The Committee on Finance, Equity, and Diversity met on January 12, 2026, to discuss and vote on Ordinance 1507-2025. The primary agenda item was an emergency amendment to the codified ordinances regarding the use of city credit cards. The amendment sought to institute backup credit cards for key officials to ensure uninterrupted travel and operational payments, explicitly authorize payments for arbitration and third-party neutrals, and refine travel coordinator protocols. The meeting also featured extensive discussion regarding the city's transition to electronic invoicing, streamlining the disbursement of discretionary funds, and ensuring compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
Good afternoon. Today is Monday, January the twelfth, two thousand twenty six. This committee of finance diversity, equity, and inclusion is called to order. Madam Clerk, call the roll. Thank you, Madam Chair. Please let the record show that Councilman Santana has an excused absence. All right, thank you. The first ordinance that we will hear is ordinance number 1507-2025, as amended by Councilmember Griffin by departmental request, an emergency ordinance to amend section one seventy-one dot four zero of the codified ordinances of Cleveland, Ohio, nineteen seventy-six, as amended by ordinance number ten eighty one-twenty twenty-four passed November twenty fifth, twenty twenty-four, relating to the use of city credit cards. And there is an amendment. And after clerk of council insert an additional credit card, also held by the clerk of counsel or his or her designee that will serve as a backup to the principal card. Each of which two in section one at amended section one seventy-one dot oh dot four zero at division A to After or arbitration association insert in quotations or other third party neutral. Number three, in section one, at amended section one hundred seventy-one dot four zero at Division A eight in the first line strike, a credit card, including an additional backup card and insert principal credit card and in second line strike project coordinator travel coordinator and insert travel coordinator and an additional credit card also held by the travel coordinator or his or her designee that will serve as a backup to the principal credit principal card, each of which and strike or his or her designee. Number four, in section one, add amended section one seventy-one dot four zero, strike on her or her designee. This is dated one twelve, twenty twenty-six. So the rationale for requesting this, uh we want to ensure and provide safe travel for city employees and other city stakeholders. Um in order to do that, we need to make sure that if a credit card while someone's on travel, if it gets cut off for some reason for uh suspected fraud or some other reason that we have a backup so that um we can go ahead and make whatever adjustments or whatever payments we need to make while we're rectifying that event. So this again is for finance and for uh city council as well, and then also just expanding on the language for a law. All right, thank you. Uh just real question, uh quick couple of quick questions do the services have to be rendered before any payment is remitted by these credit cards. To the chair, I don't think that these microphones are allowed. Our microphone system is updated. Yeah, th to the chair. So normal procedure is a reimbursement procedure. Um I think through code that allows us in certain instances to pay in advance. Um go ahead, I'm listening to you. Yeah, so there um you know there is that uh exception in some cases. Okay. Uh so um is this normal or best practice that other cities have used too pretty much to have a backup because I could see how if there is fraud or something else and a card gets um frozen, um a lot of us could be end up being stuck out in uh a city without backup support. So to the chair, this city actually used to have two cards. So this is just reinstituting uh a prior uh procedure that we had. So yes, it is best procedure to make sure that uh we don't have somebody stuck while they're out on travel without a way to pay their their bills. Okay. All right, those are the questions I have. Uh Ms. Stigers, did you want to have any comment? No, but this is um Council President. This is just for like when we're ready when you all go to NLC and stuff like that. What usually happens on my end is when I'm doing the credit cards for the um the credit card payment for the airplan the airfare, it'll stop me after I do so many of your um airfare. So this is what that helps for. And then also when you all get down there, if they have an issue, it helps us have an extra card. Okay. Thank you. Are there any other questions for the director or for the team? Uh councilman Charles Slife and then Councilman Brian Casey. Yes, uh, thank thank you. Um could the director through the chair uh expound on what arbitration association means? Sure. So through the chair to the councilman, it's expenses related to arbitration to pay the arbitrator and those associated expenses. I I will admit that um I'm not sure if this body is familiar with the ins and outs of every time we're with an arbitration. Uh is there a specific reason that that was brought forward as putting that on a credit card and and that almost seems like an expense that this body would want to be aware of, just paying for it on a credit card doesn't feel intuitive given the the gravity of what that could be.