Cleveland City Council Finance Committee Meeting Summary - November 24, 2025

On November 24, 2025, the Cleveland City Council's Committee on Finance, Development, Equity, and Inclusion convened to consider a wide-ranging agenda involving significant real estate redevelopment, municipal contracts, public safety initiatives, and infrastructure improvements. The committee addressed ten ordinances and multiple emergency measures, including amendments to loan agreements for the redevelopment of the Warner and Swayze building and a new birthing center, contract renewals for the Cleveland Municipal Court, and various public works projects ranging from ATM installations to street resurfacing and pedestrian enhancements. The meeting concluded with the ratification of the final collective bargaining agreements for the city, bringing the total ratified contracts for the fiscal year to 25 out of 33.

Consent Calendar

• Ordinance 1448-2025: Authorizes the Director of Finance to contract with Court Community Service for community service placement and Cleveland Work Crew program placement. Council members expressed full support and high praise for the organization's decade-long service and effectiveness.
• Ordinance 1449-2025: Authorizes the Director of Finance to contract with Oriana House, Inc. for pretrial release supervision services. Council members fully supported the piece, with Councilwoman Santana noting strong support for the program as data shows a decrease in failure-to-appear rates from 42% in 2018 to 24% in 2024.
• Ordinance 1453-2025: Authorizes the Director of Finance to contract with the Cuyahoga County Public Defender Commission for legal services. Council members fully supported the measure, with Councilman Pelesi offering wholehearted support and thanking the department for its critical work.
• Ordinance 1418-2025: Authorizes the Director of Aging to accept grants from the Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging. Councilman Conwell fully supported the request, citing the Department of Aging's consistent excellence and reliability.
• Ordinance 1522-2025: Authorizes a $750,000 loan to Village of Joy Corporation (Birth & Beautiful Communities) for a birthing center. Council members strongly supported the project, with Councilman Casey thanking the administration and expressing personal connection to the program, while Council President emphasized support for the "triple bottom line" of economic, social, and environmental impact.
• Ordinance 1396-2025: Authorizes the installation of an ATM at City Hall with Key Bank. While Councilman Bishop supported the passage, he expressed concern regarding the potential loss of revenue for the city from such machines and requested further investigation into revenue sharing. Councilman Palency expressed concern about the technological currency of the ATM, noting personal issues with fraud flags.
• Ordinance 1404-2025: Authorizes contracts for active transportation and traffic calming improvements. Council members expressed concern regarding the visibility and maintenance of speed tables and delineator posts during winter snow plowing. Councilman Palency expressed strong dissatisfaction with current paint quality and visibility, demanding better materials and snow-clearing capabilities. The committee reaffirmed support for the project contingent on addressing these specific safety and maintenance issues.
• Ordinance 1446-2025: Authorizes contracts for replacing mast arm signal supports. Councilman Bishop fully supported the ordinance, noting the necessity of repairing rotted or damaged poles.
• Ordinance 1295-2025: Extends an MOU with the RTA for West 117th Street improvements. Councilman Bishop fully supported the extension and the additional payment for extra concrete work.
• Ordinance 1400-2025: Authorizes state funding applications for the rehabilitation of Wade Park Avenue. Council members fully supported the project, with Councilman Conwell emphasizing strong resident support ("100% support") and praising the administration for listening to community input.
• Ordinance 1402-2025: Authorizes consultants for pedestrian enhancements on Euclid Avenue. Council members fully supported the measure, with Councilman Hairston expressing hope that this is not the only phase and urging future funding for additional improvements.
• Ordinance 1416-2025: Amends the Euclid Beach Trail Connector agreement to make easements perpetual and adds submerged land leases. Council members fully supported the changes to ensure long-term trail viability and praised the project for providing greater lakefront access.
• Ordinances 1489, 1490, and 1491-2025: Vacate portions of West Third Street to facilitate development and create a river walk/kayak launch. Council members fully supported the vacations. Councilman Pelesi expressed concern regarding the lack of bollards to prevent vehicles from entering the river, requesting confirmation that the design team will address this safety issue.
• Ordinance 1511-2025: Approves the Tax Incentive Review Council's 2024 recommendations. Councilman Harrison fully supported the committee's recommendation to continue agreements, noting that entities were close to compliance and making significant investments.
• Ordinance 1516-2025: Ratifies the collective bargaining agreement with Local 93 AFSCME (firefighters at the airport). The ordinance was approved, though Councilman Bishop requested more transparency regarding budget impacts and retroactive costs in future negotiations.
• Ordinance 1517-2025: Ratifies the collective bargaining agreement with IBEW Local 38. The ordinance was approved following no objections.
• Ordinance 1518-2025: Ratifies the collective bargaining agreement with Plumbers Local 55. The ordinance was approved with no objections.
• Ordinance 1545-2025: Ratifies the collective bargaining agreement with IBPAT Local 639. The ordinance was approved, marking the ratification of the 25th of 33 city contracts.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Court Community Service Representatives: Michelle Kenney and Stephanie Pope Early testified on the effectiveness of the program, providing statistics on community service hours (78,000 hours) and collections.
• Oriana House Representatives: Ron Hampton and city pretrial staff testified on the success of the pretrial services program, highlighting the reduction in failure to appear rates and low rates of new criminal activity.
• Village of Joy Corporation Representatives: Jasmine Long (CEO), Chris Shefton (Chief of Growth), and Robin Brown (Project Manager) testified on the birthing center project, highlighting the $13.9 million raised and the imminent construction start.
• Key Bank Representative: A representative was present to discuss the ATM agreement, though specific remarks were not transcribed in detail.
• Cuyahoga County Public Defender Representative: Attorney Sweeney testified on the 20-year partnership with the city and the critical importance of representing indigent defendants.

Discussion Items

• Warner and Swayze Redevelopment (Ordinances 1458 & 1519): The committee discussed the amendment to allow multiple separate loans for different housing components (senior vs. family units). Councilman Casey pressed on the city's total investment ($10.6 million) and the percentage of forgivable loans (the $2.8 million ED portion). Director Rose clarified the city's position as subordinate (third position) to senior lenders. Councilman Starr expressed full support, calling it a "great opportunity" nearing the finish line after 2.5 years of work.
• Birthing Center Project (Ordinance 1522): The committee reviewed the $750,000 loan and the $1.75 million total city contribution. Councilman Casey critiqued the presentation of the "capital stack," urging future meetings to provide detailed financial breakdowns upfront to track spending across different city neighborhoods.
• Speed Tables and Visibility (Ordinance 1404): A significant portion of the discussion focused on the visibility of speed tables. Councilman Palency stated clearly that current paint quality is insufficient and demanded an explanation of the plan to upgrade to high-visibility materials (like day-glow paint) and ensure snow plow crews can clear delineators. Councilman Bishop confirmed he had personally hit unpainted speed tables, agreeing that some need repainting.
• ATM Revenue (Ordinance 1396): Councilman Bishop voiced concern that the city receives no revenue from the private sector's ATM usage. He proposed a more aggressive stance on negotiating a small portion of the transaction revenue for city funds to support other needs.
• Snow Removal and Delineators (Ordinance 1404): Councilman Palency expressed dissatisfaction regarding the ability to plow streets with installed delineators in the Northeast side. The Commissioner confirmed the city has the equipment and a group dedicated to this, but Palency urged the committee not to install delineators in such areas unless plowing is guaranteed.

Key Outcomes

• Ordinances 1458-2025 (amended) and 1519-2025: Approved to allow multiple loan agreements for the Warner and Swayze redevelopment, pending full body consideration. The total city investment was confirmed at $10.6 million, with $2.8 million of the ED loans being forgivable contingent on meeting specific conditions. The city holds a third position in the loan hierarchy.
• Ordinances 1448, 1449, 1453, 1418, 1522, 1396, 1404, 1446, 1295, 1400, 1402, 1416, 1489, 1490, 1491, 1511, 1516, 1517, 1518, and 1545: All passed with no objections or with unanimous support, pending full body consideration where noted.
• Budget Impact Request: Councilman Bishop secured an agreement from the Director of Finance to explicitly detail budget impacts (specifically retroactive costs) for all future collective bargained agreements.
• Safety Improvements Mandate: The committee agreed to address the specific visibility issues of speed tables and delineators raised by Councilman Palency and Councilman Bishop, with a request to provide exact addresses for inspection.
• River Walk Safety: The committee agreed to have the design team and developer discuss the installation of bollards for the West Third Street river walk vacation to prevent vehicles from entering the river.
• Contract Ratification Status: The committee successfully ratified 25 out of 33 collective bargaining agreements, reaching approximately 76% completion for the fiscal year.