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Committee advances emergency ordinance to contract with Urban League to support Racism-as-a-Public-Health-Crisis coalition
Summary
The Health & Human Services Committee approved ordinance 2292026 to let the public health director contract with the Urban League of Greater Cleveland to coordinate the Racism-as-a-Public-Health-Crisis coalition; council members requested quarterly outcome reports and benchmarks before Finance takes up the measure.
The Health & Human Services Committee voted to advance emergency ordinance 2292026, which authorizes the director of public health to enter into one or more contracts with the Urban League of Greater Cleveland to facilitate, coordinate and implement the city's Racism-as-a-Public-Health-Crisis coalition.
The ordinance, introduced by council members Cromwell and Griffin at departmental request, directs the director to contract for up to one year with a one-year renewal option. The chair said the measure had been approved by the committee and will go to the Finance Committee for further consideration.
The city's commissioner who oversees the Division of Health Equity and Social Justice told the panel the coalition grew out of the 2020 declaration that racism is a public health crisis and used "social determinants of health as a framework" to map disparities and recommend systems changes. "We have membership from all over city departments who are coming together to do that thing on the inside," the commissioner said, describing coordination between internal equity teams and the external coalition.
Marcia Maccabee, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, told the committee the affiliate has worked with the city since the coalition's inception and will serve as fiscal agent and community-facing partner. "Our urban league is 108 years old," Maccabee said, describing workforce, small-business and youth programs the organization will align with the coalition's phase-two goals.
Members pressed the administration for accountability details. The chair and several council members asked for quarterly progress reports that tie coalition activities to specific outcome measures and milestones. The commissioner agreed to provide the draft phase-one report and to deliver quarterly updates if the ordinance moves forward.
The committee recorded that the ordinance will be forwarded to the Finance Committee; no final council vote was taken at this meeting. Council members said they expect the finance review to focus on how the city will measure results and how funds will be disbursed through the contract.
If Finance approves the ordinance and the contract is executed, the city's public health office and the Urban League will claim responsibility for coordinating community engagement, aligning interdepartmental efforts and producing periodic progress reports for council review.
