OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Lakewood Finance Committee Meeting - March 20, 2026

Council MeetingsFriday, March 20, 2026
BodyLakewood, Ohio
SessionCouncil Meetings
DateFriday, March 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 38:42

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

I will go ahead and call to order March 23rd, 2026 Finance Committee.

0:08

The first order of business is the review and approval of the March 2nd, 2026 Finance Committee meeting minutes.

0:17

Without objection, they are approved.

0:19

I was ready to make my big motion.

0:21

Well, I stole your thunder, Councilman Bullock, I apologize.

0:24

The next order of business, we have two docket items of which we covered uh in our last meeting, uh, but we wanted to sleep on it a little bit uh before we came back.

0:34

So the first uh one is ordinance 15 2026, uh which is the ordinance to create uh the host community cannabis fund uh section 12965 of like codified ordinances.

0:47

Uh as introduced, it had some language and then on the floor at the last meeting we discussed some additional language uh that I I believe is reflected in Granicus as a substitute.

1:02

Um there may be further amendments on that.

1:05

Uh but I I guess to start the discussion off, I will move to substitute the ordinance with um the substitute that is in Granicus.

1:15

Second.

1:16

Um the motion is made second discussion.

1:19

All those in favor say aye.

1:21

Aye.

1:22

Um, so now we have um the substituted version.

1:27

Uh the one thing uh so Councilman Evans couldn't be here, uh, but he did send me a thoughtful note in advance.

1:36

I think he's dealing with allergies or uh is a little under the weather, is sometimes um you know I I as a member of council I have a good idea of of of the purpose of our funds, where the money that goes into our funds come from and the general purpose that those monies are then spent uh because it's dictated in our codified ordinances and in law.

1:59

The one thing is I don't always have great clarity, and perhaps um if you go through the budget book you could find that clarity of like what specific things the funds from a specific fund are spent on.

2:11

I should stop saying fund.

2:12

What specific things the money from the funds are spent on from a line item perspective?

2:18

And that's one thing that Councilman Evans brought up.

2:21

And I was wondering if there is an easy way.

2:24

So this a question to the finance director is uh would there be a way over the next couple of years for the finance department to provide a communication to the docket at the end of each year that kind of outlines what where this money was spent in a more limited nature and not like kind of segregated from the other funds?

2:42

Are you meaning specific to this?

2:44

To this fund, yes.

2:46

Well, it would the definition would be in our CAFER, uh AFCR, sorry.

2:53

Um, so for the uninitiated, could you describe what an AFR is?

2:57

It's our our yearly financials, and there is a list, I believe there should be a list of every fund and what their purpose is in that um.

3:10

And I mean, yeah, I'm I'm happy to give a report uh to counsel on the specific fund if you if you wanted um annually.

3:21

Yes, because I I understand, and and that's my level of knowledge of our funds.

3:25

We have many restricted funds, and I read through and I see balances.

3:30

And then sometimes when I go into the Board of Control, I can see where money comes from for certain projects.

3:38

Um but then the collation is where I miss some of it to see actually where you know, like kind of a true up of the of a particular fund.

3:48

And I think this one is of importance to the community.

3:52

It's a new revenue source, so I think some mechanism to see that from a reporting standpoint.

3:58

What whatever we do to the language and exhibit or in uh subsection C as far as what the authorized expenditures are.

4:07

Any comments from my colleagues on on that point?

4:12

Councilman Bullock?

4:13

Thanks.

4:14

You're saying not a prospective but a year-end or uh look back uh reporting period to say what what were the actuals?

4:22

Yes, and and and why I propose that is because this is a new new source of funds.

4:30

So I think it would be helpful for us as the appropriators in the city to see where these new funds are going.

4:36

And then potentially that could inform some future decisions about authorized expenditures, right?

4:42

Are we is there money sitting in there because it can't be spent, or is do it do we see it's going more towards a certain uh subsection of the authorized expenditure, so we want to think about that from a policy perspective?

4:56

Certainly.

5:00

I mean that's that's I agree very much, and I think that probably is a healthy practice for all funds for a browser now.

5:05

Um but to take this first step, I'd be happy to support a request or a um a requirement.

5:14

I suppose, Director, would a simple communication um be enough?

5:19

Um that this could be a standard practice for at least this fund.

5:26

Sure.

5:27

Yeah, that's that's no problem.

5:29

Um I would just ask, I don't I haven't seen the granicus.

5:32

Could it you scroll it up just so I can see the the change?

5:37

I can see I can't see the bottom.

5:38

Can you scroll to the section Coven?

5:54

Um Mr.

5:55

Chair.

5:55

Uh yes, Consul Bullock.

5:57

Uh unless you were in the middle of the thought, I've got a point to build.

6:01

Always in the middle of a thought, but not a not a particularly insightful one.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Cannabis Regulation█████████████████████████████████████████████63%
Budget Equity Analysis████████████████████████34%
Mental Health Awareness██3%
Summary of Proceedings

Lakewood Finance Committee Meeting - March 20, 2026

The Finance Committee of Lakewood City Council met on March 20, 2026, chaired by Kyle Baker. The committee considered two ordinances: one to establish a Host Community Cannabis Fund (Ordinance 15-2026) and one to restructure the Audit Committee (Ordinance 27-2025). Both items were discussed am ended and recommended favorably to full Council.

Consent Calendar

  • The minutes of the March 2, 2026 Finance Committee meeting were approved without objection.

Discussion Items

  • Ordinance 15-2026 (Host Community Cannabis Fund): The committee reviewed and amended a substitute version of the ordinance. Key changes included: (1) removing the designation as a "capital projects fund" to a general fund, (2) expanding authorized expenditures to include public safety, Complete Streets, ADA Transition Plan, Lakewood Community Health Needs Assessment (capitalized) and Lakewood Action Plan implementation, and (3) adding "and operations" to cover operational costs. Director of Finance Mahoney committed to providing an annual look-back report (separate from the budget) on fund expenditures, to be presented in March or April to inform Council priorities. The fund will hold approximately $750,000, representing two to three years of revenue from a 3.6% share of the state's 10% cannabis excise tax. A new dispensary (Standard Wellness) is expected to open in the former Harry Buffalo location, while the RISE dispensary is moving out, maintaining two dispensaries in the city. The finance director noted that additional appropriation legislation is needed before funds can be spent. The amended substitute was favorably referred.
  • Ordinance 27-2025 (Audit Committee Amendment): Originally proposed to repeal the Audit Committee (Chapter 160), the committee substituted language to instead amend the chapter, merging the Audit Committee's functions into the Finance Committee. Key provisions: membership is limited to the Finance Committee; the Director of Finance shall provide the annual audit at least annually and make the independent auditor available for a public exit conference. This change ensures transparency as the meeting will be recorded and broadcast. The substitute was amended (replacing "repealing" with "amending") and favorably referred.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the March 2,2026 meeting minutes.
  • Passed an amended substitute for Ordinance 15-2026 (Host Community Cannabis Fund) and favorably referred it to full Council. The fund will be created; a subsequent appropriation ordinance will be needed to allocate funds.
  • Passed an amended substitute for Ordinance 27-2025 (Audit Committee) and favorably referred it to full Council.
  • Director of Finance committed to providing an independent annual report on cannabis fund expenditures, separate from the budget process, typically in March or April.
  • No public comments were received.

Meeting Transcript

I will go ahead and call to order March 23rd, 2026 Finance Committee. The first order of business is the review and approval of the March 2nd, 2026 Finance Committee meeting minutes. Without objection, they are approved. I was ready to make my big motion. Well, I stole your thunder, Councilman Bullock, I apologize. The next order of business, we have two docket items of which we covered uh in our last meeting, uh, but we wanted to sleep on it a little bit uh before we came back. So the first uh one is ordinance 15 2026, uh which is the ordinance to create uh the host community cannabis fund uh section 12965 of like codified ordinances. Uh as introduced, it had some language and then on the floor at the last meeting we discussed some additional language uh that I I believe is reflected in Granicus as a substitute. Um there may be further amendments on that. Uh but I I guess to start the discussion off, I will move to substitute the ordinance with um the substitute that is in Granicus. Second. Um the motion is made second discussion. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Um, so now we have um the substituted version. Uh the one thing uh so Councilman Evans couldn't be here, uh, but he did send me a thoughtful note in advance. I think he's dealing with allergies or uh is a little under the weather, is sometimes um you know I I as a member of council I have a good idea of of of the purpose of our funds, where the money that goes into our funds come from and the general purpose that those monies are then spent uh because it's dictated in our codified ordinances and in law. The one thing is I don't always have great clarity, and perhaps um if you go through the budget book you could find that clarity of like what specific things the funds from a specific fund are spent on. I should stop saying fund. What specific things the money from the funds are spent on from a line item perspective? And that's one thing that Councilman Evans brought up. And I was wondering if there is an easy way. So this a question to the finance director is uh would there be a way over the next couple of years for the finance department to provide a communication to the docket at the end of each year that kind of outlines what where this money was spent in a more limited nature and not like kind of segregated from the other funds? Are you meaning specific to this? To this fund, yes. Well, it would the definition would be in our CAFER, uh AFCR, sorry. Um, so for the uninitiated, could you describe what an AFR is? It's our our yearly financials, and there is a list, I believe there should be a list of every fund and what their purpose is in that um. And I mean, yeah, I'm I'm happy to give a report uh to counsel on the specific fund if you if you wanted um annually. Yes, because I I understand, and and that's my level of knowledge of our funds. We have many restricted funds, and I read through and I see balances. And then sometimes when I go into the Board of Control, I can see where money comes from for certain projects. Um but then the collation is where I miss some of it to see actually where you know, like kind of a true up of the of a particular fund. And I think this one is of importance to the community. It's a new revenue source, so I think some mechanism to see that from a reporting standpoint. What whatever we do to the language and exhibit or in uh subsection C as far as what the authorized expenditures are. Any comments from my colleagues on on that point? Councilman Bullock? Thanks. You're saying not a prospective but a year-end or uh look back uh reporting period to say what what were the actuals? Yes, and and and why I propose that is because this is a new new source of funds. So I think it would be helpful for us as the appropriators in the city to see where these new funds are going. And then potentially that could inform some future decisions about authorized expenditures, right? Are we is there money sitting in there because it can't be spent, or is do it do we see it's going more towards a certain uh subsection of the authorized expenditure, so we want to think about that from a policy perspective? Certainly. I mean that's that's I agree very much, and I think that probably is a healthy practice for all funds for a browser now. Um but to take this first step, I'd be happy to support a request or a um a requirement. I suppose, Director, would a simple communication um be enough? Um that this could be a standard practice for at least this fund. Sure.

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