

1:13:32got a problem

1:13:34that I've been trying to work with for

1:13:36the longest and so how do how do I work

1:13:39with you? We have little pennies and

1:13:42nickels in our budget. How can I work

1:13:44with you, Mr. Chairman, to the director

1:13:47to get at least three to five of these

1:13:49up in my neighborhood? Councilman, I'm

1:13:50going to let the director answer, but um

1:13:52that's one of the reasons why it would

1:13:54have been great because exactly the

1:13:56questions that you are asking about how

1:13:58we can embed ourself in their

1:14:00organization and Councilman Palinsk said

1:14:03he's willing to do a hearing um to

1:14:05address and answer exactly what you just

1:14:07said. So, um if you could just reiterate

1:14:10what you told us to Councilman Jones

1:14:13>> through the chair to Councilman Jones.

1:14:16Yes, we're going to work collaboratively

1:14:17with uh public safety, I mean through

1:14:21public safety with the safety committee

1:14:23as well. And again, part of that is to

1:14:26identify again additional funding

1:14:28sources to be able to um purchase

1:14:31additional equipment to assist the

1:14:33environmental crimes task force.

1:14:35>> I appreciate that. And so when we do

1:14:37that, Mr. Chairman,

1:14:38>> I mean, we'll be able to get that done.

1:14:40>> You're on public safety and we'll

1:14:42coordinate it, but Okay. Everybody

1:14:44agrees with you and uh I think there's

1:14:46going to be some special efforts to

1:14:47connect us and work our efforts

1:14:49together.

1:14:50>> And then Mr. Chairman, I'd like to meet

1:14:51with the distinguished gentleman. I

1:14:52think I gave you my card, Mr. Chairman,

1:14:54to the director. Did I give the

1:14:57>> chair? That was Sergeant West. Yeah,

1:14:59this is Detective Hegy. You have his

1:15:00card.

1:15:01>> Did I give you my card, Mr. Chairman?

1:15:04>> You look like the other fell like a

1:15:06strong police officer West. No, no, that

1:15:09was not me. But I I I did email you.

1:15:11>> You look just like the other fella. Are

1:15:12you are you the sergeant or

1:15:14>> I feel sorry for him.

1:15:15>> Are you telling me I look alike her?

1:15:16That's what you're telling.

1:15:17>> No, no. He looks just like that strong

1:15:19police officer. Is you a [laughter]

1:15:20detective, Mr. Chairman? To

1:15:22>> I Well, I got the right person.

1:15:24>> You know, I I would have been amazed cuz

1:15:25before you were uniformed up. You look

1:15:28different.

1:15:28>> I have met with you before. Correct.

1:15:30>> Yes. So, I would love to to to to meet

1:15:32with you, talk about that. So, and and

1:15:34no disrespect to nobody, you just look

1:15:36different today.

1:15:37>> No disrespect.

1:15:40>> I appreciate you, Mr. Chairman to

1:15:41director.

1:15:42>> Thank you. [laughter]

1:15:44>> I actually needed that last council.

1:15:47>> Well, you needed it. Hopefully, it

1:15:48helped you [laughter] out.

1:15:50>> Okay. Are there any other questions

1:15:52regarding ordinance number 910-2026

1:15:55as amended? Seeing no other questions,

1:15:57ordinance number 910-2026

1:16:00as amended stands approved.

1:16:02>> Thank you.

1:16:02>> Thank you. And once again, I hope that

1:16:04you are uh making sure that we got uh

1:16:07somebody backing up Miss Hart song

1:16:08because I know how much money she brings

1:16:10into this city.

1:16:12>> Rachel, she's doing a great job.

1:16:14>> Outstanding. Thank you.

1:16:17>> Okay,

1:16:18next up is finance. And I want to make

1:16:21sure that everybody knows this. Uh we

1:16:23got several finance pieces that are

1:16:25coming up. Uh but these are, you know,

1:16:27we got bond pieces coming up, but these

1:16:30right here are finance. Okay. This is uh

1:16:33ordinance number 1136-2026

1:16:36as amended by council member Griffin by

1:16:38departmental request. An emergency

1:16:41ordinance authorizing the director of

1:16:42finance to exercise the option to renew

1:16:45contract number CT-158-

1:16:49PS2025

1:16:52asteris2020

1:16:54as amended with Scott F. Lumis to

1:16:57provide for professional services

1:16:59necessary to develop a succession

1:17:01management plan,

1:17:04train employees and consult in such

1:17:06additional matters necessary to

1:17:08efficiently run and manage the city's

1:17:11printing for the division of printing

1:17:12and reproduction department of finance.

1:17:15And the amendment states as follows.

1:17:17There is no legal objection to this

1:17:19legislation if amended as follows. one

1:17:22in section one at the end insert the

1:17:25cost of one year of the one-year option

1:17:28shall not exceed 115,000 and shall be

1:17:32paid from fund number 70SF301.

1:17:37This is dated 92526

1:17:39by Kevin Roberts, chief assistant

1:17:42director of law. Uh I believe uh is uh

1:17:46Mr. Preston is going to

1:17:48>> Yes. Uh to to the chair and the

1:17:49committee. Um, this is a one-year option

1:17:53on the original contract. We came to

1:17:55council last year for this, and this is

1:17:58to execute the one-year option. This is

1:18:00the end of the contract, the only

1:18:03one-year option. So, this is just to get

1:18:06us through uh the next year. And with

1:18:08us, we have Jim Gentile, as everyone

1:18:10knows, as well as the commissioner of

1:18:12printing, uh, Michael Huittz, to answer

1:18:14any questions you may have related to

1:18:16this legislation.

1:18:17>> Okay. And just this is the one for Mr.

1:18:20Lumis to try to basically enter into an

1:18:23agreement for an extra year with Mr.

1:18:24Lumis, right?

1:18:25>> That is correct.

1:18:26>> And this is where Mr. Lumis had a lot of

1:18:28institutional knowledge. Pretty much was

1:18:30one of the employees that if we lost Mr.

1:18:33Lumis, then we will probably be very

1:18:36deficient on the uh uh printing side of

1:18:40what we need for city hall.

1:18:42>> That that is correct. In addition to the

1:18:44succession planning and training that

1:18:45you mentioned, uh there was also been

1:18:47and will be over the next year some key

1:18:49initiatives, technology upgrades,

1:18:51process upgrades that the commissioner

1:18:53can speak to uh in addition to that as

1:18:55well.

1:18:56>> So just out of curiosity, who gives you

1:18:58guys instructions on what to print, how

1:19:00to print, and final approval on print

1:19:03jobs

1:19:04in the mayor's office, or who gives that

1:19:06final approval?

1:19:11It would depend on the job. If it's

1:19:14something that's going out citywide, it

1:19:16would be reviewed by uh the finance

1:19:19director and a couple other positions.

1:19:22>> Okay. The reason that I'm asking is

1:19:24because we now have a chief of

1:19:26communication officer or we have

1:19:28somebody who's working with that and I

1:19:31know that Dean Pinsic has brought it up

1:19:33in the past and I'm going to bring it up

1:19:35and reiterate it. Um, we're going to go

1:19:38ahead and consider this piece, but I

1:19:40want to make sure that everybody knows

1:19:42if we are not um along the checklist

1:19:46of people who have to sign off on print

1:19:48jobs, um, then we're going to start

1:19:51blocking print jobs because at the end

1:19:53of the day, this is a co-governance

1:19:56partnership and council should be listed

1:19:58on materials that are going out for the

1:20:00city, not just the administration and

1:20:03not just Mayor Bib. case in point, the

1:20:05kiosk that are coming in and I know that

1:20:08my communications team are working on

1:20:09that now, but this is a a partnership in

1:20:12government and the council side needs to

1:20:15be on print material and uh and I would

1:20:18strongly encourage for whoever makes

1:20:20those decisions to get together with um

1:20:24Mr. Thomas, Mike Thomas, and also uh

1:20:27Daryl Torbert, who's the head of

1:20:29administration, so that we can have a

1:20:31process so that council can begin to

1:20:34review material before it goes out

1:20:36because um it is um you know, just like

1:20:40anything else, it's a partnership and

1:20:42not only just the mayor's name should be

1:20:44on it, it should always be council. I've

1:20:46seen um receptacles in city hall that

1:20:49say mayor bib and then we have to pass

1:20:52the budget. So, uh, this is not being

1:20:54petty. This is just about accountability

1:20:56and making sure that we have a process

1:20:58that council is kept in, uh, in the loop

1:21:00with this. Okay. All right. Um, any

1:21:04response?

1:21:04>> Yeah. Through the through the chair on

1:21:06the print material, uh, based on last

1:21:08year's budget hearing, Jess, they've

1:21:10been putting the council symbol on the

1:21:12print material that goes out. Now, these

1:21:14kiosks and other stuff, that's, you

1:21:15know, different thing that he's not

1:21:17responsible for. But

1:21:18>> I I know the kiosk he's not responsible

1:21:19for, and I apologize, Miss Gent.

1:21:21>> No, it's okay. like the print stuff.

1:21:22Yes. Uh we heard it. We started putting

1:21:25it on last year in his division. So, uh

1:21:27hopefully, you know, you're not seeing

1:21:29anything that's going out citywide

1:21:31that's printed by printing that does not

1:21:32have the city council emblem.

1:21:34>> There's been a few things like park and

1:21:36recreation things and some other things.

1:21:38And that's why I said it'd be good for

1:21:40council to be in that check process as

1:21:42you're doing the process mapping so that

1:21:45we actually have a member of council

1:21:47staff that is um seeing when and how

1:21:49it's appropriate to make sure that

1:21:51council is added on material.

1:21:53>> Okay.

1:21:53>> Okay. We'll do that.

1:21:54>> And I represent 14 other partners. So

1:21:57they I hear from them all the time when

1:21:59they don't see uh their information on

1:22:02things with materials. Right. Brian

1:22:04Casey.

1:22:04>> Yes.

1:22:05>> Okay. Thank you. Uh, Councilman, uh,

1:22:07Joseph Jones.

1:22:08>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I I absolutely

1:22:10concur with all your comments. Um, and

1:22:13I'm going to take it a step further. Um,

1:22:16Mr. Chairman, I'm not happy with the

1:22:17print department. I'm not happy for a

1:22:20number of reasons. Um, but one I will

1:22:23talk about this particular piece of

1:22:25legislation and how it impacts. The

1:22:27first, Mr. Chairman, question that I

1:22:29have is um, this shop succession plan.

1:22:33Explain what you mean by this.

1:22:38to the chair that uh to the council

1:22:40person. Um we have two people that are

1:22:44that are in training right now. Um you

1:22:46know the commissioner is obviously the

1:22:48commissioner now but you know he's got a

1:22:49lot

1:22:50>> the commissioner leaving Mr. Chairman.

1:22:52>> Uh it's not to the to the chair to the

1:22:54council person that's not known yet. We

1:22:56don't know that but you know you only

1:22:57work so we councilman if we could

1:23:00chairman I am coming I am coming because

1:23:02I mean you're councilman real quick if

1:23:04we could I want to make sure that you

1:23:06get your answers met um you were cut him

1:23:09off and I just want to make sure that

1:23:11all conversations I may resend my time

1:23:13Mr. Chairman so I will give you more

1:23:15timel

1:23:17I will let you get straight to the

1:23:18nitty-gritty

1:23:19>> I will let you reclaim that time I just

1:23:20want to make sure so you can get your

1:23:22answers that everything comes through

1:23:23the chair please proceed sir

1:23:25>> Mr. chairman to Mr. Gentile explain you

1:23:28know why we're doing this.

1:23:29>> We're through the chair of the council

1:23:30person Scott Lumis and the commissioner

1:23:32Huitt have been at the print shop for a

1:23:34long long time.

1:23:35>> Uh we have uh two two folks that are

1:23:39working there at a pretty high level. Uh

1:23:41they've been learning all the ins and

1:23:43outs of the printing. You know uh we do

1:23:45mass mailings. We do a bunch of print

1:23:47jobs. Uh so they're learning that. So

1:23:51what we want to do is we don't want to

1:23:52miss a beat when we transition. So, one

1:23:54more uh year of Scott Lumis would be

1:23:57beneficial in making sure that we

1:23:58continue to function at a high level.

1:24:01Again, people only work so long.

1:24:03Commissioner's got a lot of years in.

1:24:04There's no plans right now for him to

1:24:05leave. I want to be clear, but uh you

1:24:08know, at some point, you know, he will

1:24:10retire. Uh that's just a fact. So, we

1:24:14want to be prepared to have two very

1:24:16talented people, and they're very

1:24:17talented and they're learning the job

1:24:19step in and fill these functions.

1:24:21>> Okay, I got it.

1:24:23So, so Mr. Chairman is um Mr. with all

1:24:26due respect is Mr. Scott Lumis training

1:24:30up under uh the commissioner

1:24:34through the chair of the council person.

1:24:36He was previously the assistant

1:24:37commissioner. Now he's under a

1:24:39professional service contract. So he's

1:24:41not a city employee anymore. That's what

1:24:43this contract is. He went

1:24:45>> So he he works under another contract.

1:24:47He doesn't work for the city. He's just

1:24:49a consultant right now.

1:24:51>> Correct. He is under professional

1:24:52service contract. So he does work under

1:24:54the direction of the commissioner uh and

1:24:57he helps train these.

1:24:58>> And how much Mr. Chairman to uh Mr.

1:25:00Gentile is he being paid for this

1:25:02consulting

1:25:03>> through the chair to the council person

1:25:05in total? I think this is capped at

1:25:07115,000 which I think was less than he

1:25:10was making as an employee when you add

1:25:12benefits to it because he won't he does

1:25:13not get benefits anymore. He's not an

1:25:15employee. So he's not getting vacation

1:25:17time, sick time,

1:25:18>> health. He's just getting

1:25:21the amount but it's capped at 115

1:25:23115,000.

1:25:24>> So this is what this is all about here.

1:25:27The 115,000 Mr. Chairman to the the

1:25:29director of finance.

1:25:30>> Yes. To the chair. That's correct. It's

1:25:32capped at 115. So cannot exceed that.

1:25:35>> And so who do we have directly as going

1:25:38to be the person he's training?

1:25:41>> Um I'm going to let the commissioner

1:25:43give the two names of the two employees

1:25:44that are he's training because I don't

1:25:45want to get them wrong. So,

1:25:47>> uh, the employee names are Lisa Hart and

1:25:51Randolene Porch.

1:25:53>> And who?

1:25:54>> Randolene Porch.

1:25:57>> Miss, uh, Hart has been with us 20

1:25:59years. And Miss Porch has been with us

1:26:0212 years.

1:26:04>> And, and Mr. Chairman, um, why aren't we

1:26:06going outside to get some new ideas and

1:26:09new concepts on on printing? Um, and I

1:26:12know some folks may shake their head to

1:26:14it, but you know, we got some issues and

1:26:17the dire and the chairman just laid it

1:26:19out. You know, some of the ongoing

1:26:21issues and I've sat here at this table

1:26:23for quite some time and I've been here

1:26:25with you for at least 30ome years on and

1:26:27off over the space of at least 16 of

1:26:30those or 17 of those years. And so, so,

1:26:33Mr. Chairman, I don't know why we would

1:26:36um not look at opening this up uh this

1:26:39proposition to um some very capable,

1:26:42talented people who are in the printing

1:26:45business and can certainly do a

1:26:47absolutely outstanding job in changing

1:26:50the processes and being a lot more

1:26:52efficient than what we are right now.

1:26:54And here's where I have a problem, Mr.

1:26:55Chairman. We're we're we are supposed to

1:26:58be a government that works together, Mr.

1:27:00Chairman. And what we what we have is

1:27:03the city council has to go out for their

1:27:05own printing when we have our own

1:27:07printing in-house printing uh where we

1:27:09could do work. But for some reason over

1:27:12the years there's been a political thing

1:27:14and and maybe Mr. Mr. Chairman, you

1:27:16might be able to tell me what that

1:27:17political thing is, but I know it is

1:27:20there. Uh, where there's a proposition

1:27:22on this side of the hall that maybe the

1:27:25council shouldn't have his newsletters,

1:27:27have his functionality that would that

1:27:29would easily be able to come through

1:27:31this system here. And I want to know why

1:27:34that is. I want to know why there has

1:27:36been this this big division between the

1:27:38executive branch of government and the

1:27:40legislative branch of government. And

1:27:41you've heard the the the president of

1:27:43Cleveland City Council articulate um you

1:27:46know not having council on uh the

1:27:49various different pieces of literature

1:27:51that go to our neighborhood. So So

1:27:54please explain to me sitting here at

1:27:56this table. Why aren't you doing

1:27:58business with the council? If I I want

1:28:01to make sure I clarify one thing before

1:28:03they answer. Um, so part of this

1:28:07contract that we're discussing is so

1:28:10that they can do what you're pretty much

1:28:12trying to ask. No, I'm just I'm just

1:28:14>> not with this person.

1:28:14>> Can I can I just elaborate?

1:28:16>> Not with this person.

1:28:17>> I'm trying to elaborate if I could, sir.

1:28:19So, one of the things that this what

1:28:22they're trying to do is just like a lot

1:28:24of other departments like we just

1:28:25mentioned with Miss Hart song, there's

1:28:28not a lot of succession planning. And

1:28:30that's one of the things that we're

1:28:31trying to push the administration to do

1:28:33better at is to make sure that we have

1:28:35better succession planning. So, what

1:28:37this um contract with Mr. Lumis is to do

1:28:41is to beef up and make sure that we have

1:28:45the people that understand the print

1:28:47shop in better um and being able to move

1:28:50the print shop forward. So it's not

1:28:52outside what you [laughter] are alluding

1:28:54to and that's what I want and that's a

1:28:56good question because I want to make

1:28:57sure that I make sure that they answer

1:28:59the question and make sure that they get

1:29:01the question that you're asking is we

1:29:04oftent times have to go to the um

1:29:07mailhouse which is um weeklys. We oftent

1:29:11times have to have an outside vendor

1:29:14which has times been brothers or other

1:29:16print companies that we put out. And the

1:29:19question that I think that he is trying

1:29:21to elaborate which I agree and I would

1:29:23love to hear your answer is why don't we

1:29:26just keep all of those jobs inhouse and

1:29:29if you guys have an answer or is that

1:29:30something that we should ask our

1:29:32operational side

1:29:34>> the share the council person um

1:29:36>> I know why but I'm that's why I'm trying

1:29:39to get him to tell me why.

1:29:40>> I mean I'm going to I'm going to have an

1:29:42answer here and might not be a popular

1:29:45answer. However, like we'd have to vet

1:29:48each of those newsletters with law

1:29:49because if there's prohibited political

1:29:51activity, we're not allowed to do it.

1:29:53And I'm not an attorney that could tell

1:29:55you if if your newsletter some things in

1:29:57it are or they aren't. Um, but we have

1:30:00to be careful because we can't be

1:30:01sending

1:30:03political things out through the print

1:30:06shop, right? So, I'm not saying that

1:30:07they are because, you know, I I don't

1:30:09look at all the newsletters. I'm just

1:30:10saying we we would have to vet those

1:30:12with law. I mean, as far as I'm

1:30:14concerned, if law said, "Yeah, this is

1:30:17good to go," then we could do it and we

1:30:19would send you a print shop internal

1:30:21service bill.

1:30:23>> And I want to clarify that we I want to

1:30:25clarify that. Councilman, please.

1:30:27>> I want to verify that none of our

1:30:30newsletters are political in nature.

1:30:32They are only talking about city

1:30:34services. So that's why I think what the

1:30:37councilman's question is, and this might

1:30:39be something that I know our council

1:30:41team is listening to, is it a reason

1:30:44that we outsource as opposed to using

1:30:47our internal print shop.

1:30:48>> So if they are not I don't look at

1:30:50these, so I'm not saying they're

1:30:51political. I just want to make sure I'm

1:30:53clear on that. I I don't really look at

1:30:54the newsletters that often, but

1:30:57>> I can't hear the the director. He got

1:30:58the thing right to his mouth and I still

1:31:00can't hear him.

1:31:00>> Please proceed. if they're okay. So, if

1:31:03if they uh um if they're not political,

1:31:07if you have a need communication person,

1:31:08I would suggest meeting with the

1:31:10commissioner. I mean, I don't think

1:31:11anybody on the administration's opposed

1:31:14to council using the print shop for the

1:31:15newsletters. I mean, uh so now that you

1:31:19have a communications person, you know,

1:31:21that's kind of spearheading your

1:31:22communications.

1:31:24>> You can meet with the commissioner.

1:31:25Again, it's probably more cost effective

1:31:27for us to print these in house than

1:31:29going to private printers. Uh, so I

1:31:31don't think anyone would be be opposed

1:31:33to that. So I think we just need to

1:31:34reook at that again and you know uh we

1:31:38probably could we probably could do

1:31:39that.

1:31:40>> We'll have our operational team meet

1:31:41with um the the new uh communications

1:31:43and operational team meet with your

1:31:45team.

1:31:46>> Councilman Jones.

1:31:48Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate

1:31:49you being nice and [clears throat] soft

1:31:51with it. Um what I will say is this is

1:31:54that I don't I don't you know haven't

1:31:57heard any production from this uh um

1:32:00commissioner about printing how

1:32:02efficient we are how effective we are

1:32:05are we using anything different than

1:32:07what we have been using 20 30 years ago

1:32:10and that's the reason why it's so

1:32:11important to not just groom in-house but

1:32:14also look at the outside because a lot

1:32:16has changed from the old mentality and

1:32:18what sits at the table and the failure

1:32:21of being able to work across borders

1:32:24with one another. Uh the city has its

1:32:26own productions for quite some time. And

1:32:29Mr. Chairman, I don't know if it's

1:32:31embedded within the established system

1:32:33not to work with the council. Um and you

1:32:36know, I'm just not a happy camper with

1:32:39sitting here now for several years not

1:32:41receiving any reports or production, how

1:32:44efficient they are, how effective they

1:32:46are, have they done analytical studies

1:32:48to be better than what they are? I I I

1:32:51couldn't tell you sitting here at this

1:32:52end, but yet we're sitting here

1:32:54rewarding someone $115,000 to talk about

1:32:57the proposition of um training someone

1:33:01else who's been here respectively 20 and

1:33:0330 years, they ought to know the job.

1:33:06And and so if they don't know the job

1:33:08and we got to keep someone else on to

1:33:12train them the job, I think that's

1:33:13insulting to me as an an elected

1:33:16official in terms of my intelligence.

1:33:18And so I would suggest, Mr. Chairman, if

1:33:20we want to get someone high-end, someone

1:33:23who uh we have our our processes here,

1:33:26we have our people who do our designs,

1:33:29all we've been asking them over the last

1:33:31what 18 n 19 years is, can you work with

1:33:35us? And even with working with us, you

1:33:38still leave us off on those print jobs.

1:33:41And you're doing it on purpose. And when

1:33:43you sit here with me sitting here, I'm

1:33:45going to tell you, doing it on purpose.

1:33:46And I don't like it. Not one bit.

1:33:49Because I sit here at this table and I

1:33:51have to pass off on legislation. I sit

1:33:53here at this table and I have to wear

1:33:54the jackets. And I sit here and pay

1:33:56additional costs that I shouldn't be

1:33:58paying when I could get that cost at a

1:34:01fraction because you have the system set

1:34:02up. And Mr. Chairman, I think that we

1:34:04need to take a deeper dive in this this

1:34:07print department if we want to

1:34:08fundamentally talk about creating the

1:34:10type of change needed. And I think that

1:34:12the system that's in place right now,

1:34:13I'm not a happy camper with it. and

1:34:15until they can show me something

1:34:17different. And one of those things is is

1:34:19to step across that print house and come

1:34:21over here and shake council's hand and

1:34:23talk about how you going to help us,

1:34:25help our citizens and cut our cost. And

1:34:28you haven't tried to do that, not one

1:34:30time since I've been here. You kept this

1:34:32isolation. You kept to yourself. You

1:34:34only talked about your own productions.

1:34:36And you never talked about how you're

1:34:38going to work across the hall. And every

1:34:40time it came to talking about working

1:34:42across the hall, Mr. chairman, I hear

1:34:43this garbage about um you don't mix

1:34:46politics. This this side doesn't mix

1:34:48politics in what we put out. We've

1:34:50always put out stuff that we have people

1:34:52I even have this president getting on

1:34:54the phone with me talking about making

1:34:56sure that whatever we put in our

1:34:57newsletters have to always make sure

1:35:00that it's for a public purpose. And so

1:35:02at the end of the day, Mr. Chairman, I'm

1:35:04insulted by the director even stating

1:35:07that. and I'm insulted by the

1:35:08commissioner who stated that for years

1:35:10and use that as a wedge at this table to

1:35:13not give us the kind of production that

1:35:15we need. So, Mr. Chairman, I would just

1:35:17caution you on this end. Um, you know,

1:35:20that we should open this baby wide open

1:35:22because I think what we got here right

1:35:24now is the same old same old and the

1:35:26city needs to change.

1:35:28>> Thank you, Commissioner. To the chair,

1:35:30the council person, I'm going to correct

1:35:31you on one thing.

1:35:33This is not being done on purpose. You

1:35:36can think that you can you can say it.

1:35:39>> I'm sorry. I didn't hear that. What was

1:35:40that? You said you wanted a correction,

1:35:42Mr. Chairman. I didn't hear that.

1:35:43>> He is He is directing

1:35:45>> responding to you.

1:35:47>> I'm going to correct you on one thing.

1:35:50This was not done. This has never been

1:35:52done on purpose where we're not trying

1:35:53to work with council. So, you can I

1:35:56mean, you can agree to that. You can

1:35:57disagree with that, but I'm not going to

1:36:00sit here and have somebody tell me we're

1:36:02on purpose not working with you. It's

1:36:04not true. So that's my opinion. You have

1:36:06yours. I've got mine. So, you know, I I

1:36:09hear the rest stuff that you say.

1:36:11>> I'll give you some examples, Mr.

1:36:12Chairman.

1:36:13>> I hear I hear the rest of the stuff you

1:36:15say.

1:36:15>> The time is up.

1:36:16>> And we will do better.

1:36:18>> Uh, no doubt about it. We I' I've said

1:36:21we can work with council to see if we

1:36:23can do the newsletters. I think we

1:36:24should work together to make it more

1:36:26cost-effective. Um, but I just want to

1:36:29say we're not we're not not working with

1:36:31you on purpose.

1:36:32>> My team will Mr. Thomas is right there.

1:36:34My team works with your team.

1:36:35>> Mr. Chairman, just want to say this and

1:36:37I won't get into it, but I want to say

1:36:38>> I'm going to let you make councilman. If

1:36:40we could, I'm going to let you make one

1:36:42last remark and then we have to move on.

1:36:44This chairman to Mr. Gentile,

1:36:46>> this is how much legislation we have to

1:36:47>> I know I'm going to move it.

1:36:48>> So, we need Mr. Chairman to Mr. Gentile.

1:36:51I don't make I don't say stuff that I

1:36:54don't I I'm not able to bag up. So, if

1:36:56you see me animated on this side of the

1:36:58table, we can go offline so we can talk

1:37:01about it. So, but Mr. chairman to Mr.

1:37:03Gentile. At the end of the day, you're a

1:37:06person that's sitting right over there

1:37:07with the microphone has stated several

1:37:10times and I'm going to use what the

1:37:11chairman says. It's on film. You know,

1:37:13the refusal of being able to work with

1:37:15this council for the very proposition

1:37:17that you stated here out of your mouth

1:37:21about politics and that has been your

1:37:23that has been the the one of the the the

1:37:26sticks that have been used at this

1:37:28table. and I'll sit with you and talk to

1:37:30you on the side on some jobs that we

1:37:32could have got out of here and worked

1:37:33jointly and saved a lot of money, but we

1:37:36had to go outside to the market. So with

1:37:38that conversation on that and what I

1:37:40need us to do is Mr. Thomas is right

1:37:42there. Mr. Thomas will work with the

1:37:44commissioner and also Mr. Gentile. I

1:37:47will tell you Mr. Gentile has always had

1:37:49an open door to any council member and

1:37:51what I would do is make sure that we're

1:37:53going to have a solution to working with

1:37:55that. So Mr. Gentile and commissioner

1:37:58Mr. Thomas if you guys can have that

1:38:00conversation. Okay. Thank you. All

1:38:02right. Seeing no other questions,

1:38:04ordinance number 11362026

1:38:07as amended. Stands approved. Please sign

1:38:10on. Next is ordinance number 1152-2026

1:38:15as amended by council member Griffin by

1:38:18departmental request. An emergency

1:38:20ordinance authorizing the director of

1:38:21finance to enter into one or more

1:38:23requirement contracts without

1:38:25competitive bidding with Brinks

1:38:27Incorporated for Armored Transportation

1:38:29Services for the Department of Finance

1:38:32and the Cleveland Municipal Clerk of

1:38:34Courts for a period of three years with

1:38:37two one-year options to renew. Uh and

1:38:41the and the amendment states as follows.

1:38:44There is no legal objection to this

1:38:46legislation if amended as follows. One

1:38:49in section two at the end insert. The

1:38:52director of finance shall provide

1:38:53written notice to the clerk of counsel

1:38:56whenever any purchase is made and or

1:39:00services obtained under this section

1:39:02which notice shall include the details

1:39:05of any such cooperative purchases or

1:39:08services. Number two in section three in

1:39:11lines one and two strike charged against

1:39:14the proper appropriation accounts

1:39:15[clears throat] and insert fund number

1:39:1701-1504-6380.

1:39:22This was signed 92526

1:39:25signed by chief assistant director of

1:39:27law Mr. Kevin Roberts. Uh Mr. Gentile,

1:39:30you had the floor. Uh to the chair uh

1:39:33and president, we do have one minor

1:39:35amendment to the second amendment you

1:39:37just read. Uh we were asked for

1:39:39additional clarity on the funding

1:39:41sources and we did not uh on accident

1:39:44include municipal courts funding source.

1:39:47So I don't know how you want to read it

1:39:48in but I can give it to you.

1:39:50>> Give it to me and then uh one of the

1:39:51members of the committee will uh

1:39:53>> okay

1:39:54>> read it into could you give me the is

1:39:56this the exact one? Where is it at right

1:39:58there?

1:39:59Basically we need to addition section

1:40:01three you need to add uh that the con

1:40:04the cost of the contract or contracts

1:40:07and then and fund number. So we need to

1:40:10add and fund number 01-0116-

1:40:146380. Is that what you need amended?

1:40:16>> Correct. That just needs to be added.

1:40:17Everything else

1:40:18>> will anyone be willing to add this uh

1:40:20amendment? Anyone?

1:40:23It's right there.

1:40:29I move to amend section three after

1:40:32funds number 01-1504-6380

1:40:36add and fund number 01-0116-6380.

1:40:43>> Is that the amendment?

1:40:44>> Yes.

1:40:44>> Okay, we all in agreement. Do we have a

1:40:47second?

1:40:49>> Councilwoman Jasmine Santana has

1:40:51seconded the amendment. Uh is there any

1:40:54discussion on the amendment?

1:40:56Seeing no discussion on the amendment,

1:40:57all in favor say I.

1:40:59>> Any any opposed? The eyes have it. The

1:41:03amendment carries.

1:41:04>> Please proceed.

1:41:05>> Yes. Uh thank you. So

1:41:07>> M attorney, do you have that amendment?

1:41:10>> Okay. Can we read the amendment one more

1:41:12time for the attorney?

1:41:13>> Yeah.

1:41:14>> Or can someone take it and make sure

1:41:16that she has it? Thank you.

1:41:20>> Okay. Thank you. All right. Please uh

1:41:22proceed.

1:41:23>> Yes. Uh so thank you. So this is a

1:41:25contract for both uh the division of

1:41:27treasury as well as the municipal clerk

1:41:29of courts uh to continue to provide uh

1:41:33services via brinks uh for the daily

1:41:36cash deposits going to the various

1:41:38depositories

1:41:40uh and we're happy to answer any

1:41:42questions we have. We have members of

1:41:43both division treasury as well as uh

1:41:47municipal courts uh to answer any

1:41:48specific questions.

1:41:50>> Uh just two questions briefly. Is Brinks

1:41:52the only show in town? It doesn't seem

1:41:54like there was a very large bidding

1:41:56process. Are they the only ones that do

1:41:57this kind of It used to be several kind

1:42:00of uh armored um agencies like this. How

1:42:03do we just Is Brinks the only one that

1:42:05does it?

1:42:06>> Mr. Chairman, there are two other

1:42:08vendors that provide the service.

1:42:11However, Brinks is the cash vault for

1:42:15all of our depositories. Okay? So the

1:42:18deposits are delivered to their cash

1:42:20vault and they're processed to there.

1:42:23>> Got it. Thank you for the clarification.

1:42:25Uh the second question that I have is

1:42:27that um more and more businesses and

1:42:30more and more city processes and other

1:42:32processes are becoming less cash

1:42:34intensive. People are now moving more

1:42:37towards um no cash. I know that many of

1:42:40the parking lot owners I know that um

1:42:42several other things that we've done.

1:42:44I'm not a total convert from complete no

1:42:47cash. I still got a few dollars under my

1:42:50mattress. Um because I believe that at

1:42:53some point in time you always need to

1:42:54keep a few dollars. My I was just taught

1:42:56that, you know. Uh but if now that we're

1:43:00moving towards a more of a non-cash

1:43:03business, um shouldn't cost be reduced

1:43:06in this area since we're doing more e

1:43:09transfers and others?

1:43:11>> Mr. Chairman Brinks is picking up all of

1:43:14our deposits which includes cash and

1:43:16checks. Got it.

1:43:17>> And while we do not handle a lot of

1:43:20cash, they do process our checks.

1:43:23>> Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Are

1:43:25there any other questions regarding

1:43:27ordinance number 1152-2026

1:43:29as amended. Seeing no other questions,

1:43:32ordinance number

1:43:341152-2026

1:43:36as amended stands approved. Thank you.

1:43:38>> Thank you.

1:43:45All right. [sighs and gasps] Is OEEO

1:43:47here yet?

1:43:49>> OEO. Did OEO come? Are they here?

1:43:53>> All right. We're going to go ahead into

1:43:54the big

1:43:56>> ticket items.

1:43:59Buckle up.

1:44:02Great to see my friend Miss Bethany Pew

1:44:05here today.

1:44:06>> Good to see you as well.

1:44:18Okay.

1:44:20All right. These are bond issuances.

1:44:23This is or and these are all Is capital

1:44:25going to be here too or

1:44:27>> I know he's here but

1:44:29>> okay in case he need to allude to him.

1:44:31And is Miss Ruby coming up or she's not?

1:44:36>> I don't know. I just know Miss Ruby's

1:44:37knowledgeable. So if we need to, we'll

1:44:39just point to her, right?

1:44:43>> Okay, I got it. I got it. Just as long

1:44:44as she's around. She's a wealth of

1:44:46knowledge.

1:44:47>> All right. Ordinance number 1143-2026

1:44:51by Council Member Griffin by

1:44:52departmental request an emergency

1:44:54ordinance authorizing the issue and sale

1:44:56of bonds in the maximum principal amount

1:44:58of $3,750,000

1:45:01for the purpose of providing funds to

1:45:03improve municipal parks and recreation

1:45:06facilities and authorizing related

1:45:08matters. And uh director or Mr. Gentile,

1:45:12if you could just give just a brief

1:45:14overview so we don't have to repeat it

1:45:16for every bond issuance, but um if you

1:45:19could put it in scope, so then we should

1:45:21be able to move pretty expeditiously

1:45:23through the other ones.

1:45:24>> Yes. Thank Yes. Thank you. Okay. Um what

1:45:27you have uh here is two sets of uh bond

1:45:31legislations. They're broken down. So

1:45:33they're by purpose like normal, but we

1:45:36have two distinct sets that we're doing,

1:45:38which is a little bit different.

1:45:39Normally, we would just have one set of

1:45:41legislation.

1:45:44>> So, um, these two sets, the first set

1:45:47totals a little over $65 million, and

1:45:50that's for projects that's either

1:45:52started expending or we have contracts

1:45:54on. Not all the money is on there, but

1:45:56those projects have started and we

1:45:59backfilled those with the general fund

1:46:01like we talked about at the beginning of

1:46:02the year.

1:46:04Um the second set of ordinances again uh

1:46:09are for a little over 25 million and

1:46:15we're trying to get these

1:46:16pre-inencumbered encumbered by year end

1:46:18or partly spent um by the end of

1:46:22October.

1:46:24Uh so we're using this piece of

1:46:26legislation as kind of our short-term

1:46:28instrument because right now we're still

1:46:30exploring how do we get from the bond

1:46:32issuance which is today and then that

1:46:35gap between today and like the end of

1:46:37the year. So we're issuing a second set

1:46:39of authorizing legislation for a little

1:46:43over 25 million. Um,

1:46:47so if these if these projects are

1:46:50encumbered or along far along by the by

1:46:54the end of October, we will add these.

1:46:56If approved, we will add these to the

1:46:58$65 million. So that will go up. If

1:47:01they're not approved, if we don't have

1:47:03incumbrances or pre-incumbrances or

1:47:05these are not tied up, we will add them

1:47:07to CIP next year because they didn't

1:47:09they're not going to meet the threshold

1:47:10where we're going to get them done this

1:47:12year anyway.

1:47:14We'll do what next year?

1:47:15>> I'm sorry. We will put those back on the

1:47:17CIP list because it expires. So, if we

1:47:20don't move on some of these projects

1:47:21that are in the list of a little over 25

1:47:23million, we'll add them back

1:47:25>> and and they'll be first out of the box

1:47:27next year.

1:47:28>> Um,

1:47:30let's see here. All the projects on both

1:47:33lists were approved already approved by

1:47:35council earlier this year through the

1:47:37municipal services and the finance

1:47:39committee. So, these projects are the

1:47:41same projects. uh the prices that we

1:47:44gave back then these are match or

1:47:47they're less. So what was approved by

1:47:50council these these prices are the same

1:47:52or less because they came in a little

1:47:53bit less on some of the the projects.

1:47:56Um

1:47:59so yeah that that's basically a summary

1:48:02of what we're doing. So,

1:48:04>> and

1:48:06okay, so

1:48:09how can I make it? Um, I don't know if

1:48:11I'm going to say this the right way.

1:48:13We're pretty much paying oursel back and

1:48:14we save money by using cash as opposed

1:48:18to bonds.

1:48:19>> That's correct. So, like in the

1:48:21beginning of the year in the in the

1:48:22appropriation measure, we budgeted the

1:48:24general fund to use capital. Uh, now

1:48:27we're to the point where we have to

1:48:28reimburse the general fund. So, we have

1:48:30our carryover again. Um, so when we

1:48:34issue these bonds, what we'll do if

1:48:35there's been expenses in the general

1:48:37fund or contracts, we'll swap these out

1:48:39with the bond funds. We'll put the money

1:48:41back in the general fund. So at the end

1:48:44of the day, we wouldn't have spent any

1:48:45of the general fund money. It'll all be

1:48:47restored. And by doing this, we're now

1:48:50issuing bonds when projects are shovel

1:48:52ready. So we're not paying in uh

1:48:55interest way in advance. Like because

1:48:56normally we would issue these things and

1:48:58it could be a year or two or 18 months

1:49:01before they actually get shovel ready.

1:49:03Now we're waiting to these things are

1:49:04pretty much shovel ready. Issuing the

1:49:07bonds a it helps on the spendown because

1:49:10we know we want to make sure we spend

1:49:11our bonds under the IRS rules in a

1:49:13timely manner. And now that we're

1:49:14issuing them later and we're spending

1:49:17these out, um that'll help alleviate

1:49:20that problem as well as in the short

1:49:22term it does reduce the interest because

1:49:25again we're we're not sitting on money

1:49:27where we're paying interest before we

1:49:30actually get to construction or or the

1:49:32projects.

1:49:34>> Um if

1:49:36we we got to put you I just got a

1:49:38question for you real quick. Um, does

1:49:41this still is this still the case even

1:49:43though the interest rates have been

1:49:45raised in the last couple of weeks?

1:49:48>> Yeah, I mean we unfortunately we can't

1:49:49control the interest rates. So, you

1:49:51know, they go up, they go down, they may

1:49:52go up again this year. So, you know,

1:49:55we're still going into the long-term

1:49:57market. You know, if they go down next

1:49:58year, you know, it wasn't the greatest

1:50:01deal, but if they go up more, then it's

1:50:03a good deal. But it's hard to tell where

1:50:06interest is going. You've got the

1:50:08Federal administration that wants it

1:50:10down, but the Federal Reserve wants to

1:50:11raise it. So, there's a lot of

1:50:13fluctuation at the federal level.

1:50:15>> So, just so that I can make sure I

1:50:17understand, it's better to wait to do

1:50:21the bonds as opposed to try to get them

1:50:23when they are at a lower rate.

1:50:26>> Yeah. Because to the chair because yet

1:50:28you don't know where it's going. Like it

1:50:29went up from last year. So,

1:50:31>> Gotcha.

1:50:31>> You don't know. It could and it's it's

1:50:33proposed to go up more this year. So it

1:50:35might be, you know, it's probably better

1:50:37if I had to guess. Again, this will be a

1:50:39guess. Uh rates will probably go up. So

1:50:42it's probably better to issue the debt

1:50:43now because presumably it's going to go

1:50:46up later this year, at least another

1:50:48quarter point.

1:50:49>> And I know you have uh Mr. President,

1:50:51>> I I would just add real quick, um it

1:50:53locks in a portion of guaranteed savings

1:50:56just in the sense that one, we're

1:50:57issuing less debt and two, we're not

1:51:00carrying we're not paying interest on

1:51:02that debt for a period of time. you

1:51:04know, this is a there's a bunch of

1:51:05different decision points that we're

1:51:07going to see in the future and and you

1:51:09know, it's hard to not look at one

1:51:11specific decision point, but in the long

1:51:13term, as we have multiple decision

1:51:15points, multiple interest rates,

1:51:16comparing what we did last year versus

1:51:18next year versus this year, it should

1:51:20still be to our benefit, but at the very

1:51:22least, we're locking in carrying less

1:51:24debts for a shorter period of time and

1:51:26the savings that are tied to that.

1:51:28>> And Mr. President, what what's your role

1:51:30now? I forgot. I know you were with

1:51:32taxation, but what are you doing now?

1:51:33Uh, I'm also assistant director with

1:51:35finance and serving as acting while

1:51:37Paul's out.

1:51:38>> Okay. All right. Um,

1:51:41did you um Mr. Gentile or did uh the

1:51:44folks from PFM want to let us know how

1:51:46much we've saved by doing this process?

1:51:49>> Uh, they can do that. They did a

1:51:51calculation on notes last year. Um, I

1:51:55don't know. They did one on the the

1:51:57current issue that we're doing, but I

1:51:59but I'm going to let the two I'm sorry.

1:52:01Sorry when I left the two guests

1:52:02introduced herself

1:52:03>> because I I did not do that to begin

1:52:05with. So

1:52:05>> sure.

1:52:06>> Sorry.

1:52:06>> Good afternoon. My name is Bethany Pew.

1:52:08I'm a managing director at PFM and we

1:52:10serve as municipal adviser to the city.

1:52:13>> Good afternoon. I'm Katie Romanuk with

1:52:14Squire Patent Bogs. We serve as bond

1:52:16counsel and I drafted the legislation.

1:52:19And just to give you, you know, a couple

1:52:21of background, you know, been known, uh,

1:52:23Miss Pew for a long time with PFM and

1:52:25then, uh, Miss Roman was the one who

1:52:27actually helped structure the TIFF

1:52:29district that we did downtown. So, they

1:52:32really understand finance from a legal

1:52:34perspective. And one of the things that

1:52:36this has done, it was a massive change

1:52:38in the shift. Um, I will tell you that

1:52:40probably Councilman Bishop has spent

1:52:42more money than I mean more time than

1:52:45the uh, law allows on understanding

1:52:47this. So, if you want to have some time,

1:52:49I won't say that he probably knows every

1:52:52nook and cranny, but he basically

1:52:54probably knows more on counsel about

1:52:56this process than most because he's been

1:52:58the closest to it. Okay.

1:53:00>> All right. Um, if any other comments

1:53:03before we go into questions?

1:53:04>> No, we'll we'll take questions.

1:53:06>> Okay. Um, any questions? Councilman

1:53:09Charlie Slife.

1:53:10>> Uh, thank you. And this is the really

1:53:12for the set of ordinances. I want to

1:53:14make sure I have my numbers right.

1:53:17In the budget book, we had anticipated

1:53:20or we did not anticipate we had a $91

1:53:22million carryover from the previous

1:53:24year. We took 89 of that uh for this

1:53:28program. Uh is the total of all of these

1:53:32ordinances that entire $89 million?

1:53:35>> Good question.

1:53:37>> To the chair, uh to the councilman, it

1:53:39might be slightly more because we

1:53:41haven't encumbered some of these, but we

1:53:43could issue a little bit more. So, I

1:53:45would say when you add these two up, it

1:53:47it looks like it could be slightly more

1:53:48if all the 25 happens because again, the

1:53:5125 is subject to them getting, you know,

1:53:54contracts and things moving. Uh, so

1:53:57we're definitely looking to issue the

1:53:59little over 65 million. The 25 if if we

1:54:02again we don't get there with MO cap and

1:54:04the contracting and and things and we

1:54:06can't do those this year, we won't issue

1:54:08those again. We don't want to issue

1:54:10these in advance and then pay interest.

1:54:12that will be put back on next year's CIP

1:54:15and then we'll we'll we'll kind of we'll

1:54:17issue those next year when we're closer

1:54:19to starting.

1:54:21>> Okay. So So just make sure I understand

1:54:23it say another way 65 of that is is is

1:54:26in encompassed here. Can you just I'm

1:54:30trying I want to make sure I understand

1:54:31as we look at the budget book in the

1:54:33spring what what how would how can we

1:54:36anticipate that this year's carryover

1:54:39will look in next year's budget book

1:54:41because the way that I understood this

1:54:42and the way I explained this to people

1:54:44was hopefully

1:54:46at a minimum moving forward if as long

1:54:49as we continue this program we're able

1:54:51to have an $89 million carryover because

1:54:54that's the $89 million that's being

1:54:56subject to this reimbursement program.

1:54:58However, if revenues exceed our

1:55:01projections across the budget, hopefully

1:55:03that $89 million is able to grow over

1:55:06time and and this this program expands.

1:55:09So, I'm trying to understand how we sort

1:55:12of how we can look at this

1:55:15longitudinally to understand this

1:55:17dynamic

1:55:19>> through the cherry

1:55:20>> because clearly I'm having a hard time

1:55:21even framing the question. So,

1:55:23>> I I think you have it exactly right. So

1:55:25you did a great job uh you know with

1:55:28what you said. So really there should be

1:55:31no impact on the carryover because we

1:55:33will reimburse everything we spent this

1:55:35year. So if we have more revenue this

1:55:38year than expenses, you're correct. It

1:55:40will grow. We have a little bit less.

1:55:42It'll be a little bit less. Now right

1:55:44now we're trending towards a little bit

1:55:46more above and beyond. But once we issue

1:55:48these bonds, we will reimburse the

1:55:50general fund 100%. So let's say we were

1:55:53at break even zero, you know, let's just

1:55:55say the revenues and expenses this year

1:55:56just magically hit a zero. Our carryover

1:55:59would should be exactly the same.

1:56:01>> Okay. So I guess I I'll I'll stop by

1:56:04making uh

1:56:06a stream of conscious request. So bear

1:56:08with me. In next year's budget book, it

1:56:11may be helpful in the beginning balance

1:56:13number to have that number broken down

1:56:16of beginning balance that's tied to this

1:56:19reimbursement process versus beginning

1:56:21balance that is the kind of unspent

1:56:24monies from this year that haven't been

1:56:27part of this financial transaction. So

1:56:29we can understand how the beginning

1:56:31balance is changing year-over-year with

1:56:34what we're reminding ourselves that a

1:56:36substantial percentage of the beginning

1:56:37balance will always be tied into this

1:56:39this bond process.

1:56:41>> Yeah. To the council, we can definitely

1:56:43do that because again we know what the

1:56:45carryover was and then we just basically

1:56:47will subtract what the additional is and

1:56:49that's what we've gained just through

1:56:51natural course of operations for 2026.

1:56:55>> Mr. Majest, Miss Majestro, did you get

1:56:57that um request that Mr. SL has for us

1:57:00to give a recommendation for the budget

1:57:02book. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Anything

1:57:05else, Mr. SL? All right. Uh, Councilman

1:57:08Joseph Jones.

1:57:09>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, just so

1:57:11that I can get a clarification of this.

1:57:14This is um, uh, geo bonds for park and

1:57:17recreation for the next 30 years.

1:57:20>> To the chair, the council person, when

1:57:21you look at all these ordinance, it's

1:57:23our normal purposes. So it's parks and

1:57:24wrecks, it's roadway, there could be

1:57:26some small cemetery, it's large

1:57:28vehicles, it's small vehicles, several

1:57:30pieces of legislation. So these are the

1:57:33ones we normally issue. Uh public facil,

1:57:36I'm sorry, public facilities is another

1:57:38one. So when you look at all these, it

1:57:40covers all those purposes, not just

1:57:42>> this is this is like a a all within all

1:57:50I I would presume umbrella effect. Yeah,

1:57:53this is to do citywide capital projects.

1:57:55So, I see. So, do we know which projects

1:57:58coming out of here, Mr. Chairman?

1:57:59>> Uh, through the chair. Yes, council

1:58:01approved that earlier this year. These

1:58:02are all on the approved lists by council

1:58:04that went for municipal services.

1:58:06>> You have a listing of all of those

1:58:08>> um

1:58:09>> projects, Mr. Chairman, that you believe

1:58:11that was sent late last week.

1:58:14>> Okay. You did send it to us,

1:58:15>> correct? And it was broken out by the

1:58:17already encumbered, hopefully be

1:58:19encumbered, and then what might be moved

1:58:21to next year. It would have been nice if

1:58:23we would have had it on our tablet. We

1:58:25don't have it on our tablet. It would

1:58:26have been good to have it there.

1:58:28>> Just out of just make sure for

1:58:29clarification. Councilman Bishop, wasn't

1:58:31this in public? Then we um had this list

1:58:34approved out of municipal service.

1:58:36>> Yeah.

1:58:37>> I wasn't on municipal services.

1:58:39>> Okay.

1:58:40>> So, I didn't get chance.

1:58:41>> Municipal services is where we um

1:58:43approved it out of. So, it was

1:58:45thoroughly vetted and council actually

1:58:46did approve all I'm trying to get

1:58:49clarification.

1:58:50>> That that list does exist and we'll make

1:58:52sure to do it. What this is doing is

1:58:54basically just paying the bills of what

1:58:55we already approved.

1:58:56>> Okay. So, then I guess the question is

1:58:58I'd like to have a listing of those.

1:59:00>> You said you sent it so you don't mind

1:59:02rescending it for this particular piece

1:59:04here. And then can you explain to me

1:59:07because this is this is something the

1:59:09councilman the the chairman had asked

1:59:11for is is is is a better

1:59:16ways and means to show how you're

1:59:18efficient with this because this seems

1:59:20like a little bit different from the

1:59:21years past. Is that correct Mr. Chairman

1:59:23to Mr. Gentile?

1:59:25>> Yeah. Through the chair to the council

1:59:26person. Yes. This is different. Again

1:59:28the biggest change is we're fronting the

1:59:31projects with the general fund. So,

1:59:34we're using the general fund up front,

1:59:35the cash on hand. Um, now at this point,

1:59:39because we have expenses in the general

1:59:40fund and we have contracts in the

1:59:42general fund, we want to issue the bonds

1:59:44and refund the general fund. So, general

1:59:47funds made whole. Uh, where this saves

1:59:50money, at least in the short short term,

1:59:53is this serves two things. It saves

1:59:56interest because we're going to be

1:59:57issuing the bonds way closer. Some of

1:59:59these money is already spent like the

2:00:00vehicles. So, we're going to issue it

2:00:02and reimburse it. So, that that money is

2:00:03already spent. So, we're going to be

2:00:05paying less interest in the short term

2:00:08because we're issuing these much later

2:00:10than we normally would. Number two,

2:00:12number two, just want to give you the

2:00:14last piece of this. Number two is,

2:00:16>> you know, there's IRS rules of how

2:00:19quickly you spend your bond proceeds,

2:00:21right? So, you have like three years to

2:00:23get, I think, 85 and five years to get

2:00:26100 or something close to that. Katie

2:00:28will holler at me if I'm not right, but

2:00:31this will also help that spend down uh

2:00:34that we're in compliance with IRS rules.

2:00:37So, that's the two major, you know,

2:00:39benefits of doing it this way.

2:00:42>> And just just for clarification, too,

2:00:45>> we have already have 65 million under

2:00:48contract and now you will potentially

2:00:51get to 25 million more. to the chair of

2:00:54the council.

2:00:56We do not have the full 65 under

2:00:58contractor. It's not we it's in projects

2:01:01that have part of it. A big chunk of

2:01:03this is is resurfacing which we don't

2:01:06encumber. Uh streets does all the work

2:01:08and then we reimburse them at year end.

2:01:10They're doing speed tables. They're

2:01:12doing all the resurfacing. So, it's

2:01:14probably going to be about 8 to 10

2:01:15million that comes out of the roadway

2:01:17bonds to refund streets for all the work

2:01:19they've done on all the streets, speed

2:01:21tables, and all the things that they're

2:01:23doing. But not all of it's encumbered or

2:01:25spent. We're hoping by year end. the 65

2:01:29will all be uh not but I it's not all

2:01:32right now but we're pretty confident

2:01:34that that piece will the 25 million are

2:01:38things that again we're kind of using

2:01:39that second set of legislation as our

2:01:41short-term chance so in case we need

2:01:45they moap and other people that do

2:01:48capital projects can actually uh get

2:01:50things under contract or spent between

2:01:52now and the end of October then we'll

2:01:55issue for those if they can't we will

2:01:57And uh again, we'll we'll take those

2:02:00off. We won't issue bonds and we will

2:02:02just roll those to next year's CIP that

2:02:04the MOAP puts on the list for

2:02:06consideration next year.

2:02:08>> Councilman Jones.

2:02:09>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I I enjoyed

2:02:11listening to that. Um let me let me ask

2:02:14this, Mr. Chairman. Um so with this new

2:02:17process, is it uh uh industry standard

2:02:23>> through the chair to the council person?

2:02:24There are cities doing this. I this this

2:02:26idea came from our new C our newer CFO

2:02:29which I won't call him new now. He's

2:02:30been there a couple of years. Uh this is

2:02:32something they did in Jacksonville. Uh

2:02:35he came up here and kind of pitched this

2:02:36idea. I think it was a new way to look

2:02:38at things. Again I think it it does meet

2:02:41a couple of our you know things that we

2:02:44need to meet a reducing you know our

2:02:47interest expense in the short term and b

2:02:49uh spending on our bonds in a more

2:02:51timely manner. So this is something he

2:02:53actually brought this idea that they are

2:02:54actually they're doing this in several

2:02:56different areas. Uh we've never done

2:02:58this before. So this is something new.

2:03:00>> So we're trying it for the first time

2:03:02>> to the chair of the council person. Yes.

2:03:03This is

2:03:04>> all right. So let me ask this question

2:03:06then. So we we utilize the general fund

2:03:08dollars just to hold in place and then

2:03:12we once the project is shovel ready make

2:03:15sure I'm hearing what I'm what you're

2:03:17saying and make it summarized quickly.

2:03:19Then once you you're ready for the

2:03:21project is ready to go, then you go out

2:03:23to the market space for the bond.

2:03:26>> It's you got it almost correct, but let

2:03:29me just So what we do is we as soon as

2:03:31it's shovel ready, we use the general

2:03:33fund and then now because we have to

2:03:36reimburse the general fund. It's time to

2:03:38get the bond so we can refund the

2:03:40general fund. So we have to under state

2:03:42law to certify contracts with vendors

2:03:44that are going to start doing work on

2:03:45the parks or the roads, we have to have

2:03:48a funding source. So we're using the

2:03:50general fund. So I see we certify that

2:03:52and now it's payback to the general fund

2:03:54once we get our bond proceeds.

2:03:56>> I see. So then now the next question is

2:03:58the final question Mr. Chairman so I can

2:04:00understand it in my head mathematically

2:04:02speaking if it's a good deal or not. So

2:04:05going on the market space now versus say

2:04:09you know given the fact that we have a

2:04:11problem in Washington DC on the federal

2:04:13level which is causes and creates

2:04:16uncertainties not just in our market

2:04:19space but unfortunately all across the

2:04:21planet. And so the question would be um

2:04:24doing it this way does it really save us

2:04:26or will it be a higher interest rate on

2:04:28the on the bond market a year from now

2:04:31two years from now? I mean, if you

2:04:33believe what the Federal Reserve is

2:04:35saying right now, they're going to

2:04:36increase rates later this year before

2:04:39year end. So, if that's the case, this

2:04:42will be a lower interest rate. But

2:04:44interest rates, they're subject to

2:04:46change. It's hard.

2:04:46>> So, you're saying it's going to be

2:04:48lower?

2:04:49>> It right now on indicators, it's going

2:04:51to be lower now than later this year.

2:04:53But again, I can't give you a definitive

2:04:56answer because these things change,

2:04:57>> right? So right now it's going to is

2:04:59looking lower, but because he's looking

2:05:01to raise rates, it'll be higher later on

2:05:02down the road. Correct.

2:05:05>> The administration in Washington wants

2:05:06to lower rates. The Federal Reserve who

2:05:08controls the rates wants to raise them.

2:05:10So there's

2:05:10>> Well, the Federal The Federal Reserve

2:05:12has already signaled, Mr. Chairman, to

2:05:14and you already know this. Yes.

2:05:16>> That they're going to go at their way to

2:05:17keep the economy stable. So those rates

2:05:19are going to rise so they can take more

2:05:21money off the market space. So Mr.

2:05:23Chairman, the question that I'm asking

2:05:24you is you're bringing to us a new ideal

2:05:26and new concept. What I want to do is

2:05:29make sure that it's fiscally

2:05:30responsible. So, which means that this

2:05:32is a new concept. If we look to go say a

2:05:35year from now, will we really be making

2:05:37a savings? Will we really be helping our

2:05:40city?

2:05:41>> Yeah. Through the chair again, uh the

2:05:44Fed is indicating they're going to raise

2:05:45rates. If the rates do raise, this is a

2:05:48better deal for us right now.

2:05:50>> All right. All Mr. Chairman, no further

2:05:52questions. Thank you. Are there any

2:05:53other questions regarding ordinance

2:05:55number 1143-2026?

2:05:58>> Councilman Christopher Harsh.

2:06:01>> Through the chair, is it possible with

2:06:03this new bonding structure that we're

2:06:04adding costs that we didn't previously

2:06:06bond?

2:06:08>> Wow, that's a good point. Uh through the

2:06:10chair, the council person, I would say

2:06:13no because our issuance costs are based

2:06:16on the total amount of issuance.

2:06:18>> Total amount of what?

2:06:19>> The total amount of issuance. So if you

2:06:21issue 60 it cost you this much. If you

2:06:23issue 90 it cost us this much. So we're

2:06:26issuing so much this year but when you

2:06:27look at what we issued last year which

2:06:29was around 35 and what we're going to is

2:06:31issue this year we're still back at an

2:06:34average of around 60 million which is

2:06:36somewhat normal. Um you know now if you

2:06:40issue bands or other instruments and you

2:06:42have to pay cost of issuance once and

2:06:44you have to pay it twice you have to

2:06:46look at that and factor that in. But

2:06:48we're not doing short term right now. We

2:06:50did that one time last year to get over

2:06:51a hump.

2:06:53>> Um, and we did it for like the 35

2:06:55million last year,

2:06:56>> but we're not doing short term now. So,

2:06:58I don't think it increases any costs if

2:07:01you're doing just long-term like we're

2:07:03doing now.

2:07:04>> Okay. And through through the chair, our

2:07:06bond council here is uh outside the city

2:07:10independent uh financial firm.

2:07:13>> Um, I'm sorry.

2:07:15>> I'm sorry. We are not a financial firm.

2:07:16>> You're a legal firm.

2:07:17>> A legal firm. They're financial.

2:07:19>> You're fin. I'm sorry.

2:07:21>> Okay. I just need to make that legal.

2:07:22>> Financial and legal. So, there's two

2:07:24firms. Um, and through the chair, uh,

2:07:28have you seen other municipalities

2:07:30utilize this flip and bonding schedules

2:07:33for

2:07:33>> sure. So in terms of funding with cash

2:07:36and then reimbursing themselves with

2:07:38bond transactions, if that's the

2:07:39question you're asking, yes, that's not

2:07:41that is a common practice and part of

2:07:43the rationale which um Jim's already

2:07:45very eloquently went through is not

2:07:47borrowing funds and incurring cost of

2:07:49capital before you actually are spending

2:07:51those dollars.

2:07:52>> All right. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

2:07:54>> All right. Thank you. Um this is going

2:07:57to take some monitoring. It's a very

2:07:58very big shift. Um, and at some point in

2:08:03time, we're not going to try to boil the

2:08:05ocean hole today, but it'd be great to

2:08:08hear from Miss Ruby, who handled a lot

2:08:11of the sinking fund to try to understand

2:08:13historical knowledge on this. That's why

2:08:15I don't I'm not going to put her on the

2:08:16spot today. Um, but it'll be good to

2:08:19understand the if we see the cost

2:08:21savings because we haven't seen the cost

2:08:24savings yet.

2:08:24>> Sure.

2:08:25>> And um, that'll be good. And I don't

2:08:27know if PFM can help us with that, but

2:08:29it'll be great for us to see the cost

2:08:31savings. I keep hearing that this is

2:08:32saving us. I forget what uh Director

2:08:35Barrett told me a couple of weeks ago,

2:08:36but he said it's saving about how much?

2:08:38>> So, if I may, Mr. Chair, so I think

2:08:41there's there's a couple of things. So

2:08:43the analysis that I think you were

2:08:45provided spoke to the difference in cost

2:08:48of doing the bans last year and

2:08:49incurring only a portion of the cost

2:08:51associated with 2025 CIP and not

2:08:54borrowing for the full I believe the

2:08:56number was $80 million. So, the benefit

2:08:58of doing that was incurring two things.

2:09:00A shorter interest or short lower

2:09:02interest rate because you were issuing

2:09:04bands as opposed to long-term bonds uh

2:09:06and also not incurring the long-term

2:09:08interest rate on the portion of the debt

2:09:10that you didn't issue which is being

2:09:12issued this year. Does that make sense?

2:09:14>> Yes.

2:09:15>> The ch I'm sorry.

2:09:16>> The challenge which I think everybody is

2:09:18noting is that

2:09:19>> now that you're going out for a

2:09:21long-term issuance this year, interest

2:09:22rates are higher than they were last

2:09:25year. So the question and the analysis I

2:09:27think you're all speaking to is what

2:09:29does that look like numerically? But

2:09:30what we can say is the through this year

2:09:33and up until whenever we issue these

2:09:34bonds and lock in whatever those costs

2:09:36are going to be is that instead of

2:09:37incurring 5% interest on $80 million,

2:09:40which is what the I think the old

2:09:43procedure would have had you do last

2:09:44year, you only borrowed approximately 36

2:09:47million for a lower interest rate. And

2:09:49so there's a difference in that savings

2:09:50that you were able to lock in as well as

2:09:52in implementing a practice that is a

2:09:55thoughtful practice and not borrowing

2:09:57money before you need to spend it and

2:09:59incurring those cost.

2:10:01>> Just one last question because I know

2:10:02this is difficult. I know everybody is

2:10:05always trying to keep up on you know

2:10:07with finances. Um

2:10:10what if a project has multiple um lines

2:10:12of debt or multiple streams of debt?

2:10:16Don't we have projects that have

2:10:17multiple debt issuances?

2:10:20>> Uh through the chair, the council

2:10:21person, they they uh to the chair, they

2:10:23may have like different bonding years.

2:10:26We have that all the time. So like

2:10:28sometimes we'll put like a half a

2:10:29million in this year and that's for the

2:10:31design and then we put a half a million

2:10:33when they start construction.

2:10:35That really won't impact this. It's it's

2:10:37the same. We just again we'll borrow the

2:10:39money as we're ready to do the next

2:10:40stage.

2:10:41>> Okay. Well, let me say this. I know that

2:10:44we, you know, tried to embrace something

2:10:46different that director Barrett gave us

2:10:48as um alternative to try to save money.

2:10:52I think um it would be very good if we

2:10:54actually had a session with um um you

2:10:56know especially before the budget with

2:10:58uh you and also the PFM representative

2:11:00and Miss Romach to really um drill down

2:11:04on this a little further so that

2:11:06everyone could make sure that one they

2:11:08understand and then number two if we

2:11:10could actually see after a year of doing

2:11:12this if we actually did save any money

2:11:15um and realize any savings because uh

2:11:17that's what we were told how this was

2:11:19going to save dollars and I just would

2:11:22love to hear some different subject

2:11:24matter experts and I really once again

2:11:27um I know that Miss Ruby has handled

2:11:30traditionally the syncing fund. So she

2:11:32might be the the one that could pretty

2:11:33much expound upon the differences more

2:11:36than most in here. So that's something

2:11:37that I think we should definitely take a

2:11:38look at. Okay.

2:11:39>> Sure. Yeah. I think that'd be a great

2:11:41idea to have a meeting before we have

2:11:42the budget so we can go over all this.

2:11:45Uh and and in the meanwhile, if if

2:11:47people want to walk through on this at a

2:11:49different time, they can just send me an

2:11:51email, I'll be happy, you know,

2:11:53one-on-one to walk people through how

2:11:54this works. You know,

2:11:56>> we'll work with Miss Majestro to if

2:11:58anybody needs it, that's fine.

2:11:59>> Okay. All right. Any other questions

2:12:01regarding ordinance number 1143206?

2:12:06Because after this, what we're going to

2:12:07do is read them into the record and then

2:12:09pretty much go into the lightning round.

2:12:10Okay. All right. Uh, seeing no other

2:12:13questions, ordinance number 1143-2026

2:12:16stands approved. Please sign on.

2:12:19>> Remember, we don't have to debate the

2:12:21same process on every piece.

2:12:25>> Actually, I'm I'm done with my

2:12:26presentation. So, I have nothing else

2:12:28unless there's questions. But

2:12:29>> next is ordinance number 1142-2026

2:12:32by Council Member Griffin by

2:12:33departmental request an emergency

2:12:34ordinance authorizing the issuance and

2:12:37sale of bonds in the maximum principal

2:12:40amount of 1.8 8 million for the purpose

2:12:44of providing funds to improve municipal

2:12:47parks and recreational and recreation

2:12:49facilities and authorizing related

2:12:52matters. Uh any questions regarding

2:12:56ordinance number 1142-2026?

2:13:00Seeing no questions. Ordinance number

2:13:011142-2026

2:13:03stands approved. Please sign on.

2:13:11Next is ordinance number 1141-2026

2:13:15by council member Griffin by

2:13:16departmental request an emergency

2:13:18ordinance authorizing the issuance and

2:13:20sale of bonds in a maximum principal

2:13:21amount of 3.8 million for the purpose of

2:13:24providing funds to improve municipal

2:13:26parks and recreation facilities and

2:13:29authorizing related matters. Are there

2:13:32any questions regarding ordinance number

2:13:331141-2026?

2:13:36Seeing no questions, ordinance number

2:13:381141-2026

2:13:41stands approved. Please sign on.

2:13:47Next is ordinance number

2:13:50next is ordinance number 1140-2026

2:13:54by council member Griffin by

2:13:55departmental request an emergency

2:13:56ordinance authorizing the issuance and

2:13:58sale of bonds in the maximum principal

2:14:00amount of $6 million for the purpose of

2:14:03providing funds to acquire vehicles and

2:14:05equipment for performing functions of

2:14:08the city's departments including

2:14:10department of public works and the

2:14:12department of public safety and

2:14:13authorizing relating matters. Are there

2:14:15any questions regarding 1140-2026?

2:14:19>> Mr. Chairman, [snorts]

2:14:20>> Councilman Joseph Jones,

2:14:22>> how much money are we talking about?

2:14:25>> This this specific piece is $6 million

2:14:28that goes towards equipment and als uh

2:14:30equipment for public works and public

2:14:32safety.

2:14:33>> Is this the same piece that we we dealt

2:14:35with um with buying and purchasing

2:14:37vehicles um from the director earlier?

2:14:40>> This is No, sir. This is different. This

2:14:42is uh what we just discussed at length

2:14:45on how we're trying to pay money into

2:14:47our capital improvement plans.

2:14:49>> Right. So, this is a bond, correct?

2:14:51>> Yes, sir.

2:14:51>> Right. And then this bond is to pay for

2:14:54uh buying and purchasing um vehicles.

2:14:58>> Mr. Jens, you want to explain?

2:15:00>> Yeah. That that piece that the council

2:15:02chair read is for vehicles. What the

2:15:05director talked about earlier are things

2:15:07he wants to do in the future. These are

2:15:09all been approved and we've got a lot of

2:15:12these vehicles already and we've paid

2:15:13for a lot of these. So,

2:15:15>> so you may have heard Mr. Chairman um to

2:15:18the director earlier the the how we are

2:15:22purchasing as a city and the need to in

2:15:26every which way we can to um save money

2:15:30uh and have more purchasing power. Um,

2:15:34are we looking to to expand working with

2:15:38other networks to to lower our cost even

2:15:40if it means, Mr. Chairman, um 5 to

2:15:44$10,000 off of a vehicle that we

2:15:46purchase?

2:15:47>> Yeah. I mean, we're constantly looking

2:15:49in the division of purchasing with with

2:15:51bidding. There's tons of cooperatives

2:15:53that uh Jeff Brown, who manages the

2:15:56vehicle fleet and buys the vehicles, he

2:15:58searches all the prices on all these

2:16:00cooperatives, uh will send uh a public

2:16:03bid out. So, they vet um what's the best

2:16:07price. Sometimes we're in cooperatives

2:16:09that aren't even in the state. We've

2:16:11bought some, you know, it could be they

2:16:13could be buying police cars in Oklahoma

2:16:15and all of a sudden it's 5,000 less than

2:16:17here. So, uh, they Chuck Brown does a

2:16:20great job looking at all of the, uh, the

2:16:23options, but we continue to look at

2:16:25options to save money, not only on

2:16:26vehicles, on everything that we do and

2:16:28any ideas that people come up with, they

2:16:30could send to us. Yeah, we would

2:16:32approve. I mean, we look at all of them

2:16:34because we do want to save money

2:16:36>> and and that's really good, Mr.

2:16:38Chairman, um, to Mr. Gentile. Um, one of

2:16:42the things is is that I often don't hear

2:16:45um any kind of presentations that really

2:16:48fundamentally talk about that. And um I

2:16:51know that each year we we we we carry on

2:16:54with just purchasing these bonds, but

2:16:57the council really doesn't have um

2:17:00presentations made to show us how we're

2:17:03we are saving. So we don't know. So So

2:17:07when we when I sit here at this this

2:17:09table, Mr. chairman and I asked the

2:17:11question, you know, how are we saving

2:17:13it? You don't give us the production.

2:17:15And you need to get into the routine of

2:17:18giving us the production because we have

2:17:19to watch the people's money. And so even

2:17:22though you might tell me, Mr. Chairman,

2:17:24that you've done these things, I'm not

2:17:26so sure because again, we're we're we're

2:17:29spending an enormous amount of money for

2:17:32bonds. And um and I know that in years

2:17:35past we get a short summary, but we do

2:17:39have within our department's analytical

2:17:42systems that's in place. It would be

2:17:44nice to see how all of that lines up

2:17:47over here at the end of this table so

2:17:50that I could I could see the savings

2:17:52you're talking about because you might

2:17:53be right. we might be making savings

2:17:55here, but I don't know what we've saved

2:17:57because you clearly has you clearly has

2:18:00not put that evidence on the table.

2:18:03You're just saying about all the the

2:18:04cooperations and processes you've been

2:18:06through, but you're not showing me where

2:18:08you actually made some savings. And so

2:18:10therefore, I'm listening to you, but I

2:18:13have no verification to know what you

2:18:15actually did because there's no

2:18:16presentation.

2:18:17>> Commissioner, and that's the problem,

2:18:19Mr. Chairman.

2:18:19>> Commissioner.

2:18:20>> Yeah. do this to the council person, we

2:18:22could definitely do a better job showing

2:18:23the savings. So, we could basically list

2:18:26like here's what we looked at. Like, you

2:18:28know, police cars 25,000 on this

2:18:30cooperative, it's 20 here, it's 18 here,

2:18:33and we went with the 18 because

2:18:35obviously that's the le so we can do a

2:18:37better job kind of mapping that out so

2:18:40you could see what we're looking at and

2:18:41you could see that we're choosing the

2:18:43best price. So, uh I'll work with

2:18:45procurement and and and the vehicles and

2:18:48and just across the board. So we can

2:18:50have like a better picture of what we're

2:18:52actually saving by doing all these

2:18:54things that we're doing

2:18:55>> and and that's all I'm suggesting. Mr.

2:18:57Chairman, thank you Mr. Gentile.

2:18:59>> Assistant director to the chair. Just

2:19:00one point just to clarify too all

2:19:03vehicles whether it's these vehicles or

2:19:04the previous vehicles discussed are

2:19:06procured in the same fashion through the

2:19:08same division. So the same processes

2:19:10that were outlined earlier are the same

2:19:12process that uh Jim was also trying to

2:19:15outline as well. So just wonder

2:19:17>> and and but what I was asking Mr.

2:19:19chairman and which is really important

2:19:21when you start talking about processes

2:19:23and procedures right or or processes

2:19:25that you have in place the one of the

2:19:28things there's two things that I I

2:19:29brought to the table earlier the first

2:19:31one was do we do we get a step back take

2:19:34an analytical look at what we actually

2:19:36do is it best practices what what are

2:19:39other cities doing that could be

2:19:41potentially you know saving us funds or

2:19:44they're saving funds so looking at

2:19:45always looking at the best practices and

2:19:47analytical studies

2:19:48versus just getting in the same

2:19:50processes that we do year in and year

2:19:52out. So the reason why I asked the

2:19:54question Mr. Chairman to Mr. Gentile was

2:19:57because you know we have a county

2:19:58government we have different governments

2:20:00do we and and if you're saying

2:20:01cooperative what does that mean? I can't

2:20:04quantify

2:20:05your processes because you Mr. chairman

2:20:08to the assistant commissioner or con

2:20:12assistant director. There has been no

2:20:14explanation of what that is and what it

2:20:16really fundamentally looks like.

2:20:17>> Yeah. Through the chair gun, we can get

2:20:19you some better definitions on a

2:20:20cooperative. I mean, at a high level,

2:20:22it's it's a bunch of companies that get

2:20:24together and they basically a lot of

2:20:27people are buying from them, the county,

2:20:29the city, whoever. Smart.

2:20:31>> And we will get a better price because

2:20:32the quantity is higher. You buy more

2:20:34stuff,

2:20:35>> the price is going to be lower, right?

2:20:37So, um, we could definitely show you

2:20:39that. Again, we could do a better job

2:20:41talking and showing it to

2:20:42>> you director. No, no further questions.

2:20:45>> Thank you, Councilman Michael.

2:20:46>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On the

2:20:49Mr. Chairman, my own

2:20:50>> colleagues on the safety vehicles. Where

2:20:52is that list? Cuz I have not seen that

2:20:54list of the safety vehicles and it's not

2:20:57in the legislation.

2:20:58>> Could we resend that list from safety?

2:21:00Cuz I know that there was a list for

2:21:02safety. Yes, cuz this has uh apparatus

2:21:05uh ladder trucks, pumpers, ex am I want

2:21:08to see what we're ordering. And if you

2:21:10could tell me not only where what we're

2:21:11ordering, but where it's going to, that

2:21:13would be appreciated. Thank you, Mr.

2:21:15Chairman.

2:21:16>> You missed the last part. I'm sorry.

2:21:18>> Where it is being assigned,

2:21:20which units, etc. Thank you.

2:21:22>> We can definitely do that. We have a

2:21:24list. So, we will have uh

2:21:26>> uh MVM,

2:21:28>> you know, let you know like where those

2:21:29are being deployed.

2:21:31>> Thank you.

2:21:31>> All right. Thank you. See no other

2:21:33questions. Ordinance number 11.

2:21:36>> Councilman Kevin Con.

2:21:37>> I'm gonna be quick though. You know when

2:21:39you send him the purchasing piece,

2:21:41excuse me, to the chair, Mr. Gentiles.

2:21:43>> Yes, sir.

2:21:44>> You know, you don't look at cost first.

2:21:46When you send it, send me a copy of it,

2:21:47too. But you look at quality first

2:21:50because it might last longer. Then you

2:21:52go to service, then you go to pricing.

2:21:55And that's how you send it. You send

2:21:56that to me that way. All right.

2:21:58>> Right. Again, we always look at the the

2:22:01the standard is lowest and best, right?

2:22:04So sometimes, you know, if you buy

2:22:06something that's low, I mean, that is

2:22:08what the state law is.

2:22:10>> So like that's what I'm saying. So if

2:22:11you buy something that's going to last

2:22:13one year for cheaper,

2:22:15>> we move forward. I come by and see I

2:22:17drive by and I see

2:22:18>> Yeah, no problem. But yeah, we we we

2:22:20look at that right junk.

2:22:22>> Just to Councilman Conwell's point,

2:22:24lowest and best does not just mean

2:22:26lowest,

2:22:27>> right? to lowest and best is what you're

2:22:29saying is that it also means if it's

2:22:32best quality. So we so he'll talk to you

2:22:35offline, but I just want to make sure

2:22:36that everybody knows that lowest and

2:22:38best doesn't always mean just buy the

2:22:39lowest.

2:22:41>> Okay. All right. Thank you. All right.

2:22:43So, um, seeing no other questions,

2:22:45ordinance number 1139-2026

2:22:47stands approved. Next, we have ordinance

2:22:49number 1138-2026

2:22:52by council member Griffin by

2:22:53departmental request an emergency

2:22:54ordinance authorizing the issuance and

2:22:56sale of bonds in the maximum principal

2:22:59amount of 700,000 for the purpose of

2:23:01providing funds to improve municipal

2:23:04cemetery facilities, building structures

2:23:06and grounds and authorizing related

2:23:09matters. Director, any comments? All

2:23:13right, see no questions. Ordinance

2:23:15number 1138-2026

2:23:18stands approved. Going to the next

2:23:20batch.

2:23:22This is ordinance number 1144-2026

2:23:26by council member Griffin by

2:23:27departmental request. An emergency

2:23:29ordinance authorizing the issuance of

2:23:31sale of bonds in a maximum principal

2:23:33amount of 1.1

2:23:35one,50,000

2:23:38for the purpose of providing funds to

2:23:41improve government improve building and

2:23:44structures and providing for the

2:23:45discharge of government functions and

2:23:47services otherwise benefiting the public

2:23:50safety, health and welfare and for the

2:23:53provisions of necessary f fixtures,

2:23:56furnishings, equipment techn technology

2:23:59appertances,

2:24:00utilities and site improvements for the

2:24:02purpose and authorizing

2:24:05related matters.

2:24:08>> Are there any questions regarding

2:24:091144-2026?

2:24:11>> Mr. Chairman,

2:24:12>> Councilman Jones,

2:24:13>> did you say that number amount? What was

2:24:16it again?

2:24:17>> The number amount for that was

2:24:18$1,150,000.

2:24:21>> No further question.

2:24:23>> Thank you. Next is ordinance number

2:24:251145-2026

2:24:27by council member Griffin by

2:24:29departmental request an emergency

2:24:31ordinance authorizing the issuance and

2:24:33sale of bonds in the maximum principal

2:24:35amount of six $6.8 $8 million for the

2:24:38purpose of providing funds to improve

2:24:41buildings and structures and providing

2:24:42for the discharge of governmental

2:24:45functions and services otherwise

2:24:46benefiting the public safety, health and

2:24:49welfare for the provision of necessary

2:24:52fixtures, furnishings, equipment,

2:24:54technology,

2:24:56utilities, and site improvements for the

2:24:58purpose of authorizing related matters.

2:25:00Are there any questions regarding

2:25:021145-2026?

2:25:04>> Mr. Chairman, Councilman Jones,

2:25:06>> all these are bonds that we we have

2:25:08finished that's coming through or all

2:25:10the rest of these are bonds.

2:25:12>> All of these are bonds.

2:25:13>> And and Mr. Chairman, to the director, h

2:25:16how much is the total bond package that

2:25:18we're passing off on today?

2:25:23>> Through the through the chair, um to the

2:25:26council person. Uh there's two sets. So

2:25:2865 are things for sure that we plan on

2:25:32going forward with because we have

2:25:33contracts and expenses.

2:25:36There's another a little bit over 25

2:25:38million that we're hoping to get started

2:25:40in the next month or so. And if we get

2:25:42those started, it'll add to the 65. So

2:25:45the authorization is

2:25:47>> it's about 92 million

2:25:49>> about 92 million in total. But if we

2:25:52don't Yeah, it's But if we don't get

2:25:55those other ones there, it'll be less

2:25:58than that.

2:25:59>> We add them all up.

2:26:00>> And can I say this because this is, you

2:26:02know, this adds to the, you know, and

2:26:04and I always respect every council

2:26:06person's right to ask questions, but we

2:26:09literally had this conversation probably

2:26:12about five to 10 different times just in

2:26:14this conversation. So, that's one of the

2:26:17reasons why I tell everybody, you know,

2:26:19if you're not at the table, please watch

2:26:21on TV20 because they've had this

2:26:23conversation and said these amounts and

2:26:26we we beat these amounts up like several

2:26:28times. So, I just want to make sure

2:26:30we're not just being duplicative on

2:26:32certain things if we could. Okay.

2:26:34>> Yeah. Well, okay. Uh, seeing other

2:26:37chairman, I still have another question,

2:26:38sir. Well, I I you know, because I want

2:26:40to make sure that I, you know, if I'm

2:26:42going to sit here and give you my vote,

2:26:45the least you could do is give me the

2:26:47paperwork. And so, uh, Mr. Chairman, as

2:26:51I sit here and represent my people here,

2:26:53I can't speak for everybody else how

2:26:55many times you talked about it. But I

2:26:57can, Mr. chairman ask that you you break

2:27:01this $90 million down and and give me

2:27:05some kind of um paperwork that tells me

2:27:09what this is. Uh if my citizens have to

2:27:12ask me a question on 36.21

2:27:161926, I need to be a to give them a

2:27:19answer that's going to make them

2:27:21understand it. That's the first request

2:27:25is that these $90 million worth of bonds

2:27:28that we're about to get ready to put out

2:27:30here in the street that you give me a

2:27:32listing of what they are based upon

2:27:35their legislation because I don't have

2:27:36that in front of me and nor does this

2:27:38booklet tell me what you going to do

2:27:39with this. So, Mr. Chairman, I request

2:27:42that information. Number one. And then

2:27:44number two, Mr. Chairman, um the we

2:27:47talked about a new practice. Will that

2:27:50practice be, Mr. Chairman, on all of

2:27:53these bonds where we'll be using um the

2:27:57city's uh um fund to pay for this and

2:28:01then go out to the bonds? Would all of

2:28:03this be the new practice, Mr. Chairman,

2:28:05to Mr. Gentile?

2:28:06>> To the chair. Yes, we can we can we give

2:28:09definitely give you the list. It's

2:28:10broken down by each individual project

2:28:12and by purpose and subtotal that matches

2:28:15the legislation.

2:28:16>> Thank you.

2:28:17>> So, we will definitely make sure you get

2:28:19that. Uh Tina might have it. Maybe she

2:28:21could forward it, but we definitely can

2:28:24get you that. That's we have that. Uh

2:28:26yes, this is the new to the chair, the

2:28:28council person. This is the new process.

2:28:30So when we have a carryover next year in

2:28:32general fund, if it's approved by

2:28:34council, we will go down this process

2:28:37again. We will budget the general fund,

2:28:38we'll use it, and then at this time next

2:28:40year, we will ask to issue bonds to

2:28:43refund it. So yes, that this is a new

2:28:45process that we plan on trying to do

2:28:47going forward.

2:28:48>> And so, Mr. chairman the the the to the

2:28:51director he he talked about you talked

2:28:53about this before uh when was the first

2:28:55time you started talking about this new

2:28:57process what committee were you in that

2:28:59you started talking

2:29:00>> uh I think to the chair to the council

2:29:03person last summer I think we had some

2:29:07workshops with with council members uh

2:29:09several council members where we kind of

2:29:11pitched this idea we explained it um

2:29:15we talked about this when

2:29:17>> so you pitched with who?

2:29:19>> Uh, several council members and I don't

2:29:21remember exactly.

2:29:21>> Well, you didn't pitch it with me.

2:29:24>> So, why why was you why didn't you call

2:29:26me and pitch it with me, Mr. Chairman?

2:29:28>> To the chair again. We invited several

2:29:30council people. I

2:29:32>> I'm going to say this because I you

2:29:34know, some people get information and

2:29:36some don't.

2:29:36>> Okay.

2:29:37>> So, I'd like you to pitch it to me. Give

2:29:39me an opportunity to really understand

2:29:40how you're you're doing this new

2:29:42project.

2:29:42>> Sure. and uh to the councilman uh to the

2:29:44chair to the council person. Again, I'm

2:29:46willing to schedule a meeting with you.

2:29:48I'll walk you all through it. You know,

2:29:50if if you weren't in those uh in those

2:29:52>> No, he hasn't been pitched to me. So, I

2:29:54want I want you to pitch.

2:29:55>> Again, I I made the offer to anybody,

2:29:57>> right?

2:29:58>> Uh send me an email. I will schedule a

2:30:00meeting.

2:30:00>> I'm pitching it with you right now. We

2:30:01can set up. I'm give you my card. We

2:30:04don't have to do nothing. But she got my

2:30:05card over there. I can give it to you.

2:30:07We can set it up right away. And uh yes,

2:30:09I will have my assistant reach out, get

2:30:11some time that's available, that you're

2:30:13available, and then uh again, I will

2:30:16walk through one-on-one with anybody

2:30:18that wants to understand this better or

2:30:20or whatever.

2:30:21>> But I I want to understand it, Mr.

2:30:23Chairman, and I I want to I guess the

2:30:25question I'm going to ask you here

2:30:26because this is really critical because

2:30:28sometimes we can make a decision to take

2:30:30our city in a whole different direction

2:30:31that will unfortunately unravel us

2:30:34economically. So this is a new ideal, a

2:30:36new concept, Mr. chairman to Mr.

2:30:38Gentile, I I would love to know while

2:30:41we're pitching this whole proposition of

2:30:43doing it, how much will we fundamentally

2:30:45save? And that, Mr. Chairman, is is the

2:30:48formula at the end of the day. So, I I

2:30:50will set up with you to do that. And I

2:30:53appreciate you getting this information

2:30:54to me on these pieces of legislation and

2:30:57then hopefully sometimes in the future,

2:30:58I'll better understand what you

2:31:00understand, what some of the other

2:31:01council members you pitched it to

2:31:03understand.

2:31:04>> Uh, sure, Ken. I will uh schedule

2:31:06something with you. I'll walk you

2:31:07through it, you know, and uh we'll go

2:31:09through it as long, you know, whatever

2:31:10you need to know. I will be happy to

2:31:12explain, you know, explain it to you and

2:31:13sit down. Uh the saving calculations

2:31:16will be done by our financial advisors.

2:31:18Uh they're probably going to be better

2:31:20the better one and I think there's going

2:31:21to be a meeting to go over the savings.

2:31:23So, we'll make sure that that you're

2:31:25included in that uh invite. Um, but yes,

2:31:28I will uh have my assistant schedule

2:31:30something with you uh very soon to sit

2:31:32down and answer any questions you may

2:31:34have on the uh program.

2:31:36>> Very good. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, to

2:31:38Mr. Gentile.

2:31:41>> All right. Thank you. Seeing other

2:31:43questions, ordinance number 1146-2026

2:31:46stands approved. Next is ordinance

2:31:49number 1147-2026

2:31:51by council member Griffin by

2:31:52departmental request an emergency

2:31:54ordinance authorizing the issuance and

2:31:56sale of bonds in the maximum principal

2:31:58amount of $11 million for the purpose of

2:32:01providing funds to improve buildings and

2:32:03instructions and providing for the

2:32:06discharge of governmental functions and

2:32:08services otherwise benefiting the public

2:32:10safety, health and welfare and for the

2:32:13provision of necessary fixtures,

2:32:16furnishings, equipment equipment,

2:32:17technology, appertaintes, utilities, and

2:32:21site improvements for the purpose of for

2:32:23the purpose in authorizing related

2:32:25matters. Uh, are there any questions

2:32:28regarding ordinance number 1147-2026?

2:32:33Councilman Joseph Jones.

2:32:34>> Mr. Chairman, let me ask this question

2:32:36because this this is question that I

2:32:39want to ask. All of these pieces of

2:32:41legislation that we have are bond

2:32:42legislation. Is it just gone through

2:32:46just this particular committee, the

2:32:47finance committee, or did they make them

2:32:49way through the other necessary

2:32:51committees that supposed to be hearing

2:32:54them based upon uh those committees uh

2:32:57definitions?

2:32:58>> Mr. Gentile, you want to respond?

2:33:00>> Yes. Through the chair, the council

2:33:01person, the projects go through

2:33:03municipal services as well as finance.

2:33:06So the actual projects go through it

2:33:08once you get to the bond legislation.

2:33:10That's strictly a finance function, but

2:33:13all the projects are vetted by council

2:33:15early on, well before now. Uh and

2:33:18they're approved by council. So that was

2:33:20done in April, May, quite a while ago.

2:33:24And all these projects match what was

2:33:26approved by council that went through

2:33:28municipal services as well as finance.

2:33:30Um that's kind of the process. But once

2:33:32it gets to the bond legislation, it's

2:33:34strictly a finance piece. So it

2:33:36generally is not referred to another

2:33:38committee. It goes right to finance.

2:33:40>> And Councilman, I'll be honest with you,

2:33:42I don't have the specific dates or

2:33:45times, but I will tell you that we have

2:33:47spent before it even went to the CIP

2:33:50process. Um there has been several

2:33:55engagements with the administration as

2:33:58well as council of their willingness to

2:34:01try to try something different to

2:34:04express this. And just to make it look

2:34:07uh put it in short terms, it was that

2:34:10they were going to use money on hand up

2:34:13first to pay for projects. Number two,

2:34:16they would use short-term loans if we

2:34:19needed to use that. And then number

2:34:21three, then that's when we would deal

2:34:22with the bonds and the bonds will be um

2:34:26utilized to repay oursel in the um

2:34:30budget. So there have been several

2:34:33conversations and none of this um has

2:34:36not been exposed. This is a new process

2:34:40and I do think everybody needs to get

2:34:42some time to wrap their arms around this

2:34:44because I'm like you and I agree, sir. I

2:34:46want to see the savings. I want to see

2:34:48if it's actually working. I want to

2:34:50compare it to what it was compared to

2:34:52what it is now. But this was something

2:34:55that the finance director as well as um

2:34:58the uh capital projects gave us to say

2:35:01that this can help expedite projects,

2:35:04help make sure we get projects out the

2:35:05door faster and help us to pay for these

2:35:08projects in a faster manner. So I just

2:35:12um want to make it clear that this was

2:35:14not like something that was fasttracked

2:35:16and just dropped in finance and put out

2:35:18there. Um there has been multiple

2:35:20conversations about how we're

2:35:22approaching this. So I I appreciate you

2:35:24um asking the hard questions on behalf

2:35:26of the voters. Um and I hope that you

2:35:29and Mr. Gentile get together, our team,

2:35:32the policy team. I also instructed them

2:35:34to become knowledgeable of this so that

2:35:36they can sit down with any council

2:35:38members if they have any questions. So,

2:35:40we spent a lot of time before we got to

2:35:43this point just so that nobody in the

2:35:44public thinks that we just dropped all

2:35:46of these pieces on finance and then

2:35:49didn't do our due diligence to try to

2:35:50make sure everybody was educated in the

2:35:52process.

2:35:53>> No, no. I I appreciate the fact that

2:35:55that this is you've explained it

2:35:57thoroughly and as respects Mr. Chairman

2:35:59to uh Mr. Gentile that this is a new

2:36:02process. The question that I was asking

2:36:04to to dig a little bit deeper was that

2:36:07we have a number of projects that are a

2:36:09part of this entire bond issuance.

2:36:11Right. So then you're sharing with me,

2:36:13Mr. Chairman, to Mr. Gentile, that these

2:36:16are a culmination of pieces of

2:36:18legislation that has already went

2:36:20through uh city council and has been

2:36:23approved by city council and then

2:36:25therefore is a part of this go all of

2:36:27these bond initiatives. So, just to make

2:36:30sure I'm clear and I'm hearing

2:36:32correctly, because I know that when we

2:36:33sitting at these various different

2:36:34committee tables, um the finance is

2:36:37already there. We're saying that this is

2:36:39what we're going to do with this

2:36:40particular piece of legislation. No one

2:36:42is saying to us at the time and nor are

2:36:44you sitting at the table uh saying that

2:36:47this is all going to be a bond issuance.

2:36:49So, for clarification, Mr. chairman uh

2:36:52to director Gentile, you're saying to me

2:36:54that we've already vetted all these

2:36:56parts and pieces through the legislation

2:36:58process already and then that these

2:37:00particular pieces are already going to

2:37:02be put on the table for bond in in uh

2:37:05insuranceances.

2:37:06>> Yeah. Through the chair and council

2:37:07person, the list that hopefully you got

2:37:09or you will be getting that has all the

2:37:11projects, they were all approved by

2:37:13council earlier this year through uh

2:37:16municipal services as well as finance.

2:37:18So every project that's we're issuing

2:37:20these bonds for have all been approved

2:37:22by council.

2:37:23>> I see.

2:37:24>> So

2:37:24>> no no no further question.

2:37:26>> Thank you.

2:37:26>> Thank you.

2:37:28>> Uh Councilman Michael Palency. Thank

2:37:30>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think here's

2:37:31part of the disconnect. When we get the

2:37:34legislation before us in the legislative

2:37:37summary, you do not list the projects.

2:37:40And I think that would be very helpful

2:37:42because that would take away a lot of

2:37:43the questions and concerns that are

2:37:45being expressed at the table. Now in the

2:37:48past we would get a list a summary with

2:37:51the legislation. Now I think Mr.

2:37:53Chairman I would say this to the

2:37:55administration that's a shortfall that's

2:37:57a shortcoming here in the process. Uh

2:38:00every piece of legislation pertaining to

2:38:02a project acquisition purchase there's

2:38:05within the summary that should all be

2:38:07listed and it's not. Then number two I

2:38:10think part of the confusion we've been

2:38:12all asked to put together a list at

2:38:14director D. Rose's request through our

2:38:17staff a list of capital projects. So

2:38:20that's part of the confusion here. Is

2:38:23this does this have any implications on

2:38:26what we are asked to submit for capital

2:38:30projects

2:38:31>> through the chair in the f to the

2:38:33council person in the future we could

2:38:35certainly like for each piece list the

2:38:38uh projects that make up that amount. I

2:38:40mean we would just take the spreadsheet

2:38:42break it down and maybe it would

2:38:43alleviate questions. I agree

2:38:45>> it would be it would in the summary that

2:38:47they used to be within the summary

2:38:50>> so I don't understand why not

2:38:52>> okay

2:38:52>> we can definitely do that um repeat your

2:38:56second question

2:38:57>> and then as it pertains we've all been

2:38:59asked to submit

2:39:00>> oh

2:39:01>> projects for capital

2:39:02>> is does this have any implications or

2:39:05bearing on that

2:39:06>> this doesn't because this is projects

2:39:08that are approved I think what director

2:39:10do Roza is asking for next year's CIP

2:39:12>> yes what this council want to see. So

2:39:14that's for the new one.

2:39:16>> Yes.

2:39:16>> This is for ones that are already

2:39:17approved.

2:39:18>> Okay, that's those are all the

2:39:20clarifications and and just just make

2:39:22sure to do that.

2:39:23>> And then just to make sure, Mr.

2:39:25Chairman, so I want to make sure I'm

2:39:26hearing this right. So when you get

2:39:28ready in the future to put these mammoth

2:39:31pieces of bond issuances together. Uh

2:39:34and and Mr. Chairman, Mr. Palinsk is

2:39:37110% correct. In years past, we used to

2:39:40have a breakdown of what this was, what

2:39:42what we're spending the money on, and it

2:39:44used to be attached to the piece of

2:39:46legislation. It gave us a better clarity

2:39:48of what we were actually passing off on

2:39:51versus, Mr. Chairman, just having a

2:39:53generality of what what may be in there.

2:39:56So that anyone, Mr. Chairman, uh, and

2:39:58years into the future can look back at

2:40:01this piece of legislation, they'll know

2:40:03exactly what we passed this on. So if if

2:40:06we start going back to just doing that,

2:40:08that helps to have clarity on this and

2:40:11and a better understanding. Mr.

2:40:13Chairman, as as my colleague, Mr.

2:40:15Chairman, has stated, some of the

2:40:16legislation that was approved is not in

2:40:19these in these particular bond issuances

2:40:21for whatever reason. So having that is

2:40:24important. And thank you, Mr. Chairman,

2:40:26to my colleagues uh longevity here at

2:40:28the table.

2:40:29>> Yep. And to the chair, yes, we will we

2:40:31will start to uh add those back to the

2:40:35summaries

2:40:35>> cuz Mr. Chairman just to wrap it up. You

2:40:37said we discussed this in April. That's

2:40:39you know that's four months ago.

2:40:41>> Got it. We'll we'll add it. I

2:40:43understand. I agree. You can always

2:40:45attach it to the

2:40:46>> That's exact summary piece. Thank you,

2:40:48Mr. Chairman.

2:40:48>> Absolutely. Thank you.

2:40:49>> All right. And and we'll do that and

2:40:51make sure that it's all attached and

2:40:53then we'll do that for you.

2:40:54>> We'll do that for now. We'll just take

2:40:55the spreadsheet.

2:40:56>> Okay. Thank you.

2:40:57>> Split it up and be great. Thank you.

2:40:59>> Great. Um, so with that being said,

2:41:021147-2026

2:41:04stands approved. Next is ordinance

2:41:06number 1148-2026

2:41:08by council member Griffin by

2:41:10departmental request, an emergency

2:41:12ordinance authorizing the issuance

2:41:13[clears throat] and sale of bonds in the

2:41:14maximum principal amount of 1 million

2:41:17for the purpose of providing funds to

2:41:19improve the municipal street system and

2:41:21related facilities and authorizing

2:41:24related matters. Uh, are there any

2:41:26questions regarding ordinance number

2:41:271148-2026?

2:41:31>> President

2:41:33for the street system

2:41:35elaborate on that a little bit more

2:41:38>> please.

2:41:38>> Mr. um D. Rosa or does somebody want to

2:41:40come to the table to elaborate on the

2:41:42street systems and uh what we're doing

2:41:44with that or or did you want to

2:41:53>> I don't know.

2:41:56system.

2:41:58>> What was the question?

2:42:00>> What the definition they want to define

2:42:03definition of what are municipal street

2:42:06system and related facilities and

2:42:08authorizing related matters.

2:42:11>> Uh that would be the work performed with

2:42:13road bridge bonds.

2:42:15>> Okay. So that's things like lights,

2:42:18signals, moving the the the the things

2:42:22going up and down all those things,

2:42:23right? Correct.

2:42:25>> Okay.

2:42:25>> Thank you.

2:42:27>> All right. Okay. All right. Okay.

2:42:29>> All right.

2:42:30>> All right. Thank you. Uh, seeing no

2:42:32other questions, ordinance number

2:42:331148-2026

2:42:36stands approved. Please sign on. Next,

2:42:38we have ordinance number 1149-2026

2:42:41by council member Griffin by

2:42:43departmental request. an emergency

2:42:44ordinance authorizing the issuance and

2:42:46sale of bonds in a maximum principal

2:42:48amount of $1.7 million for the purpose

2:42:51of providing funds to improve the

2:42:53municipal street system and related

2:42:56facilities authorizing related measures.

2:42:58Are there any questions regarding

2:42:59ordinance number 1149-2029?

2:43:03>> Seeing no questions, ordinance number

2:43:051149-2026

2:43:07stands approved. Please sign on.

2:43:14All right. Next, we have ordinance

2:43:15number 1150-2026

2:43:18by council member Griffin by

2:43:19departmental request. An emergency

2:43:21ordinance authorizing the issuance and

2:43:23sale of bonds in the maximum principal

2:43:25amount of 7.1 million for the purpose of

2:43:28providing funds to improve municipal

2:43:30street system and related facilities and

2:43:32authorizing related matters. Are there

2:43:35any questions regarding ordinance number

2:43:361150-2026?

2:43:39Seeing no questions, ordinance number

2:43:411150-2026

2:43:43stands approved. Please sign on.

2:43:50All right. Last bond during issuance

2:43:53ordinance number 1151-2026

2:43:56by council member Griffin by

2:43:57departmental request an emergency

2:43:58ordinance authorizing the issuance and

2:44:00sale of bonds in the maximum principal

2:44:02amount of 35 million for the purpose of

2:44:06providing funds to improve the municipal

2:44:09street system and related facilities and

2:44:11authorizing related matters. Are there

2:44:14any questions regarding 1151-2026?

2:44:20I just want to say one quick go ahead

2:44:22please.

2:44:22>> Uh to the chair of the committee members

2:44:24again uh unfortunately state law

2:44:26requires us to do this like this. If we

2:44:29had it our way we could do one piece of

2:44:31legislation would like that a lot better

2:44:34than have to do 17 pieces or whatever it

2:44:37was. Uh but it's required by state law.

2:44:39So we're not trying to confuse people

2:44:40and and just give you a bunch of pieces

2:44:43to like because we want to. It's

2:44:46required to do that. And I want to thank

2:44:47everybody for your time, attention, and

2:44:49patience today because this was a lot of

2:44:51pieces. I appreciate support and uh and

2:44:55your consideration for this piece. Thank

2:44:57you.

2:44:57>> Am I allowed to ask a silly question,

2:44:59please? President, why are they why why

2:45:01is the title in all caps?

2:45:05>> I'll defer to the [laughter]

2:45:07>> Oh, this is her question.

2:45:09>> Through the chair to the councilman, I

2:45:10have no idea. This is how you've always

2:45:11done this for the last 20 years.

2:45:12>> Bond legislation is

2:45:15expressly angry. We get it. So, all

2:45:17right. Thank you. Um,

2:45:18>> you can change that.

2:45:20>> Just very briefly, um, if I could, and I

2:45:23I don't want to reiterate this, but I do

2:45:25want to say this. Um, whenever you have

2:45:28uncertainty about these kind of issues,

2:45:30make sure that you talk with Miss

2:45:32Majestro. Um, Miss Majestro was at one

2:45:35time with the finance department. She is

2:45:38the person when who's the art guy you

2:45:40used to have, Mike Pency.

2:45:42>> Which one? Oh, I have Al Snider.

2:45:45>> Al Snider. So when we first came on

2:45:47board, guys like yourself and Councilman

2:45:50Jones said you wanted somebody like an

2:45:53Al Snider that understood budgetary

2:45:56matters and can help you identify that.

2:45:59That's one of the reasons why we brought

2:46:01Miss Majestro over. Miss Majesto worked

2:46:04with all of these folks that you are

2:46:06talking to across the table and quite

2:46:09frankly she has been a wealth of

2:46:10knowledge to help us be able to

2:46:12understand what works, what needs to be

2:46:14tweaked and everything else. I will also

2:46:16tell you that um Commissioner Gentile

2:46:19has always opened up his door. If

2:46:21anybody ever wants to sit down and do

2:46:23this, please let them know. I really

2:46:25tried hard to make sure that everybody

2:46:27had a you know were educated in this um

2:46:30change because I knew whenever you

2:46:32change in city Cleveland there's always

2:46:35going to be some growing pains and I

2:46:37just really want people to see this

2:46:39because one thing I agree with you with

2:46:41I'm not convinced yet. I still want to

2:46:43see PFM's report on how we actually had

2:46:46a savings how we how this system

2:46:48actually helps us save money. But all

2:46:51these did today was put us in a position

2:46:53to pay bills. Um, and one of the things

2:46:57I always ask and I know I asked um Mr.

2:46:59Barrett last week, I think sometime

2:47:02council needs to um understand when

2:47:04we're just being asked to pay the bills

2:47:06or we're being asked to deliberate

2:47:08because sometimes we're giving a choice

2:47:11when we're actually deliberating whether

2:47:13or not we want to pass something. And

2:47:15then sometimes we actually have some

2:47:17obligations. I know nobody wants to hear

2:47:19this, but for example, we have already

2:47:22had approximately 5 or $450,000

2:47:26worth of bills that we worked on at

2:47:28Municipal Stadium. Um, we cannot be in

2:47:32the business as a city of just not

2:47:33paying our bills. Now, if it's something

2:47:37that is another decision, that's

2:47:39different. But when we actually have to

2:47:41pass legislation to pay our bills, that

2:47:43is different. And that's all some of

2:47:46this is. So, one of the things that I'm

2:47:48going to try to talk to Mr. Gentile and

2:47:50Miss Majestro about is how do we

2:47:52basically break down the conversations

2:47:54to determine when we are deliberating

2:47:57over what and how we want to institute a

2:48:00new program or when we're being asked to

2:48:02pay a bill because it's different

2:48:04questions to ask about when you're

2:48:06paying a bill than when you're

2:48:07deliberating over whether or not we

2:48:09should take a policy position. Okay. Mr.

2:48:12Gentile and then I'll hear from Mr.

2:48:14Penci.

2:48:14>> Yeah. uh to the chair to the C committee

2:48:16members. I mean I think the time to make

2:48:18that decision is when you vet the

2:48:20projects because once we put the general

2:48:23fund in and we start spending it

2:48:25>> we want the general fund to be whole. So

2:48:27the time is right now you know the

2:48:30director D ro is asking for projects. Uh

2:48:33so once you approve those projects the

2:48:36ball's kind of in motion.

2:48:38>> So the time to really vet these and

2:48:39decide what you want to do or not do is

2:48:42at at that time. And I want to make it

2:48:44clear to Councilman Bishop's credit,

2:48:47Councilman Bishop and Miss Sabin asked

2:48:51multiple times, and tell me if I'm

2:48:52wrong, Councilman Bishop asked multiple

2:48:55times, if you have any requests, get

2:48:57requests in to Councilman Bishop and

2:49:00Miss Sabin so that you could have those

2:49:03um requests uh you know, submitted for

2:49:06um to be vetted to see if that's what

2:49:08we're going to approve or not. And I

2:49:10know for a fact that multiple people did

2:49:12put in, but then other council members

2:49:14didn't, but Councilman Bishop multiple

2:49:17times uh reached out to all of us to say

2:49:20any request you have, please get it into

2:49:22him. So, please work closely with the

2:49:25chair who runs that department because I

2:49:28put a lot of confidence in my chairs

2:49:30because by the time it hits finance, I

2:49:32try to keep the conversation about

2:49:34finance and not operations. So, I just

2:49:36want everybody to understand where my

2:49:38mindset is moving so that you know how

2:49:40to engage your chair because all I'm

2:49:42thinking about in this process is about

2:49:44if this is saving us money and our

2:49:46responsibility is to pay any debts that

2:49:48are outstanding. And I would just say

2:49:50that the time's pretty much now because

2:49:52Dr. Dros is doing the CIP for next year

2:49:55because we're trying to get it in sooner

2:49:57so we can hit the ground running at the

2:49:59beginning of the year so we can get more

2:50:00projects done. Uh so we are going to

2:50:03he's going to be working very diligently

2:50:04towards getting the list together sooner

2:50:06than later and bringing it to council.

2:50:08So if we have requests I would suggest

2:50:10that we try to get them through your

2:50:12process and to uh the director so we can

2:50:15>> and our and our process is to go through

2:50:18chairman Bishop

2:50:19>> and chairman Bishop works closely with

2:50:21Miss Sabin in order to get one concise

2:50:24list from council that we are going to

2:50:27put together to work with Mr. D. Rosa.

2:50:29One thing this has done and then I'll go

2:50:31to you uh Mr. Palinski. The one thing

2:50:33this project has done is given more

2:50:35predictability about how MOAP or how um

2:50:39the capital projects office has gotten

2:50:42projects out the door and I think it's

2:50:44helped them be more efficient in how

2:50:46they get projects done too which has

2:50:48helped streamline the process a lot more

2:50:51where we don't have it as jagged as it

2:50:52used to be to try to pay these. We used

2:50:55to have to pay these ordinances like in

2:50:56a staggered way and not all at one time.

2:50:58But now we have a more predictable

2:51:00process. So, um I know that I think he

2:51:03likes it,

2:51:04>> I think. But, um there are some

2:51:06questions and I think we'll get those

2:51:08together and go for that. Councilman

2:51:09Michael.

2:51:10>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman, honorable

2:51:11colleagues. But so, what we need from

2:51:14Director D. Rosa, when is the due date

2:51:17for those list of projects because we

2:51:20really were not given a due date. So if

2:51:22you could get that, let us know when

2:51:23that date is to be able for all of us to

2:51:26get those uh recommen or suggested

2:51:28projects in. And then secondly, as you

2:51:31know, Mr. Chairman, because you

2:51:32indicated u this is a and the way we're

2:51:36doing it now is different than what

2:51:37we've done in the past. So we've got to

2:51:39make sure that we're watching and

2:51:42monitoring how this is working because

2:51:45you see what's happening. Mortgage rates

2:51:47are up, interest rates are going up. Um,

2:51:51none of us have a crystal ball as it

2:51:52pertains to the economy. We don't know

2:51:55again what bad decisions are being made

2:51:57in Washington nor in Columbus that

2:52:00affect us. We know we're not going to

2:52:01get ARPA funds again. That's a given.

2:52:04So, you know, as I've said to some of my

2:52:06colleagues going into this budget round,

2:52:09our focus has got to be quality of life

2:52:11issues. That's our focus. When I say

2:52:14quality of life, making sure we have

2:52:15enough personnel and critical

2:52:17departments, we have the right

2:52:18equipment. I'm not into glitz and

2:52:20glamour. I'm into making sure that we

2:52:23take care of our citizens and that our

2:52:25services are delivered because that's

2:52:27what I get every day. When I go when I

2:52:28leave and go back in my office, when I

2:52:30look at my call log, I can assure you no

2:52:33one is calling me telling me that I

2:52:35think Jimmy Hlin needs more money. Okay?

2:52:38They want to get their trees trimmed.

2:52:39They want to get their streets clean.

2:52:41They want to get their parks the grass

2:52:42cut. They want to get everything fixed

2:52:44and repaired or attempted to be

2:52:46addressed in our neighborhoods. So, um,

2:52:50that's why it's critical. This budget

2:52:52that we're approaching, Mr. Chairman,

2:52:54this might be one of the most important

2:52:56budgets we've had in a very long time in

2:52:58light of what's happening in Washington.

2:53:00So, again, we got to be very cautious um

2:53:03to the viewing public. You know, I think

2:53:05this council has never been given a

2:53:07credit that it's due. You know, we have

2:53:11a balanced budget.

2:53:13A lot of other major cities don't. We

2:53:16have a balanced budget and it seems like

2:53:19that, you know, it's just like an

2:53:21afterthought. This council has done a

2:53:23lot with less, a lot with less. And so,

2:53:28uh, I'm very mindful of that and I'm

2:53:30very appreciative all the work that the

2:53:32chairs do and my colleagues do, Mr.

2:53:34Chairman, and you. Um, but again, going

2:53:36into this budget, it's got to be lean

2:53:38and mean and we got to focus on what's

2:53:40critical. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

2:53:42>> Thank you. And once again, all of the

2:53:44requests, I know that everybody's going

2:53:46to be talking and trying to have

2:53:47conversations with Mr. D. Rosa. I really

2:53:49ask everybody to go through the chair.

2:53:51Okay. Councilman Joseph Jones. I

2:53:54>> I won't hold you long, Mr. Chairman. I

2:53:55appreciate the difference. Um I I

2:53:58appreciate my colleague too, um Mr.

2:54:00Peninsic. And um just wanted to just add

2:54:04just a little extra here. There was a

2:54:06time when we talked about um our our our

2:54:10window, you know, um how far are we to

2:54:13our max in our window. Um and if that's

2:54:16another discussion in terms of where we

2:54:19at financially,

2:54:21um it would be good to kind of like have

2:54:23an idea how much more can we spend

2:54:27>> through the ch council member. We

2:54:29generally try to there's been a few

2:54:32exceptions to this uh issue about what

2:54:35we're retiring. Now this this year we'd

2:54:38have to look at two years and then you'd

2:54:41probably be somewhat in the ballpark. So

2:54:44So we pay off bonds, we issue bonds, we

2:54:46pay off bonds, we issue bonds. So that

2:54:48that's a constant flow. Um you know for

2:54:53the 10 mil limitation to issue geo

2:54:55bonds, you have to be within 10

2:54:57overlapping mills. That includes the

2:54:59county, it includes RTA, includes

2:55:02several people. So, whoever issues bonds

2:55:04first gets the capacity. In the past, if

2:55:08we bump the 10 mil capacity, it doesn't

2:55:10mean we can't afford to issue debts. We

2:55:13switch to slits, which are subordinate

2:55:16lean income tax bonds, and we back it

2:55:18with the income tax versus property tax.

2:55:22So, um we we definitely take a look at

2:55:25our calculations. We take a look at how

2:55:27much coverage we have on debt service.

2:55:29We have a fairly healthy coverage ratio

2:55:32using our proceeds. Uh so we have, you

2:55:35know, we have capacity in the future. We

2:55:37may not have a lot of geo capacity with

2:55:39the overlappingers, but we would switch

2:55:41to subordinated lean income tax bonds,

2:55:45which are very similar to geos. They're

2:55:47they're slightly more expensive just

2:55:50because they're not full faith in credit

2:55:52like geos. Geos get paid first. like go

2:55:56get paid before employees get paid.

2:55:57That's that's the B employees. GEO is

2:56:00off general obligations off the top

2:56:02>> priorities.

2:56:03>> Yes, that's number one. That's like the

2:56:05first mortgage like

2:56:07>> they're getting paid and then it moves

2:56:09to other subordinate lean is is is yeah

2:56:12second or third or but it's not

2:56:15>> number one. So it is slightly higher.

2:56:17It's not much higher just because the

2:56:19security is not the same as a geo bond.

2:56:22So every bond and every economic

2:56:23development deal has somebody in first

2:56:25position, second position, third

2:56:27potentially even all the way to fourth

2:56:29or fifth. That's why when I said earlier

2:56:31there may be multiple debt services for

2:56:34one specific project. And that's why

2:56:36it's like, you know, we're forced to

2:56:39kind of learn municipal finance, but

2:56:41bottom line is this is why we probably

2:56:43need a little bit of a work session to

2:56:45make sure that everybody understands all

2:56:47of the moving parts. Councilman Kevin

2:56:49Bishop.

2:56:49>> I I wasn't finish another question. I

2:56:53appreciate it, Mr. Chairman. All due

2:56:54respect to my colleague, Mr. Bishop.

2:56:56>> Um, just, you know, looking at this

2:56:59right here, who who do we have that is

2:57:01doing the work force uh with the bonds?

2:57:03Is it one company or is it multiple

2:57:05companies?

2:57:14>> Bond council. How many bond council do

2:57:16we have? We have several bond council

2:57:19companies.

2:57:19>> How many companies

2:57:21>> hired to issue

2:57:21>> through the chair to the councilman? Um

2:57:23for a bond issue, you need to have an

2:57:26underwriter. You need to have a um bond

2:57:29registar. You also have an escro trustee

2:57:31because of the way the general bond

2:57:33ordinance is set up. Um you have your

2:57:35financial advisors, you have bond

2:57:37counsel, you also have disclosure

2:57:38counsel which creates your offering

2:57:40document. And who am I missing?

2:57:43>> I think you referencing also

2:57:44co-managers. You could have more than

2:57:46one. Oh, you can have more than one

2:57:47underwriter as well, I think.

2:57:48>> I'm sorry, what was that?

2:57:49>> You can have more than one underwriter.

2:57:51You always have a lead underwriter, but

2:57:52you can have co-managers that help with

2:57:54the syndicate to sell the bonds.

2:57:56>> So, so, Mr. Chairman, to uh the

2:57:58director, can we make a listing of those

2:58:00people who are handling this $und00

2:58:01million bonds that we just passed off on

2:58:03today?

2:58:06list

2:58:08>> through the chair to the councilman.

2:58:10There is a distribution list and we're

2:58:11on working group calls to make sure that

2:58:13all the documentation gets done and I'm

2:58:14sure that can be shared with you.

2:58:16>> I appreciate that. And and does it work

2:58:18in a way where Mr. Chairman you could

2:58:20because you have the bonds broken down

2:58:22into different sections? So is it each

2:58:26section dealt with with a different

2:58:28person or do we have just one whole

2:58:30group that just deals with everything

2:58:32>> through the chair of the councilman?

2:58:35each uh party has a different role in

2:58:38the transaction and they're all

2:58:39necessary. Um and we can I'm sure you

2:58:44can get uh discussion about each of

2:58:45their roles separately.

2:58:47>> Well, I I don't if if you if I guess

2:58:49what I'm asking for is we're we're we

2:58:52have these people who are um handling

2:58:55the bonds, right? And so they do they do

2:58:58we handle all the parts and the pieces

2:59:00in between the bond in terms of his

2:59:02issuance or do we have a company that

2:59:04handles all our bonds for us and go out

2:59:06in the market for us

2:59:08or is it or is it I mean how do you get

2:59:11these people in play? Do you go out and

2:59:13put a bid out for them? How does that

2:59:14work?

2:59:15>> That's out of my

2:59:17>> Yeah. through the chair the council

2:59:18person. I mean the city vets all these

2:59:20institutions that handle bond

2:59:22transactions. Uh so they kind of rotate

2:59:25around. There's the usual suspects that

2:59:27do these things. Um, so they it rotates

2:59:30around, but once we choose a team, they

2:59:32issue all that year's bonds. I see.

2:59:34>> We don't sparse it up because it's not

2:59:36prudent or efficient to do so. So once

2:59:38we choose a team,

2:59:40>> they run all of our bonds that year.

2:59:42>> Okay.

2:59:42>> There's not a lot of people that run

2:59:44that. There's only a handful.

2:59:45>> Yeah. So that'd be great. So whoever is

2:59:47handling this, you if you can a listing

2:59:49of them, that'd be great. Thank you, Mr.

2:59:51Chairman.

2:59:52>> Thank you, Councilman Bishop.

2:59:53>> All right. Thank you, Mr. President. I'm

2:59:55I'm gonna try to be brief as possible.

2:59:57Um, but this morning in the municipal

2:59:59services, it came up this morning in

3:00:01municipal services about our debt on the

3:00:05uh fire station, not the fire station,

3:00:07but the police stations with Leopardo

3:00:10where we uh where we spending $20

3:00:12million and we're going to pay back over

3:00:1420 years. Now, there was a lot of

3:00:16members that didn't understand that that

3:00:18was not financed through bonds. Correct.

3:00:22So, how did we finance

3:00:26um the police stations upgrades and

3:00:29where does it show up on our balance

3:00:31sheets um in the budget

3:00:34>> through the chair to the council person?

3:00:36It's considered a capital lease. That

3:00:38that's different. So, it does not show

3:00:40as a bond.

3:00:42>> It is still a debt. It will show as a

3:00:43lease payable.

3:00:45>> Right.

3:00:45>> Uh now, there's presumed savings that

3:00:48they're supposed to meet and they've

3:00:50done calculations. is we're vetting

3:00:51those calculations right now. So, what

3:00:54they save is supposed to meet minimum

3:00:56debt service and right now they have

3:00:58calculations that do that. Again, we're

3:01:00vetting those because we have to look at

3:01:03their calculations and make sure we

3:01:05agree with those. Um, so it's done by

3:01:08savings uh on the project.

3:01:10>> Okay. So, now the next question and and

3:01:14I'm I'll make this my last one. So when

3:01:18we choose to do the fire stations and we

3:01:21make upgrades to our fire station, we're

3:01:23going to do them pretty much the same

3:01:24way. So we're going to finance them with

3:01:26capital leases. Correct. So therefore,

3:01:29over the long period, over the long

3:01:31term, our bond dependence on bond for to

3:01:35to to um to upgrade our buildings will

3:01:38diminish over time. Is that correct? to

3:01:40the chair of the council person. Yes,

3:01:42that they will be done similar to the

3:01:44police stations where it is a capital

3:01:46lease. Uh capital leases do not count

3:01:49against our 10 mil limitation because

3:01:51capital leases don't under the law. Uh

3:01:54that part's good. However, you still got

3:01:56to pay them. So, it doesn't matter what

3:01:58they're supported by the savings that

3:02:00they're accumulating for the police and

3:02:03then the fire. Again, they have a

3:02:05guarantee that it's supposed to cover

3:02:08our debt service. So if we owe $3

3:02:10million in debt service, if they don't

3:02:12save three million, they're supposed to

3:02:14cut us a check. So those are being

3:02:16financed that way. It's kind of a that's

3:02:18a kind of a newer way to do things. So

3:02:20that's also another thing that's kind of

3:02:23getting our our buildings fixed right

3:02:25away through savings that they're

3:02:28finding. So they're looking at

3:02:29procurement, they're looking at energy,

3:02:31they're looking at everything. And they

3:02:32have people that do this full-time. So

3:02:35they plug through and say, "Hey, you're

3:02:37spending this also helps in the savings

3:02:39because they say, "Hey, you're paying

3:02:41this for this, but you could pay this."

3:02:43So they calculate that savings. So now

3:02:45I'm not paying a million for something.

3:02:48I'm paying 800,000. That 200,000 rolls

3:02:50in to pay the debt service to fix these

3:02:52buildings that desperately need to be

3:02:54fixed.

3:02:56>> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Brent.

3:02:57>> All right. Thank you. All right. Uh very

3:02:59robust discussion. Looking forward to

3:03:01continue having it. Thank you so much.

3:03:02Appreciate it.

3:03:04>> All right. We do have one more piece.

3:03:06This is ordinance number 1044. And um

3:03:09Miss Pew, tell your mom and everybody I

3:03:11said hello to. Thank you. All right.

3:03:13Next, we have ordinance number 1044-2026

3:03:17by Council Member Griffin by

3:03:18departmental request an emergency

3:03:20ordinance to supplement the codified

3:03:21ordinances of Cleveland, Ohio 1976 by

3:03:24enacting new section 173.22

3:03:28relating to the Fair Employment Wage

3:03:30Board. And uh I want to basically just

3:03:36um

3:03:38say this, the Fair Employment Wage Board

3:03:41hasn't been paid. I know that uh we have

3:03:44several boards that receive

3:03:45compensation. This has been one board

3:03:48that has not received compensation. So

3:03:50this is a piece for the Fair Employment

3:03:53Wage Board uh to be able to uh

3:03:56compensate the board members. But

3:03:57Director uh Mitchell, if you could uh

3:03:59please proceed.

3:04:011044

3:04:02>> 1044-2026.

3:04:06>> All right. Good evening, chair. I have

3:04:08with me uh Assistant Director Curry and

3:04:11Fair Employment Wage Board new employee

3:04:14Alfie Walters. So, just wanted to um get

3:04:17started here. Uh chair, we are looking

3:04:19to um do the increase to start the

3:04:22compensation for board for fair

3:04:24employment wage board members. Uh the

3:04:26legislation proposes $9,538

3:04:29for the chair and $8,963

3:04:32for the dollar for the members. Total of

3:04:35seven members uh and five will be paid.

3:04:38And I understand that this is the uh

3:04:40normal compensation uh for boards for

3:04:43the city of Cleveland. Uh we believe

3:04:45this helps show the importance of

3:04:46maintaining an engaged board by

3:04:48compensating them because their time and

3:04:50advocacy extends far beyond their

3:04:53meetings. uh they do a lot of education.

3:04:55They're starting to do a lot of

3:04:56education and um outside of their

3:04:59meetings. So, we are recommending uh

3:05:02that we move forward with the payment.

3:05:04>> Thank you. And um just out of an

3:05:06abundance of caution and for several

3:05:09reasons, I am going to uh turn the

3:05:11meeting over to Councilman Charles Stif

3:05:13and I'm going to recuse myself of this

3:05:15vote and um ask if Councilman S could do

3:05:18this meeting.

3:05:18>> Thank you. Okay, chair.

3:05:19>> Uh thank you. Uh, any anything else

3:05:21you'd like to add before I turn it over

3:05:23to members of the body?

3:05:24>> No, that's it.

3:05:25>> Okay. Are there any questions from the

3:05:27members on ordinance 1044 2026?

3:05:30>> Yes, Mr. Chairman. Councilman Jones.

3:05:32Now, this is a new section that's going

3:05:34to be enacted. If the chairman could

3:05:35talk about that a little bit,

3:05:40well, this is um, as I said before, we

3:05:42are looking to compensate the board

3:05:44members. We looked at uh actually

3:05:46because of uh we were so excited that

3:05:48the fair employment wage board was

3:05:49impanled after I think over 20 years. So

3:05:53one of the things we looked at uh at the

3:05:56behest of the chief of staff is like

3:05:58well you know we're this board is

3:06:00fighting for fair wages and um

3:06:04protecting workers and it would be very

3:06:06odd if they weren't uh fairly

3:06:08compensated themselves. So that's kind

3:06:10of how how we got here.

3:06:12>> Can can you Mr. chairman um uh to the

3:06:16director kind of like tell us what do

3:06:18they do and how much how much time do

3:06:21they actually spend?

3:06:22>> I'm going to turn it over to our new

3:06:23wonderful employee, Miss Alfie.

3:06:26>> Now, is Miss Alfie a member of the

3:06:28board?

3:06:28>> No, sir. No. To the chair. Uh to the

3:06:30council person. No.

3:06:32>> Do we have any members of the board, Mr.

3:06:34Chairman?

3:06:37>> We don't have any members of the board

3:06:38here to talk about it.

3:06:40>> No. No, we do not. So, we just we

3:06:42enacted a new piece onto our cortify

3:06:45ordinance that allows for us, Mr.

3:06:48Chairman, uh to the director to pay for

3:06:51the board members. And this is the first

3:06:53time this is happening. Is that correct?

3:06:55>> Particularly to the chair, through the

3:06:56council person through the uh for this

3:06:58board. It is.

3:06:59>> Yeah. So, so some context just to make

3:07:00sure everyone in the listening audience

3:07:02understands. Uh this board has existed

3:07:05on paper for a number of years. Uh

3:07:07however uh council did not seat anybody

3:07:10or the council the city did not seat

3:07:12anybody so it was uh inactive. So a few

3:07:16years ago there was a concerted effort

3:07:18to utilize this board. This was around

3:07:20the time that we were passing more

3:07:22legislation on things like pay

3:07:24transparency and recognizing that there

3:07:26was a need to manage a lot of this work

3:07:28daytoday. Uh, Council Member Shaw uh,

3:07:32represents council on the board. To the

3:07:34best of my knowledge, and correct me if

3:07:35I'm wrong, council members that serve on

3:07:37commissions are not paid. Additionally,

3:07:39that's I serve on planning commission.

3:07:41I'm not paid separately. But a an issue

3:07:44that was noted was other members of

3:07:46commissions in the city like the

3:07:48planning commission, like the landmarks

3:07:49commission are compensated for their

3:07:52time. Uh so what is being brought to us

3:07:54is an effort to essentially mirror that

3:07:57within OEO's budget.

3:08:02>> Council Jones.

3:08:03>> So So Mr. Chairman, um the distinguished

3:08:06lady, Miss Effie.

3:08:07>> Yeah.

3:08:08>> Alfie Walter. Miss Alfie. So, I was

3:08:10hired in April as the program manager

3:08:12and my role specifically acts as

3:08:15facilitator between the board and um

3:08:18city hall because there's day-to-day

3:08:21work that needs to get done. Um and

3:08:24that's primarily my role overseeing that

3:08:27work.

3:08:27>> And and Mr. Chairman to director um the

3:08:30I presume um Mrs. Walters, you're

3:08:33full-time.

3:08:34>> I am.

3:08:35>> And um uh Mr. chairman. Um

3:08:40um to uh Mrs. Walters, is there any

3:08:43other staff that work with you?

3:08:45>> No, I'm a staff of one, and I spend a

3:08:49lot of time, as does the board, working

3:08:51with community partners such as

3:08:53Collaborate Cleveland, Northeast Ohio

3:08:55Workers Center, and others, hard-headed

3:08:57women to create a coalition to get the

3:09:00work done, community education, and such

3:09:03advocacy and organizing around workers

3:09:05rights. Okay. So can you uh Mr. Chairman

3:09:10tell us exactly when we talk about

3:09:13workload what the work and first before

3:09:15we go there let me ask you Mr. chairman

3:09:18um to the director. How many people how

3:09:21many board members are on the fair fair

3:09:23housing or fair wage

3:09:25>> uh

3:09:26>> employment wage

3:09:26>> through the chair to the council person?

3:09:28There's seven board members. Correct me

3:09:29if I'm wrong, Miss Alfie.

3:09:31>> Yes, there's seven. There's

3:09:33representation from the mayor's office,

3:09:35Lucas Reev, and as the councilman said,

3:09:38there's council representation and then

3:09:40there's five members. Also, I don't know

3:09:43if the point needs to be made or not,

3:09:45but just for clarification,

3:09:47only there's one board member that won't

3:09:52be paid because they are currently in um

3:09:55in their term serving their term.

3:09:58There's two small business owners, Matt

3:10:01Ashton, uh Helen Kin, and then there's

3:10:04representation from the trades, John

3:10:07Hodgej from the plumbers, and the uh the

3:10:10the faith community, um Bishop Eugene

3:10:13Ward is the other board member.

3:10:16>> And and Mr. Chairman, who is the

3:10:18chairman of the board?

3:10:19>> Matt Ashton. He's small business owner.

3:10:21He owns a local coffee shop, Letco Go

3:10:24Coffee.

3:10:26He's long been noted um in this fair

3:10:29wage uh fight, if you will. Award 15

3:10:33res.

3:10:33>> I haven't gotten any coffee from yet.

3:10:35>> Yes, an award 15 res.

3:10:37>> I'm a coffee drinker, so I haven't yet

3:10:39been to his place of business so I can

3:10:40get some of his coffee and see if he's

3:10:42got a strong brew or not. Um, but since

3:10:45we have five of these members, I presume

3:10:50the members who are appointed from the

3:10:52mayor's uh piece and from council won't

3:10:56receive a pay.

3:10:58>> That's correct.

3:10:58>> And that would be two people.

3:11:00>> Yes.

3:11:00>> All right. And so the other five members

3:11:02will get some compensation.

3:11:05>> Yes. And then can [snorts] you give me

3:11:07an idea of how much time a board member

3:11:09spends uh uh at doing this and and what

3:11:13is it that they're doing? Give me an

3:11:14example. I mean what are we talking

3:11:17about? What are they doing?

3:11:18>> So currently as we're as I would call it

3:11:20ramping up there's been a considerable

3:11:22amount of time spent particularly with

3:11:25the um chair and the vice chair. And so

3:11:28a normal week may look like number one,

3:11:32we have a live system where complaint

3:11:34forms come in. You can access that on uh

3:11:38the city's website. So you have the the

3:11:42complaint forms coming in. I'm reviewing

3:11:46them. I'll share them with the board

3:11:48members. We're setting up the monthly

3:11:51meetings which are public. They're held

3:11:53generally the last Friday of every month

3:11:56at the uh Greater Cleveland Works

3:11:58because it's more accessible and such.

3:12:01Um, so we're setting up the meetings,

3:12:03doing agendas, um, creating the reports

3:12:07to make sure the public information gets

3:12:08out there. As I said, meeting with our

3:12:11with our community partners to really

3:12:14>> think about the work and to plan the

3:12:16work because they like to go out to the

3:12:18sites, the work sites to make sure that

3:12:21everyone is making the 1626, which is

3:12:23the living wage.

3:12:24>> I got any number of things.

3:12:26>> So, and then I don't mean to cut you

3:12:27off. I just No, it's fine. I get I'm

3:12:29trying to get down and understand it a

3:12:31little bit tighter. So, how many um

3:12:33complaint forms do you receive on a

3:12:35weekly basis, monthly basis, annual

3:12:37basis?

3:12:38>> So, I can't speak to annual yet, but

3:12:41when I first started, there was a

3:12:42backlog and there was about I'd say

3:12:46there was about 40 sitting in Q.

3:12:49Currently, we have had 62 complaint

3:12:52forms to date. It is my understanding

3:12:54that that system went live uh shortly

3:12:58after the pay transparency ordinance

3:13:00last year, October 27th. And as I said,

3:13:04we've had 62 through the portal thus

3:13:06far.

3:13:08>> So, so this portal and you've been

3:13:10online now for at least a good three

3:13:12years.

3:13:13>> No, no, a year.

3:13:15>> So, you've you've you've been at this

3:13:17yourself for

3:13:18>> Oh, no. Myself since April. April 13th

3:13:21of this year. So you've been you've been

3:13:23looking at it for about a year.

3:13:24>> No, this year April 13th

3:13:27>> through the chair to the council person.

3:13:28Couple

3:13:29>> almost a year.

3:13:31>> Close to it.

3:13:32>> Six month.

3:13:33>> She just got her six month uh review.

3:13:35Yeah.

3:13:35>> So who was handling these complaint

3:13:38forms previously before you got on

3:13:40board?

3:13:40>> It was added to the workload of a

3:13:42current staff member of OEO.

3:13:45>> Okay. So OEO was dealing with this.

3:13:47>> Yes. So, so how many are we getting in?

3:13:49Because this this uh wage board has been

3:13:51in existence now for quite some time.

3:13:53You got it active about uh it was uh in

3:13:57the last term. So So how how many years

3:14:00have the the wage board been seated and

3:14:03been working

3:14:06>> through the chair? I'm not certain how

3:14:08long they've been seated.

3:14:09>> So would you say three years?

3:14:11>> No. No. Oh, no. Definitely not.

3:14:13>> Two years.

3:14:14>> No. A good year.

3:14:16>> Yeah.

3:14:16>> A good year. Well, I know I approved uh

3:14:18the plumbers's guy. So, you you've been

3:14:21doing something. So, so that's the

3:14:23reason why I'm asking you the question

3:14:25how long you've been in in in operation.

3:14:26And it can't be a year and it can't be

3:14:28just two years. It has to be every bit

3:14:31of at least three years that you've been

3:14:32in operate. I appointed them when I was

3:14:34the chairman of the mayor's commit

3:14:35mayor's uh appointment committee. So,

3:14:38that's the reason why I'm asking you the

3:14:39question of maybe we have a senior

3:14:41moment. Um I don't know. But but right

3:14:45now I know that we I know I've sat down

3:14:47and talked that's the reason why I told

3:14:49you about the coffee house. I hadn't had

3:14:50a chance to get to his coffee house yet.

3:14:52>> So So the question is um how long has

3:14:55this commission been seated?

3:14:59How many complaints do you get on an

3:15:01annual basis?

3:15:03And then how many complaints you get on

3:15:05a monthly basis? What is the workload?

3:15:08Because Mr. chairman to the director, we

3:15:10got to justify, you know, giving funds

3:15:13out. Now, now most of these people who

3:15:15are on these boards didn't get on these

3:15:17boards, Mr. Chairman to director, to be

3:15:20paid

3:15:22>> before before you reply to Councilman

3:15:24Jones, your point, your your estimation

3:15:25of three years is what I would No, I

3:15:28recall that also uh because Councilman,

3:15:31former Councilman Kelly was initially uh

3:15:34the council representative. I think that

3:15:36the point of disconnect may be when was

3:15:39there a decision to house this? So for a

3:15:42while this was sort of an orphan

3:15:43commission. It since there was no

3:15:44budget, it didn't really exist anywhere.

3:15:47Uh there was a a concerted decision to

3:15:49place it within OEO since it really

3:15:51aligns with OEO's existing workflow. So

3:15:54perhaps that decision was made sooner

3:15:57than than 3 years before. But but I I I

3:16:00was in in those initial meetings, you

3:16:02know, three-ish years ago while we were

3:16:03talking about bringing this board, you

3:16:06know, back from, you know, back from the

3:16:07dead.

3:16:08>> And it was exciting discussion at that

3:16:10time, you know, to have, you know, this

3:16:12board be in place. And Mr. chairman,

3:16:14just with all due respect, it's it's

3:16:16it's it's more or less trying to figure

3:16:18out what what we're actually doing and

3:16:19and then um and not saying that I'm for

3:16:22or against, but wanting to really

3:16:24fundamentally understand what is the

3:16:26work that you really fundamentally do.

3:16:29Uh is what I'm trying to dig at here and

3:16:32how much time is it is it taking to do

3:16:34that and and if you could give me like a

3:16:37case like you get these complaints in.

3:16:39So I presume, Mr. determined that one of

3:16:41the cases is I'm ABC company. I have so

3:16:45many employees and you're not paying

3:16:47paying me a fair wage. Can you give me

3:16:50an example of a complaint like that? And

3:16:52then and that and then before you go

3:16:53into the complaints the information I'm

3:16:55asking can we get that information?

3:16:57>> Yes. Through the chair through the

3:16:58council person but first I don't want to

3:17:00give names I don't name. Absolutely.

3:17:02Okay. I just want to make sure. So we

3:17:03can give you definitely a case and one

3:17:05of the things I do want to point out. So

3:17:06the end of 25 they came to me and said

3:17:10the fair employment wage board were

3:17:11probably was operating but it was not we

3:17:14in the OEO we had no connection with it.

3:17:16Uh they gave a position you all gave a

3:17:19position to hire from to to lies with

3:17:22the uh fair employment wage board and so

3:17:24that's when we hired Alfie in April. So

3:17:26from OEO standpoint we didn't hit the

3:17:29ground until uh April when we um hired

3:17:33Alfie in engaging with the fair

3:17:34employment wage board. So, I'll let her

3:17:36let her give you an examp Councilman

3:17:38Jones, not to if only because we're

3:17:40about to hit a quorum issue. If if

3:17:43you're able to wrap it up where we I

3:17:45guess we have I guess we have to have it

3:17:46at the table

3:17:47>> and we can because we could pass it on.

3:17:48But the the issue that I'm asking, Mr.

3:17:50Question, Mr. chairman is is the most

3:17:53important piece here is why are we why

3:17:56are we doing it right and in what and

3:17:59who are we dealing with and how is it

3:18:01potentially impacting our market space

3:18:03or potentially could impact our business

3:18:05market space and I know that some of our

3:18:08members need to go but this is an

3:18:10important subject matter even though

3:18:11we've had a long legislative uh process

3:18:14here this is indeed important to talk

3:18:16about for fundamental reasons on a

3:18:17number of levels

3:18:19>> if we will can you give you one example

3:18:21of this of a case we're dealing with.

3:18:23>> Quickly, please.

3:18:24>> Right. So, uh we also accept wage theft

3:18:28cases and they come in. Um we just had

3:18:31one recently small business owner um

3:18:34recently opened business. Uh a person

3:18:37called in to um to make a wage theft

3:18:40claim that the owner was stealing um

3:18:44wages. Uh so that is something that I

3:18:47would spend my time doing. um

3:18:50investigating that case, taking it to

3:18:53the board for them to discuss um and act

3:18:57on. There was another case, in fact, a

3:18:59wage theft case. In fact, that came with

3:19:02a threat of violence. And so, you've got

3:19:05the paid transparency ordinance, which

3:19:09is 689 that the board deals with. You've

3:19:13got uh the

3:19:15>> living

3:19:15>> 190

3:19:17>> uh wage theft ordinance and then you

3:19:19have the living wage which is 189. So

3:19:21you we've got three wage ordinances all

3:19:25that requires the input of the board.

3:19:28>> And let me just add one thing. This is

3:19:30the board that okay this is the board

3:19:32that we can say this publicly because it

3:19:33was in the news that went to NEON to

3:19:36fight for the workers when they didn't

3:19:37get paid. This is that this is that

3:19:40board that works outside of their hours

3:19:43of board meetings a lot. So

3:19:46>> no further questions.

3:19:47>> Are there any other questions on the

3:19:49>> to call the question?

3:19:50>> All right. Uh I believe under Robert's

3:19:52rules we got to do that. So uh

3:19:54>> is there a second to call the question?

3:19:55>> There a second to call the question on

3:19:56the

3:19:57>> Councilman Conwell. Second.

3:19:58>> All right. All in favor?

3:19:59>> I

3:20:00>> I all oppose the ordinance.

3:20:02>> What about the discussion?

3:20:03>> Oh discussion on Well, no. We we called

3:20:06the question. We called the question,

3:20:07Councilman. So

3:20:08>> all right.

3:20:10>> Thank you. Uh hearing no additional qu

3:20:12well having called the question 10:44 is

3:20:14approved. Thank you. Uh please sign on.

3:20:17>> And I believe that will conclude uh this

3:20:21this uh meeting of uh what are we

3:20:24diversity finance inclusion. Can you b

3:20:27the gabble for me Kevin?

3:20:30>> Ajourn.

3:20:34Heat. Heat.

3:20:46[music]

3:20:52[music]

3:20:59>> [music]