Cuyahoga County Committee of the Whole holds closed executive session on pending court action; no public comment

Cuyahoga County’s Committee of the Whole voted on May 13 to adjourn into an executive session to discuss pending or imminent court action, pausing the public livestream and resuming the public meeting after the closed session.

The clerk called the roll as the committee considered a motion “to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing pending or imminent court action.” The clerk recorded ‘Yes’ votes from Miss Turner, Mister Hauser, Mister Kelly, Mister Sweeney, Mister Casselberry, Mister Schlepper, Mister Jones and Council president Miller; Miss Simon and Miss Conwell were recorded as absent at the time of the vote. The clerk announced, “The motion carries.” The transcript does not include a named mover or seconder for the motion, nor does it record an individual roll-call response for Mister Gallagher for this vote.

The meeting chair had opened the session by noting that all Cuyahoga County Council meetings are subject to the open public meetings laws and that executive sessions may be used only for specially authorized purposes. The chair said that during the executive session “our livestream will be down,” and that council members would convene in an adjacent committee room while other attendees should remain in chambers unless specifically needed for the closed session.

Earlier in the meeting the chair asked whether any public comment had been received; the clerk stated, “No public comment has been received.” After the executive session concluded, the committee returned to the public meeting, the record was updated to show that Council members Conwell and Simon were present, and the Committee of the Whole adjourned so the regular council meeting could begin in about five minutes.

There were no policy debates, ordinance votes, contract awards, or other legislative actions recorded in the transcript of this Committee of the Whole meeting. The only formal action captured was the roll-call approval to enter the executive session to discuss pending or imminent court action. The transcript does not specify further details about the subject of the court action or any subsequent public action related to it.