Garfield Heights council adopts package of ordinances including TIF to fund Kearny Road improvements

Garfield Heights City Council approved a bundle of ordinances and resolutions at its Dec. 8 meeting, clearing several routine and policy items intended to fund infrastructure, set budget appropriations and update city policies.

The council adopted Ordinance 97-2025 to bring the city’s codified ordinances into alignment with the updated Ohio fire code. Council members moved to consider the ordinance by title, suspend the three‑reading requirement and waive rule 24; the measure was adopted by roll call (recorded as unanimous in the meeting record).

The council also approved Ordinance 98-2025, a memorandum of understanding between the city and the Garfield Heights City School District to provide school resource officers. Council considered the MOU by title, suspended reading rules and voted to adopt the ordinance.

Ordinance 99-2025 (final appropriations for fiscal year 2025) and Ordinance 100-2025 (appropriations for the fiscal period ending Dec. 31, 2026) were both considered by title, had their readings suspended and were adopted by roll call. Officials said these measures finalize the city’s spending plan for the current year and set the framework for the next fiscal period.

Ordinance 103-2025 adopts an updated Garfield Heights employee handbook. City staff and the chief of staff told the council the revision reflects extensive work by human resources; council members moved to suspend readings and adopted the ordinance on a roll call.

Mayor Matthew Burke described Ordinance 104-2025 as a tax-increment financing (TIF) measure that will direct property tax increments from a redeveloped parcel cluster to a city-managed fund for infrastructure improvements, with Kearny Road and adjacent county roads singled out as beneficiaries. "This automatically will take that portion of those taxes and direct them directly to the city of Garfield Heights for those infrastructure repairs," the mayor said during his report. The council adopted the TIF ordinance by roll call.

Ordinance 105-2025 authorizes the mayor and finance director to contract with an accounting firm to produce annual financial statements for 2025; the ordinance was adopted after motions to consider by title and suspend readings.

Two proposed ordinances (101-2025 and 102-2025) were withdrawn from consideration at the meeting after motions to withdraw were moved and seconded.

On the resolutions side, the council approved Resolution 42-2025, authorizing the mayor or his designee to apply for Title III grant funds through the Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging, and a grant application to the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services for the 2026 violent crime reduction grant (transcript identified as Resolution 41/412025). Motions to waive the 72‑hour rule and suspend readings were handled during the meeting; both resolutions were adopted by roll call.

All recorded roll-call votes on ordinances and resolutions in the meeting transcript are recorded as unanimous (6–0) where tallies were read; the minutes show voice votes for procedural motions and unanimous adoption when a roll call was taken.

What’s next: The council postponed third reading of Ordinance 87-2025 until its Jan. 12, 2026 meeting. The mayor and council also announced project timelines for the MLK Junior Sewer Separation Project and other road and bridge work that are expected to continue into 2026.

Actions at a glance

- Ordinance 97-2025 (Ohio fire code update): adopted (roll-call unanimous). - Ordinance 98-2025 (SRO MOU with Garfield Heights City School District): adopted (roll-call unanimous). - Ordinance 99-2025 (final appropriations, 2025): adopted (roll-call unanimous). - Ordinance 100-2025 (appropriations through 12/31/2026): adopted (roll-call unanimous). - Ordinance 101-2025: withdrawn. - Ordinance 102-2025: withdrawn. - Ordinance 103-2025 (employee handbook): adopted (roll-call unanimous). - Ordinance 104-2025 (TIF for Kearny Road infrastructure): adopted (roll-call unanimous). - Ordinance 105-2025 (contract for annual financial statements): adopted (roll-call unanimous). - Ordinance 87-2025: third reading postponed to Jan. 12, 2026. - Resolution 42-2025 (Title III, Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging grant): adopted (roll-call unanimous). - Resolution 41/412025 (violent crime reduction grant, Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services): adopted (roll-call unanimous).

The meeting record shows no public comments and no recorded dissent on the adopted measures.

(Reporting based on the council’s Dec. 8, 2025 transcript; vote tallies and motion language are reported as recorded in the meeting.)