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Record of Proceedings

Cleveland City Council Special Meeting – September 3, 2025: Downtown Cleveland Improvement District Assessment

City Council Meetings — Wednesday, September 3, 2025
BodyCleveland, Ohio
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateWednesday, September 3, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 19:16

Original source
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3:56

Okay, I see I relieved the tie rule today, so I apologize, everybody.

4:03

Leave it up to McCormick's life to be disciplined and have on their tie today.

4:28

In order to be um marked present.

5:04

We have a third thing.

5:06

Okay.

5:08

All right, Madam Clerk.

5:09

When we have a quorum, let me know.

5:12

You have a quorum.

5:14

All right.

5:14

Oh, wait, we have to be on, you have to be on camera.

5:19

Could everyone please be on camera in order to be counted to call the road?

5:23

This should be very quick.

5:24

I know that councilman uh star and councilwoman Moore have uh an agenda that they have to be at in a minute.

5:32

So I want to hurry up and get this done.

5:40

Who do we need?

5:41

Who do we need to have a quorum?

5:44

Councilwoman House Jones.

5:46

Uh we just need her to be on camera.

5:49

Okay.

5:49

Councilwoman House Jones, can you hear us?

5:54

There we go.

5:54

Okay.

5:55

She just okay.

5:57

So if everybody could be on camera, Madam Clerk, let's call the role.

6:01

Griffin.

6:02

Here.

6:04

Bishop.

6:06

Can you hear?

6:07

Yeah.

6:09

Conwell.

6:12

Madam Clerk, I think it's something technical.

6:14

I just got a message from Councilwoman House Jones.

6:16

There we go.

6:17

Yeah, Council President.

6:18

We couldn't unmute ourselves.

6:19

There we go.

6:20

Okay, now you can unmute yourself.

6:21

All right.

6:23

Can you hear me?

6:24

Yeah.

6:24

Let's start over, Madam Clerk.

6:26

Okay.

6:27

Griffin.

6:28

Here.

6:29

Bishop.

6:30

Here.

6:31

Conwell.

6:32

Here.

6:33

Ray.

6:35

Hairston.

6:36

Present.

6:37

Harsh.

6:38

Here.

6:39

House Jones.

6:46

She said here.

6:47

Yeah.

6:48

Uh Jones.

6:50

Casey.

6:51

Present.

6:52

Kelly.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████56%
Downtown Development█████████████████████████31%
Homelessness██████7%
Public Safety█████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Cleveland City Council Special Meeting – September 3, 2025

A special virtual meeting of Cleveland City Council was convened on September 3, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. to consider a single emergency ordinance: Ordinance 1065-2025, which approves the report of the Assessment Equalization Board, determines to proceed with the plan for the Downtown Cleveland Improvement District (DCID), adopts and levies assessments, and authorizes the city to enter into an agreement with the Downtown Cleveland Improvement Corporation. The meeting lasted approximately 20 minutes. Council members were required to be on camera to be counted for the quorum. Fourteen council members voted in favor; three members (Bray, Jones, Kelly) were excused.

Discussion Items

  • Ordinance 1065-2025 (Emergency Passage): Council President Blaine Griffin introduced the ordinance, which was sponsored by Councilmembers McCormick, Starr, House Jones, Hairston, and Griffin via departmental request. The ordinance concerns the reassessment and continuation of the downtown special improvement district for another seven years. Councilman McCormick thanked colleagues for their support and praised the work of Downtown Cleveland Inc. (DCI), particularly its street cleaners, safety ambassadors, and promotional staff. Councilwoman House Jones (unmute issues, acknowledged by the clerk) noted the partnership’s expansion into addressing homelessness and connecting unhoused residents with services. Councilman Starr expressed brief support, referencing discussions with Michael Blue. Michael Demer, President and CEO of Downtown Cleveland Alliance, thanked the council for its 20-year partnership and emphasized the district’s role in a public‑private partnership that delivers enhanced services to downtown.

Key Outcomes

  • Vote on Motion to Suspend Rules: Passed with 14 yea votes (no nays recorded).
  • Vote on Passage of Ordinance 1065-2025: Passed with 14 yea votes (no nays recorded). The ordinance was declared an emergency to meet a deadline of September 12, 2025. Approximately $6 million in annual assessments were at stake for downtown safety, cleaning, and promotion.
  • Next Meeting: The next regular council meeting is scheduled for September 15, 2025. Council members were encouraged to contact the chair or attorneys to discuss agenda items.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, I see I relieved the tie rule today, so I apologize, everybody. Leave it up to McCormick's life to be disciplined and have on their tie today. In order to be um marked present. We have a third thing. Okay. All right, Madam Clerk. When we have a quorum, let me know. You have a quorum. All right. Oh, wait, we have to be on, you have to be on camera. Could everyone please be on camera in order to be counted to call the road? This should be very quick. I know that councilman uh star and councilwoman Moore have uh an agenda that they have to be at in a minute. So I want to hurry up and get this done. Who do we need? Who do we need to have a quorum? Councilwoman House Jones. Uh we just need her to be on camera. Okay. Councilwoman House Jones, can you hear us? There we go. Okay. She just okay. So if everybody could be on camera, Madam Clerk, let's call the role. Griffin. Here. Bishop. Can you hear? Yeah. Conwell. Madam Clerk, I think it's something technical. I just got a message from Councilwoman House Jones. There we go. Yeah, Council President. We couldn't unmute ourselves. There we go. Okay, now you can unmute yourself. All right. Can you hear me? Yeah. Let's start over, Madam Clerk. Okay. Griffin. Here. Bishop. Here. Conwell. Here. Ray. Hairston.

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