Committee of the Whole
Cleveland City CouncilCleveland, OH 44114 (Directions)
The public may observe this meeting on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ClevelandCityCouncil, and on Cleveland channel 20.
For more information go to Cleveland City Council’s website: https://www.clevelandcitycouncil.org.
Check the source website for additional information
Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Cleveland - OH Documenters Team
To see the upcoming agenda,
https://clevelandcitycouncil.org/calendar/2021/committee/virtual-committee-of-the-whole-1 https://t.co/GBDyIXGB7J
To learn more about Ward Representatives explore here,
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Use this resource,
The Virtual Committe of the Whole Meeting is live.
Roll call has been conducted.
Some members in attendance can be seen here, https://t.co/Sg9q33aH96
Director of Public Safety Howard reviews Ord. No. 941-2020.
To read the ordinance as published on Cleveland’s City Record,
https://clevelandcitycouncil.org/ClevelandCityCouncil/media/CityRecordArchive/2020/City-Record-12-04-2020.pdf https://t.co/vSBlGmcFkv
Deputy Direct of Public Safety Howard reviews the Ordinance proposal.
He is highlighted in green. https://t.co/5zE6y4vKlG
Ward 6 Councilmen Griffin confirms that Ord. No. 943-2020 has been vetted and approved by the safety committee.
https://clevelandcitycouncil.org/ward-6 https://t.co/hSjnUeENnO
Ward 9 Conwell speaks, sounding frustrated describing a drive-by shooting in his ward and pleads for identifiable outcome measures. We pass this ordinance year after year and have the same issues. What are ways this grant produces
https://clevelandcitycouncil.org/ward-9 https://t.co/mt2UIN0IsB
Cleveland Police Chief Williams speaks. He is joined by a lieutenant McCabe (sp?) the head of task force & provides statistics. Some provided are,
70 Federal search warrants executed
39.9 lbs. of cocaine.
9.6 lbs. of fentanyl & heroine.
Over $2,000,000 in assets seized https://t.co/9CeZcBEYW9
Ward 9 Conwell seems pleased with the details provided by the Lieutenant and wants to know if more resources are needed. He describes his experiences of walking door to door and dealing with drug dealers.
Ward 9 Conwell is frustrated at the amount of time it takes to address a house in his ward occupied by criminal drug dealers. He is requesting for more concrete details about how the task force actions that this ordinance funds has lead to results in specific neighborhoods.
“I need helped from you guys. The drug dealers are winning a war with you guys [law enforcement].” - Ward 9 Councilmen Conwell.
Powerful words.
Ward 1 Councilman Jones speaks on the issues of crime in the City of Cleveland.
https://clevelandcitycouncil.org/ward-1 https://t.co/bzw5sI7Dab
Ward 1 Councilman Jones,
“This is a major issue. … The citizens are crying out for help. Right now, what are the possibilities you can hold a hearing to listen to your constituency base that are our taxpayers that paid for all of this?
Ward 1 Councilman Jones (highlighted in green) continues,
“We are not seeing the police in our communities. … I don’t see police patrolling. I don’t see police busting up drug houses. … I don’t see the police engaged and working. … Where is the police? https://t.co/EWSFQI6VSv
Ward 1 Councilman Jones (highlighted in green) continues,
“Why can’t we get them [Cleveland Police] down on the ground working? … How are you going to keep us safe? … “
Ward 13 Kelly interrupts Ward 1 Jones,
“I hear you but this is getting beyond the scope of the ord.”
Ward 1 Jones, “…we should not pass any more safety ordinances until there is accountability. … The crime in our neighborhoods, if this was happening in Garfield there would be a state of an emergency. Someone would lose their job. … I would like to see some action taken.” https://t.co/NCWko2YXLA
Read the details of Ord. No. 944-2020. in the Cleveland City Record,
https://clevelandcitycouncil.org/ClevelandCityCouncil/media/CityRecordArchive/2020/City-Record-12-04-2020.pdf https://t.co/2cDN8rBc86
Director of Public Safety Howard reviews details about the ordinance.
Ward 13 City Council President Kelley asks about the state of homicides in Cleveland, Ohio.
Police Chief Williams 49% solve rate of homicides. Another official joins Police Chief Williams to reflect.
Ward 13 Kelly, “Does this grant help solve homicides?”
Law enforcement official, “It does. It allows us to communicate more effectively. It actually is helpful.”
Ward 6 Griffin confirms that Ord. No. 944-2020 has been fully vetted and passed by the safety committee. https://t.co/K2EOlvvwoa
A conversation follows reflecting on Ord. No. 944-2020 and policing measures between Ward 9 Conwell, Ward 6 Griffin, Ward 1 Jones, and Cleveland Police Chief Williams.
Ward 6 Griffin encourages others to participate in the Public Safety committee.
Cleveland Chief of Police Williams reflects,
“We are police officers. … If we are looking at the whole explosion of crimes as only a police issue then we are totally missing the boat. … We can’t arrest our way out of this problem.
Crime is a manifestation of a lot of social ills, not just crime itself.”
Here is some information about Chief of Police,
http://www.city.cleveland.oh.us/CityofCleveland/Home/Government/Cabinet/CWilliams#:~:text=Calvin%20D.%20Williams%20is%20the%20City%20of%20Cleveland%E2%80%99s,the%20Division%20of%20Police%20on%20February%2024,%201986. https://t.co/19rW9CwGkm
Ward 1 Jones provides further reflections on policing in his ward and how the police operate in the City of Cleveland. He states, “How we [Cleveland Police] operate in the City of Cleveland is damning. … In this particular piece, how many detectives do we have now?”
Ward 13 Kelley requests that Chief of Police Williams provides feedback to Ward 1 Jones.
Chief Williams, “Detectives do investigative work. Crime Scene Investigators do the scene work.”
Ward 13 Kelley, “Are the detective properly trained?”
Cleveland Chief of Police Williams, “Yes, of course. There are always new detectives in a training phase. … I need to make a distinction between Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators. …”
Ward 10 Councilman Hairston speaks and is fully supportive of the comments heard today.
Councilman represents an area that includes South Collinwood, St Clair-Superior, Glenville, Euclid Park and Nottingham Village neighborhoods. https://t.co/Jrcop0qIL5
Ward 10 Councilman Hairston inquires how many years this grant has been approved and whether the grant helps the solve rate. Is it really helping us? https://t.co/q1zTpJVlK3
Cleveland Chief of Police Williams,
“This grant has no match. [Cleveland taxpayers do not have to provide money] It assists the team in solving homicides.”
Another Cleveland Police representatives provides details on how the grant helps the Cleveland Police.
Quick review
Ordinance No. 944-2020 allows the Director of Public Safety Howard to apply for FY 19 Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Grant in the approximate amount of $20,374.95 to fund the Police Homicide
Review Commission.
Ward 10 Hairston restates his desire to know whether the grant provides the actual means to address the criminal activity in the City of Cleveland and communicating with victims better.
“If not with this grant, then we should make it a priority with another grant.”
Ward 10 Hariston,
“It’s a bad feeling when you wake up and you have emails and texts on your phone about homicides.”
Ward 7 Jones speaks on issues in his ward and Policing follow up in the community.
He represents an area which includes the historic Hough district, as well as the St. Clair-Superior, Midtown and Asia Town neighborhoods.
https://clevelandcitycouncil.org/ward-7 https://t.co/Zl3XmPv5U2
Ward 7 Jones, “Is there a process that you are working with families that have been murdered or died, is there a part of the department that you are doing that?” https://t.co/vYVVpv2oph
Cleveland Chief of Police William responds,
“We are kind of between a rock and a hard place concerning the information we can give to the victims’ families. … A lot of the time there is no updated information to provide to the families.” https://t.co/yUgOBwgf8Z
Ward 9 Conwell provides an experience of Mrs. McCormack (sp?) whose husband was shot in the head and whose son was murdered in a similar fashion. He seconds fellow Councilman Ward 1 Jones, Ward 10 Hariston, and Ward 7 Jones concerns.
Cleveland Chief of Police William responds,
“Our detectives aren’t counselors, but we give them [the victims and their families access to] professional services for this kind of situation.”
Ward 1 Jones,
“I am not trying to annoy. … We hear the same dance and song ‘that it takes all of these other factors.’ … We shouldn’t have to live out of fear. I look forward to working with you, not just talking about these issues. https://t.co/lyEnAxzAfd
Ward 1 Jones continues,
“I know you have a very difficult and hard job. … I will work with any one to help solve these issues.”
Cleveland Chief of Police William responds,
“Our folks are out there and they are working hard. I just spoke to the officer on the hit and skipped. He has spoken to the victim’s family multiple times.” https://t.co/qKVrL0tTN8
Ward 7 Jones responds,
“This is a very serious thing. … We are always accepting grants but not accepting responsibility. It is our lack of empathy for our residents. We should have a department that is continuously checking on them. … ” https://t.co/6lhA7M0onb
Ward 6 Griffin responds,
“I have sat and listened patiently to everyone. I was at a 4 hour safety committee meeting last week and another the week before. I’ve been at this 4 years. … I am frustrated. … It costs $100,000 to put an officer in place. …
Ward 6 Griffin continues,
“If you want to have police … then I would advise everyone to sit down with me and this administration to figure out how we get more officers. … I am sympathetic to the concerns of communicating. …
Ward 6 Griffin continues,
“We have found out that 8 to 10% of the city is responsible 80 to 90% of the homicides. … I would caution everybody. We are trying to have intelligence lead policing where we build cases. … I want to encourage everybody …
Ward 6 Griffin continues,
“I want to say this to the public I am pissed too. We are all upset. This is a societal breakdown that has more to it the just a million police officers to arrest everybody in this city.”
Ward 6 Griffin continues,
“Until we look at this holistically and how we will address this societal breakdown then we will still have this problems. We need to get into the business of how we find more resources and how we get the information to show we are having results. …”
Ward 6 Griffin continues,
“I understand the passion, but I encourage everybody to pass this legislation.”
Ward 15 Councilwoman Spenser supports the ordinance and stands in solidarity with the other Councilman.
She represents areas that include Edgewater, Cudell, Detroit Shoreway and parts of the Ohio City and Stockyard neighborhoods. https://t.co/8X04CM0J07
Deputy Director of Public Safety Howard reviews the grant.
Read the details of the Ord. No. 946-2020 on the City of Cleveland’s City Record.
https://clevelandcitycouncil.org/ClevelandCityCouncil/media/CityRecordArchive/2020/City-Record-12-04-2020.pdf https://t.co/PkdT27ElQB
Ward 9 Conwell responds to Ward 6 Griffin’s earlier comments and states that filing grants is not enough, we also want to know the details of the results. That is the concern of my fellow councilman.
Deputy Director of Public Safety Howard responds to Ward 9 Conwell comments while also highlighting the purpose of Ordinance No. 939-2020.
“It is a holistic approach that is needed.” https://t.co/DmbliERCho
Ward 9 Conwell responds to Deputy Director of Public Safety Howard,
“I know it is a holistic approach. … The focus is you giving us an evaluation process. Why are we passing these grants? How are they are benefiting our residents, our taxpayers?”
Ward 1 Jones speaks,
“People commit crime when they know they can get away with crime. … That is one of the reasons we have epic levels of crime in our communities.” https://t.co/EPnaK5kVva
Ward 1 Jones advocates for a return to heavy police enforcement and creating a culture of fear / awareness of consequences to deter criminals from committing crime.
Note: many of these are paraphrased comments. Please, use due diligence and review their whole comments in video.
Ward 12 Councilman Anthony Brancatelli speaks.
He has been a member of City Council since 2005, representing Slavic Village and parts of Tremont, Brooklyn Center and Old Brooklyn neighborhoods. https://t.co/EkrF5yFVXE
Ward 7 Jones asks,
“Do you have information on where most arrests and traffic enforcement take place in the city?” https://t.co/q5MAkfDYjg
Deputy Director of Public Safety Howard responds,
“I would like to collect the data before providing an answer.”
Ward 7 Jones reflects on a diversity of crimes and concerns about policing and law enforcement in general. He asks Deputy Director of Health Howard,
“Do you feel you have enough resources to apply this holistic approach you talk about?”
Deputy Director of Howard responds,
“I do. Some of the changes is based on selection process via behavior based interviews and psych assessments… We know review for an applicant ‘Is this a right fit? Not just for a police officer, but also for policing an urban environment.”
Ward 7 Jones reflects on his experiences as a Councilman on the City of Cleveland Council. He comments on how when he first arrived, he did not understand Ward 9 Conwell’s consistent demand for performance outcomes, but he does now.
Ord 937-2020 is presented and approved. Dir of Public Utilities Marin Keane reviews.
Purpose: “to design, reconstruct and attach a new trunk main to the new Hilliard Road bridge over the Rocky River as part of the County’s bridge reconstruction project.” https://t.co/PRVeuoNJLf
Ord 955-2020 is presented and approved. Dir of Public Utilities Marin Keane reviews.
Purpose: “to make the public improvement of rehabilitating automated control systems at Division of Water treatment plants, secondary facilities and in the distribution system” https://t.co/wywUtaM6hl
Ord 956-2020 is presented and approved. Dir of Public Utilities Marin Keane reviews.
Purpose: “to make the public improvement of replacing pump discharge control valves and appurtenances at the Fairmount Pump Station,” https://t.co/9rNEWV6LLb
Ordinance 9-2021 is presented, reviewed, and approved
Purpose: “to make the public improvement of renovating the Engle pump station in the City of Middleburg Heights, the Green pump station in the Village of Highland Hills, the Shepard pump station in the City of Macedonia, https://t.co/FIzKQJSUf9
Emergency Ordinance 10-2021 is presented, reviewed, and approved
Purpose: “to make the public improvement of renewing a transmission main, including valves and related appurtenances, underneath the Cuyahoga River near Harvard Avenue” https://t.co/1eCn2Ya1yl
Emergency Ordinance 11-2021 is presented, reviewed, and approved
Purpose: ” to make the public improvement of repairing or replacing roofs and appurtenances, including but not limited to roofing systems” https://t.co/c6xC3qI6qe
Emergency Ordinance 12-2021 is presented, reviewed, and approved
Purpose: “[purchase] for a term of two years of the necessary items of concrete pipe adapters, repair saddles and accessories, in the approximate amount as purchased during the preceding term” https://t.co/p2joPthRR1
Emergency Ordinance 13-2021 is presented, reviewed, and approved
Purpose: “to repair and maintain the decorative and special lighting for City bridges and the Wyland Whale Mural Park on North Marginal Road, including materials, equipment, appurtenances, services, and insurance” https://t.co/PH2JCAtxLs
Meeting adjourned at 12:05 p.m. This concludes the City of Cleveland City Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting. The next general council meeting is scheduled for January 20, 2021 after the inauguration. For more meeting coverage, check out http://documenters.org.
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Agency Information
Cleveland City Council
See meeting notes for details
Cleveland City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Cleveland in Ohio. There are 17 elected Cleveland City Council members representing the 17 wards of the City of Cleveland. Each ward has approximately 25,000 residents. Council Members are elected to serve a four-year term. Council members serve two roles in their duties: to draft and enact legislation for the city of Cleveland and act as ombudsmen for their constituents.
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