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Cuyahoga County committee delays decision on joining Downtown Cleveland improvement district
Summary
The Economic Development & Planning Committee heard from Downtown Cleveland Alliance officials, questioned whether petition support met the 60% statutory threshold without government votes, and voted to hold Resolution 2025-0044 for one week pending itemized budget and staffing information.
Cuyahoga County Council’s Economic Development and Planning Committee on Tuesday heard a presentation from Downtown Cleveland Alliance officials seeking the county’s formal support for reauthorizing the Downtown Cleveland Special Improvement District but agreed to delay action for one week to get more details.
Ed Eckhart, senior vice president for the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, told the committee the Alliance "has exceeded our threshold of petition signatures required for the reauthorization of the Special Improvement District," and said petitions would be turned in to the City of Cleveland "to start that formal process by the end of the month." The Alliance estimated its current petition return was above 60% and expected to rise toward 65–67% as additional property owners submit petitions.
Committee members pressed whether that 60% figure counted government entities. Councilman Gallagher repeatedly said he had been told previously the Alliance would reach the 60% threshold "without Cleveland, without the county," and asked why the Alliance now appeared to be relying on city participation. Eckhart responded that the Ohio Revised Code requires a 60% threshold from property owners within the district and that this year "the city of Cleveland has opted in," which affects the arithmetic of private-owner shares.
The exchange centered on how Cleveland’s roughly 13–15% share and the county’s roughly 3% potential share interact with the statutory 60% benchmark. Members warned that if the county opts in, government participation would reduce the per-property assessment for private owners; Eckhart said that if the county does not opt in, assessments for participating private owners would increase because the overall SID budget remains the same and fewer parties would share the cost.
Several members asked for more detail about the Alliance’s budget and staffing and for an itemized list of what the county would be assessed. Chair indicated he was "inclined to hold this till next Tuesday, 3PM" and directed staff and the Alliance to bring the county executive’s representative, the City of Cleveland’s representatives, and an itemized accounting of the SID’s budget, payroll and staffing.
The committee did not take a final vote on Resolution 2025-0044. Earlier in the meeting, the committee approved minutes from its Feb. 3, 2025 meeting on a voice vote.
The committee is scheduled to revisit the resolution next Tuesday at 3 p.m.; members requested the Alliance provide the requested documents and a clear timeline for the City of Cleveland’s review process before that meeting.
