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Cleveland City Council approves multiple emergency ordinances, bonds and contracts in unanimous votes
Summary
Council suspended rules and passed a slate of emergency ordinances ranging from lease amendments to bond issuances for vehicles, parks and street improvements, and multiple departmental contracts; roll calls show 16 ayes on key votes.
Cleveland City Council voted unanimously to suspend the rules and place multiple emergency ordinances on final passage during the Sept. 22 meeting.
Councilmember McCormack moved to suspend the rules on several pieces of legislation; Councilmember Gray seconded the motion. Roll-call votes reported “16 yeas” or “16 ayes” on both suspension and passage for the packages recorded at two different points in the meeting.
Notable items placed on final passage or passed include: an amendment to a lease for the Cleveland Police Commission office space at 3631 Perkins Ave; grant acceptance and contracting authority for the Division of Air Quality; requirements contracts for calibration and maintenance of water testing equipment; and multiple bond authorizations. The bonds listed in the transcript include maximum principal amounts of $4,000,000 (vehicles and equipment), $8,500,000 (heavy trucks and equipment), $12,000,000 (parks and recreation improvements), and $28,000,000 (municipal street system improvements). The transcript also records votes to authorize a range of requirement contracts for Department of Public Utilities work, port control equipment and leases, and Cleveland Municipal Court grant applications.
Why it matters: The passed ordinances authorize multi-million-dollar borrowing and ongoing contracts that affect city infrastructure, vehicles, parks, and the water and port operations. The passage was recorded as unanimous on the floor during the meeting.
Supporting details: The transcript includes motion language: “By council member McCormack, that the rules be suspended and the legislation just read be placed on final passage. Seconded by council member Gray.” A roll-call readout listed the names of council members followed by “16 yeas” on suspension and “16 ayes” on passage at multiple points. Councilwoman House Jones raised a clerical point that titles should reflect amended amounts in the official record; the clerk confirmed the amendments would be corrected in the city record.
Next steps: The ordinances as adopted will be recorded in the city legislative record with the amended amounts and may trigger implementation steps by the relevant departments such as issuance of bonds, execution of contracts, or grant acceptance.
