Cleveland Heights committee discusses ordinance to publish city contracts online

Cleveland Heights council members and the mayor discussed Ordinance 84-2025 at an Administrative Services Committee meeting on May 12, a proposal that would require the city to publish executed contracts in a searchable format on the city website. The committee did not take a formal vote.

The item grew out of concerns about transparency, including questions about a roughly $48,000 Burgess contract that several council members cited. Vice President Davita Russell, who introduced the ordinance, said she supported an amendment to allow the mayor’s designee to carry out posting duties: "I did like the amendment that, the mayor wanted to add as far as the mayor or designee. I am very comfortable with that." Law Director Bill Hannah and other members discussed how the ordinance would intersect with existing city code (noted in the meeting as section 17-116) and state procurement thresholds.

Committee discussion centered on several operational details that members said must be clarified before moving the ordinance forward. Members debated what dollar threshold should trigger public posting — the draft would require posting for contracts above a lower limit, with a proposal discussed to start at…