Making an In-Person Public Comment at An Upcoming Council Meeting

Council welcomes public comments at each regularly scheduled Monday evening Council meeting. 

If you are interested in speaking at a Cleveland City Council, please read the revised rules and procedures for public comments and fill out the online form below. 

Submitting a Registration to Speak

Anyone who is interested in addressing Cleveland City Council at a public meeting must register with City Council prior to that meeting.

Registrations may be submitted:

  • By using the online form below
  • In person at Cleveland City Hall, Room 220, 601 Lakeside Avenue NE. Paper forms are available to register.
  • By downloading this form, filling it out, and emailing it to publiccomment@clevelandcitycouncil.gov or dropping it off at Council offices.

Registration Periods

Registrations will ONLY be accepted between Noon on Wednesday and 2:00 pm on the same day as a regularly scheduled Monday evening Council Meeting.

Council allows no more than 10 people to comment at its regularly scheduled Monday night meetings. Registration will close as soon as the first 10 people sign up. Each registrant will be allotted 3 minutes to speak.

Registrations will only be accepted for making comments at the next regular meeting; registrations for any future meeting will not be accepted until the Wednesday before the meeting. Early, incomplete, or false registrations will be rejected.

Notice of Registration

If your registration is successful, you will be notified by email or phone.

Accommodations

If you need assistance due to a language barrier or disability, please let us know at least three (3) days in advance by going here to make a request.

Attending Council Meetings

Cleveland City Council meetings are held in the Council Chamber on the second floor of Cleveland City Hall, 601 Lakeside Avenue, East.

Visitors may park for free at the upper lot behind City Hall after 5:00 pm on days when Council is meeting.

Public Record

Please remember that all registration information and public comments are public records and can be subject to public record requests.

Decorum

Cleveland City Council must maintain orderly, efficient, and productive meetings to ensure the important business of city government is completed. Council has developed a set of rules and procedures that allow the public to be heard in a fair and orderly manner. These rules and procedures apply to all speakers, and Council does not discriminate based on the speaker's identity or viewpoint or the content of the speech. Please read Council's revised rules and procedures for public comments before you register and before you appear before City Council.

Please note: Anyone attending a Cleveland City Council meeting is prohibited from engaging in any action or behavior that substantially interrupts, delays, or disturbs the due conduct of the proceedings of the Council; such conduct includes but is not limited to: handclapping, stomping of feet, whistling, making other loud noises, yelling, or similar demonstrations.  Any person who violates any of the above may be immediately removed from the Council Chamber.

Rules for Speakers
  • Speakers may not yield their time to other speakers.
  • Speakers shall only address the topic they registered to speak about.
  • Speakers' comments shall not be frivolous or repetitive.
  • Speakers shall not use language that is obscene or likely to produce imminent unlawful action. 
  • Speakers shall address all comments to the presiding officer.
Prohibited Items
  • Signs, posters, banners, placards, or similar items
  • Food and drink

 

To sign up to comment in person or online, please scroll down.

Make a Comment In Person at a Council Meeting

To sign up to speak during the registration period (Noon Wednesday through 2:00 pm Monday before Council Meetings) click this button.

You will be notified by email or phone if you are one of the ten people who will speak.


Make a Comment Online

If you would rather submit your comments in writing, please fill out the form below. 

Written public comments will be published on this page and delivered to all Councilmembers before the next full Council Meeting after they have been submitted.


Public Comments

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The broadcast frequency transferred to ideastream
The process of ideastream Public Media taking over the programming of 89.3FM came as a shock to the student/community members who were running the station as student organization on the campus of Cleveland State University (CSU). Since 1976, this station served as an alternative to other radio stations in the Cleveland area. The station was unique because it was “Freeform Radio” in its purest form. There were dozens of different music genres and ethnic programming (German, Polish, Arabic — to name a few) that graced the airwaves.
On the morning of October 3, 2025, the current CSU President, Claire Bloomberg, announced to the staff of WCSB during a zoom meeting that the station’s programming was going to be handed over to the ideastream. As the meeting took place the programming was changed to a jazz format controlled by ideastream.
The takeover was done without warning and disregard to the executive staff, listeners and members of WCSB.
As days passed, evidence was leaked out that the CSU President agreed to this deal with the CEO/President of ideastream, Kevin Martin, for a seat for Bloomberg on ideastream’s board, and 1,000 underwriting announcements to promote CSU’s courses and educational programs. CSU will retain the FCC license and ideastream will program the station under a

There is an interview with Martin, Bloomberg, the most recent student General Manager, Alison Baumgardner, and former General Manager, Lawrence Caswell on the ideastream daily, locally produced program “The Sound of Ideas”. You can listen to the program via this link:
https://www.ideastream.org/show/sound-of-ideas/2025-10-14/csu-ideastream-leaders-address-controversy-over-switch-from-student-run-wcsb-to-jazzneo

This is a bad PR nightmare for both CSU and ideastream. It is a travesty and disservice to the Cleveland community not to mention those folks who donated to WCSB during their yearly radiothon when they ask for donations for station upkeep. That money is being kept by CSU and that in itself is a crime because the money will not be used as per the original intention of the donors to support WCSB.
If the city can help reverse this decision, that would be incredible.
Joe Sweeny
WCSB
These 2 weeks without WCSB made me realize how important the station was to me, being a listener for almost 40 years. It was my link to pretty much everything happening in the city, and to the outside world as well. I can't count the amount of music and ideas I that was given to me over the years. The one thing I have realized these 2 weeks is listening to WCSB was an active experience - unlike the bland stations across the dial - WCSB engaged me, even if it was background music at work, it stimulated a part of my brain that i now sorely miss.
Brent Collins
WCSB
The sudden and callous closure of CSU's radio station, WCSB 89.3fm, was a detrimental mistake to the greater culture of Cleveland, and the decision should be reversed immediately. This not only affects the opportunities for students, but will have a negative impact on CSU's reputation, and for the music economy for Cleveland as a whole. So many diverse creative and cultural communities depended on WCSB for many reasons.
Max Hyde-Perry
WCSB
Please do what you can to return WCSB to the students. Now only do they learn about radio, but it gets people out of their comfort zone by doing live shows, which can help their own mental health.
Tony Hales
Hostile takeover of WCSB by CSU
I was a long time DJ on KPFA in Berkeley California. The programming from myself and many other shows was indicative of the underrepresented voices in the local community. It was quite literally, the only place for disenfranchised communities to have any exposure on the airwaves. When Pacifica canceled numerous shows, they in effect canceled the voices of marginal communities.

Though I am not part of the Cleveland community, there has never in the 249 years of the USA a more critical time for diverse communities to have a voice. This is not a singular issue, independent radio is the heartbeat of the country, and needs to be protected at all cost.

I respectfully request that all previous programming on WCBS be reinstated.
Scot Jenerik
WCSB
I was there when WCSB went from piping music into the cafeteria to live broadcasts. My hands on real life experiences in broadcasting still are part of me 49 years later. Ideastream cannot replicate that. We coined the phrase Where Cleveland Sounds Best and for 49 years the station has reflected the diversity of my hometown in its music and personalities. I feel as if a close personal friend has died. WCSB has withstood the test of time and has been successful through four generations of broadcasters. There is no good reason for it not to continue
Pat Pekar
Bring Back College Radio
I urge Cleveland City Council to support WCSB 89.3 as a student-run college radio station serving the greater Cleveland community. (FYI, I teach at CSU but am commenting personally.) WCSB was one of the best college radio stations in the country. I listened for hours every week—Tommy Fox on Rudie's Hi-Fi, African Abstract, the Arabic radio show on Saturdays, The World Is My Friend... This quick list attests to the incredible range and diversity and knowledge and great vibes of this station. Even if it weren't such a great station (which it was), it was a place where students and community collaborated, curated, shared their perspectives, were responsible for programming and decision-making, a gathering place in and for this city for almost 50 years. CSU and Ideastream's joint choice to silence a community treasure and site of student vision, voice, and agency—shameful and misguided. CSU is a public university and Ideastream is public media. Institutions like these should safeguard the shared art and culture of this city, not extract resources from college students and the community whenever it benefits them. I'm worried about what this means for students, free speech, and diversity. And I really miss my station.
Hilary Plum
WCSB
It's wild to consider completely upending the programming of a station that the community has repeatedly championed. WCSB didn't just win Cleveland Scene's "Best Radio Station" in 2023 and 2025 by accident. It won because it's the vibrant, beating heart of the Cleveland music scene. To pass the station over to a corporate won that plays the same musical style all day and night, and pretend like it continues to support community is an insult to every listener, musician, and venue owner in this city.

For a 25 of it's 50 years running, WCSB has been more than just a radio station for me, and for so many others. It has been a cultural touchstone, shaping our lives, our tastes, and our connection to Cleveland.

But this isn't about nostalgia, it's about the future of Cleveland's culture. The eclectic music and diverse programming of WCSB are a lifeline for the entire city. It's the essential connection between an unheard band and a packed house. It's the reason establishments like the Beachland Ballroom, the Grog Shop, Crobar, and Happy Dog thrive. When WCSB plays a local or touring artist, it doesn't just entertain, it sends people out, it fills seats, and it keeps our legendary live music venues alive.

Do not let this vital piece of Cleveland's identity be squashed. I implore CSU and the City Council to recognize the profound and irreplaceable value of this student-run station. Please, approve Resolution No. 1324-2025 and rescind the Ideastream transfer. Protect WCSB! Protect Cleveland!
Anthony Koch
WCSB
I am a Cleveland native and WCSB was central to my education at Cleveland State. For the good of community and for CSU's academic quality, the radio station should go back to the students!
Steve Wainstead
WCSB
What educational opportunities is CSU planning to offer students in place of WCSB? The radio station and I only overlapped by one year. I graduated from CSU in June 1977. I wasn't involved myself, but I knew people who were.
Jennifer Roach