CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- With a bid for a charter amendment falling short by one vote Monday (Aug. 15), City Council continued work on a more informal agreement with Mayor Kahlil Seren and his administration to provide more legislative information and possible access to department directors.
As expected from earlier discussions, Monday’s tally came in at 4-3 to place the proposed “routine
Council President Melody Joy Hart, who voted against the measure, said that while everyone can agree that the transmission of information from the new administration remains vital, “diplomacy is more effective than the method proposed” through amending the charter at this very early stage in the city’s new form of government.
Hart was joined by Council Vice President Craig Cobb and Councilman Anthony Mattox Jr. in voting against the charter amendment, saying that a “more collaborative memorandum of understanding” was still in the works with Seren.
Councilman Tony Cuda brought the proposed charter amendment forward, quoting another council member’s assessment that “information has always been hard to come by, even with the city manager form of government. I’m saying ‘let’s fix it.’”
After initially bringing the proposed charter amendment up in mid-May, Cuda did thank Seren “for reaching out in the past two weeks and improving the flow of information.”
That said, Cuda argued that council -- and the voters -- still need to establish the separation of powers and a system of checks and balances in the new local government.
“We believe council’s powers should come from the charter and not from the mayor,” Cuda said. “And this is not about legislating personalities -- this is about allowing council to do our jobs. Personalities come into play when the charter is ambiguous.”
Seren has countered that council’s requests to meet with department directors, including the police and fire chiefs, would create an undue burden on his administration. He said after Monday’s meeting that discussions on the more informal agreement were continuing.
Meanwhile, Cuda asked, “why is it a burden to give information to council members? Every other city I checked with allows city council members to meet with directors.”
Signals crossed
In supporting placement of the proposed charter amendment on the November ballot, Councilwoman Gail Larson said it could allow the legislative body “to do our jobs as thoroughly as possible -- as well as respect the time demands of staff.”
Larson added that council needs to make sure it does not duplicate or overlap the mayor’s legislative efforts and at the same time be able to respond to residents’ concerns.
Saying she would not support a “permanent solution to a temporary problem,” Councilwoman Josie Moore believes at the same time that “if something is essential for council to do its job, it should be codified. We cannot legislate in a vacuum of information.”
Councilwoman Davida Russell agreed that one branch of government needs to “check and balance” the other, adding that it all comes down to transparency, both for council and the residents.
Russell noted that she has been advocating since January for a “3-1-1 centralized call center” run by the city for residents and visitors seeking answers on things like “noise complaints, needed street repairs, graffiti removal, abandoned trash, illegal parking, code enforcement, neglected and distressed properties, and how to obtain permits,” among other issues.
Seren replied that he has been looking into a “3-1-1″ service since last year, which has since evolved into a more sophisticated and directly accountable “Mayor’s Call Center.”
He told council during Monday’s earlier Committee-of-the-Whole meeting he had posted a new job opening to run the center at a salary range of $66,000 to $79,000. Russell later thanked him during the regular council meeting.
There already appears to be consensus on council that a comprehensive charter review is needed, with Mattox saying that “doing it piecemeal (one charter amendment at a time) is dangerous. And it’s already cost us time and staff.”
While her departure was not mentioned during the regular meeting, Seren told council during Committee-of-the-Whole that Finance Director Amy Himmelein’s last day would be Friday (Aug. 19).
The former Cuyahoga County and Greater Cleveland Metroparks controller and treasurer leaves Cleveland Heights after roughly 2 1/2 years, having been hired by former City Manager Tanisha Briley in
At the time of her hiring, Himmelein became at least the fourth finance director to serve in Cleveland Heights over the course of the previous three years. She is now the fifth to move on within the past six years.
In her dual role -- with clerking duties also shared by a law department employee and digital program coordinator Steve Barker -- Himmelein assisted in shepherding the “piecemeal” charter amendments onto the ballot, including another one that has Larson running for her at-large council seat in the next two November elections.
With council having its own budget discussion on Monday and the official 2023 hearings not starting until November, Seren said things are still in “good hands; we’ve got a good team in the finance department.” He told council in committee that there were “extenuating circumstances related to the availability of the (outgoing) finance director for the rest of the week.”
Himmelein could not be reached immediately for comment, but Cuda said Wednesday he’d confirmed with South Euclid Mayor Georgine Welo that city was hiring her.
Under Cleveland Heights’ new strong-mayor form of government, Himmelein and future finance directors no longer have to do “double duty” as the “de facto” clerk of council.
That interim position is currently held by Cobb, as council continues the search for its own clerk, on the heels of a charter amendment in May.
In addition to serving 14 months on the previous Charter Review Commission that made over 100 recommendations to council that were never acted upon, Cobb believes that a comprehensive review is needed, as well as patience on the part of the current council.
As of January with a new form of government coming in, “we had six years of combined legislative experience among seven council members,” Cobb noted. “There are inherent growing pains. And it’s incumbent on us to work out any differences we have with the mayor.”
‘Growing pains’
Prior to the vote, council also heard from residents coming down on both sides of the issue, including Audrey Hudak.
“This is a ‘process’ problem, not a ‘power’ problem,” Hudak said, adding that department heads should be expected to report to the executive branch of government.
“It would be improper to set the process in stone with a charter amendment. ‘Multiple boss syndrome’ is exhausting.”
Saying that the new city government is “experiencing kinks,” Linda Striefski recommended that council table the “routine inquiry” measure until the whole city charter can be redone.
In its current proposed form, Striefski said, “the constraints are too narrow -- these are not just administrative matters, but constituent concerns. And as a reciprocal expectation of reasonableness, you should go easy on the department directors.”
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On the other hand, Barb Sosnowski urged council to vote in favor of the charter, saying “it’s clear that seven months have not ironed out the needed flow of information in a timely manner.”
At the end of the day, Cuda said that “we did our due diligence. And a strong mayor requires a strong council. Although I have not seen the ‘memorandum of understanding’ that council leadership is working on, I appreciate the effort to bring council more information.”
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