Live reporting by
Gennifer Harding-Gosnell
Council reviews proposed 2024 budget for work required by consent decree
Gennifer Harding-Gosnell
@GenniferwithaG_
Cash Rules Everything Around Me: Good morning, #Cleveland! I'm covering the morning half of Day 2 of the city budget hearings starting at 9 for @cledocumenters & @signalcleveland. #CLEDocumenters
07:47 AM Feb 21, 2024 CST
Think we got something wrong? Send any enquiries on the meeting or these tweets to @cledocumenters or email us at cledocumenters@gmail.com.
@cledocumenters The hearings will be broadcast live thanks to the hard-working folks at @TV20Cleveland, here's the link so you can watch along.
youtube.com/@ClevelandCity…
@cledocumenters @TV20Cleveland This is the 2024 Budget Estimate from which all the fancy numbers these folks throw around are based.
documentcloud.org/documents/2441…
@cledocumenters @TV20Cleveland And make sure you get your Budget BINGO card so you can play along!
signalcleveland.org/play-cleveland…
@cledocumenters @TV20Cleveland All of @signalcleveland's budget hearings coverage is on our website including a live blog.
signalcleveland.org/cleveland-budg…
@cledocumenters @TV20Cleveland @signalcleveland We're about to start. Wu Fam: Get your minds ready, get your rhymes ready...
@cledocumenters @TV20Cleveland @signalcleveland We're looking at the Department of Public Safety department today, starting now on pg. 202 of the Budget Estimate book.
@cledocumenters @TV20Cleveland @signalcleveland Each department in the budget book has a flow chart that shows all the positions within it. These positions and their salaries will be under discussion today.
@cledocumenters @TV20Cleveland @signalcleveland Here's the digits. Council President Blaine Griffin asked about travel expenses, which have been under scrutiny recently. The Mayor's travel isn't part of these figures. City CFO Ahmed Abonamah says this is police travel for networking, training, etc.
@cledocumenters @TV20Cleveland @signalcleveland Ward 8 Councilman Mike Polensek asks for a more detailed explanation of Public Safety contractual services. There's nearly $400,000 allotted for this line item.
@cledocumenters @TV20Cleveland @signalcleveland Ward 1 Councilman Joe Jones reiterates his point from yesterday, that he doesn't like it that the department directors aren't there this year to discuss the budget. Griffin reiterates that those discussions were had last year to help speed up the budget hearings now.
@cledocumenters @TV20Cleveland @signalcleveland If you didn't get him yesterday, Joe Jones is the gift that keeps on giving. Mark your square.
@cledocumenters @TV20Cleveland @signalcleveland Jones calls out state Republicans saying their "stupid, dumb, boneheaded" gun laws have negatively impacted urban communities. He asks Abonamah about goals for police recruitment.
@cledocumenters @TV20Cleveland @signalcleveland Abonamah defers certain questions to the police recruitment team, Jones says this is why he wants the directors here to testify. Abonamah says these hearings are to discuss the budget only, not operations. Jones says he needs to see results in order to allot the money they want.
This is always a fun one because Groundhogs. The group is moving on to discussion of the Division of Animal Control.
Abonamah explains how the vacancy pool idea works with regard to vacancies in Animal Control.
Here's more on how the vacancy pool works from @signalcleveland budget reporting:
signalcleveland.org/cleveland-mayo…
@signalcleveland Joe Jones says the local deer population is out of control & they're eating all his flowers. Abonamah says deer culling is managed by state wildlife resources.
Stephanie Howse-Jones, fresh off her nostalgia-tour with The Tubes and Missing Persons, says she wants to see a "more effective strategy" for trapping groundhogs, pointing out that one resident trapping doesn't help if the people around them aren't.
@jennyspencercle asks for a breakdown of the contractual services line item of $400,000 for Animal Control. 25% of it is wildlife removal services, the rest is for veterinarian/animal care services.
@jennyspencercle Moving on to the Division of Corrections, pg. 230.
@jennyspencercle Polensek just sweet-talked the viewing public & got us some explanations & background. We've trained him well. 😊
@jennyspencercle Oh my god did Polensek just go... 'woke'? 😳
He wants to know why the name "House of Corrections" is still being used & says we should look into "re-imagining" [used ironically] the name to make it more suitable to today's world.
He wants to know why the name "House of Corrections" is still being used & says we should look into "re-imagining" [used ironically] the name to make it more suitable to today's world.
@ADayInTheSlife wants to take a deeper look at what the city is paying out to the County for jail services after Abonamah mentions the bills aren't always accurate.
@ADayInTheSlife Moving on to the DOJ. According to Abonamah, the Department of Justice presence is a requirement of the consent decree.
The federal monitor who oversees the consent decree implementation has asked for $2.5M dollars this year, as compared to $733K last year. The city has not accepted the amount.
Polensek: are you kidding me?
...
Abonamah: if the court says we have to pay it, we have to pay it.
Polensek: are you kidding me?
...
Abonamah: if the court says we have to pay it, we have to pay it.
Several council members have expressed surprise at the cost and are asking for way more transparency. Slife mentions Cleveland is already one of the poorest large cities, the amount isn't reasonable.
Ward 16 Council Member & Key Lime Pie come-to-life @kazy_brian with the best question of the day, "what happens if we just stop paying?"
Now we're talkin'.
Now we're talkin'.
@kazy_brian Here's the amount of concern, bottom line.
@kazy_brian Moving on. The clerk is reading the summary of numbers for the Police Inspector General.
This role has been vacant for two years. Abonamah says they hope to recruit someone this year. Salary is $107K.
This role has been vacant for two years. Abonamah says they hope to recruit someone this year. Salary is $107K.
@kazy_brian Polensek & Richard Starr promote the Inspector General position & ask the viewing public to apply. Starr says he's gonna apply himself. 😂
@kazy_brian Moving on to the Division of EMS. Polensek still using his magnifying glass. He better be lookin' for that quarter he owes me.
@TV20Cleveland Abonamah is explaining why the city wants to outsource EMS billing, saying collections are proven to increase by outsourcing billing.
@TV20Cleveland @jennyspencercle says she's concerned that she sees every other department in the city has an increase in spending this year but EMS, which appears to be the city not investing in EMS. Abonamah explains contracts fulfilled last year are out of the budget and that money was moved.
Polensek says he's against outsourcing the billing & that billing employees have not had support & faced a toxic work environment & several shifts in departmental oversight. Says he won't vote for it.
The group is taking a lunch break and will return at 12:30. This concludes my coverage of @CleCityCouncil's budget hearings. More #CLEdocumenters takin' over for the afternoon.
Always remember to watch your step, kid-
Always remember to watch your step, kid-