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

Filter By

#ceasefire
I have been pleading for months along with many other for our city council members to call for an immediate ceasefire and for months we have been completely ignored. To have political leaders that refuse to hear their civilians demands is beyond my understanding especially when just 2 weeks ago City council member Mr.Starr encouraged them all to give themselves a pat on the back for despite everything going on city council memebers have a job to fulfill to hear their people out and speak and act on their behalf. A pat on their backs? Are you serious? All while Cleveland protesters stood right outside the chamber doors pleading to be heard! Cleveland city council members should be ashamed of themselves! Ashamed that they have not been taking the time to truly hear their civilians demands, ashamed that they've made their minds up about not passing a ceasefire resolution. I myself no longer feel that the current city council members including city council president Mr. Blaine Griffen is fit to run our city council and speak on our behalf, I question their integrity and motives and can honestly say I will be voting against all of them in ant upcoming elections unless they vote in favor of a permanent ceasefire!
Tita Medina
Streets and Residents First
It is clearly absurd that the City of Cleveland is expecting residents to continually to inform them when streets need potholes filled. Between First Responders and waste collection it should be known that streets need to be repaired and its not citizens having their cars damaged as a source of informing the city. The process to get refunded is tedious, agitating and claims are always denied. Not cool, especially when Council has allowed so many tax abatements to occur.
Residents First is yet another attempt not to hear from tenants this branch has selectively picked the kind of tenants they're going to look after, the fact that all three committees to form this had no residents that are tenants involved to hear firsthand is absurd the fact that you still are allowing owners and LLCs to purchase rent registrations online how does that fix the issue! Housing court has not been tenant friendly at all. They've yet to punish any of the bad landlords they've made excuses and tenants who have faithfully put their rent in escrow have had to share funds with horrible landlords, who didn't fix the repairs. What makes it even more horrible is that the city should have constructed a plan to inspect top to bottom rental properties prior to being rented to assure those that can't afford homeownership some sort of security let us know that this is another non-real avenue. How can you correct any of the problems that are formulated throughout the years when the basic formula isn't part of the plan? Since tenants are the bigger population in the City of Cleveland we should have some say regarding any ordinance or committee that is formulated regarding housing/tenants and corrective planning.
Sabrina Otis
Palestine
It has been over 5 month of constant bombing on Gaza. Over 40000 civilians killed and most of Gaza is destroyed! How many more people need to die so cleveland city council call for a ceasefire. Enough is Enough. Cease fire now!
Muna Asraf
Israel Palestine
Hear, O Israel: why do you make war on your brother Ishmael {also son of Abraham}? Why do you keep your bother in an open air prison {Gaza} forcing him to despair? Why do you accept over $3 billion in military aid from the United States every year? Why are you so preoccupied with killing your brother? Cannot brothers {Jews and Arabs} live in peace? The peaceful removal of one man will solve this crisis once and for all. That man is Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu. Hamas and Hezbollah are the direct result of his hate towards all Palestinians.

As a citizen of and believer in democracy, I applaud the efforts of the Palestinian people. Their efforts are similar to what is happening in many other parts of the world. Believe it or not, one thing that overrides capitalism and political correctness in the United States is the right to have one's voice heard. This is the foundation of which our democracy is built on.



The Palestinian people should continue to defy Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu’s powerful armed forces so that Palestinian democracy can continue to thrive. It is unfortunate that the United States compromised on one of its most fundamental values in order to protect its economic interests in the Middle East; something that happens all too often domestically as well. It is not the Palestinian people that are attempting to expand Hamas and Hezbollah power but rather it is Netanyahu who has engaged in intimidation to prevent the will of the people {both Palestinian and Israeli} from being heard. Why else would he stoop to such underhanded tactics to block various means of communication among the citizens of Palestine and Israel? Why is Netanyahu forcing Israel to return to the Cold War utilizing political strong-arm tactics such as violence? Netanyahu, you have had over sixteen years to acknowledge Palestine and have failed them by your own choosing. The days of your despotic regime are finally coming to an end as it appears the desire for freedom will continue to sweep among the Middle Eastern nations as well as Israel.



Accordingly, let the call go forth among all citizens of Palestine that your brothers and sisters of democracy {from all over the world} are with you during every trial and tribulation you may encounter during this crisis. To the people of Palestine, the trumpet of freedom beckons you to rise in protest and louden your voice to preserve your sacred heritage, promote your children's future and obtain the blessings of liberty we all cherish. Palestine, the hour of your redemption is at hand. As you the rightful citizens move forward to reclaim your own country, rise and strike! In the name of those who were murdered fighting for everyone's rights, rise and strike! To push back this evil regime, rise and strike! Let no one continue to fear this man. Every Palestinian must be strong and fight on for their freedom. Rise and strike!



Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, you little weasel...let Palestine go! Hey hey Mr. Bibi how many kids will it be be? The whole World is watching !!!


JOE BIALEK Cleveland, OH USA

Joe BIALEK
Israel/Gaza
The council should not adopt any resolution that calls for a unilateral ceasefire from the state of Israel. To do so would endanger the hostages held by the Hamas terrorists, leave Hamas in power, and guaranty future attacks that would harm innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians. Any ceasefire resolution adopted by the council would be solely performative, with no binding effect on either party of the conflict. Rather than wasting time on a war thousands of miles away for which the city has no ability to impact, the council should take efforts to ensure the safety of all the people in the city and to promote dialogue and cooperation between those with differing opinions.
Marc R
Resolution to demand ceasefire
Cleveland stands with all oppressed peoples in Ohio and around the world. City Council needs to listen to the will of the people and use their position to advocate for a ceasefire NOW!
Joshua Katz
Ceasefire resolution.
There needs to be a ceasefire resolution, nothing less. Gaza will be free.
Devyn Radulov
Palestine Ceasefire Resolution
I have lived in Ward 15 since 2013. It is appalling to me that council will not even call a vote on the proposed ceasefire resolution. Council clearly does not shy away from making politically-expedient resolutions related to global affairs (such as that supporting Israel after October 7 or that supporting Ukraine's resistance to the Russian invasion), but when making such a resolution requires even the smallest amount of bravery or fortitude, there seem to be endless excuses - even when council's sole Jewish member, Ward 12 Councilwoman Rebecca Maurer, is herself in favor of the resolution. This is a geographically distant conflict, but it is one that has direct implications for many members of the Cleveland community - to say nothing of the clear humanitarian crisis well underway that should make any living human ashamed.

At this point, even US Vice President Kamala Harris is publicly pushing for a "6-week" ceasefire in her meeting with Israeli cabinet member Benny Gantz, and numerous other prominent US cities have passed resolutions themselves, including Detroit, MI and Akron, OH.

It is disappointing and disheartening that my own representatives in the city I've called home for over a decade don't even have the courage to go on record with a full council vote. I thank councilwoman Maurer for her courage in standing up to council and verbally supporting the resolution, and I urge council as a whole to follow her lead and support the resolution, as well.
Joshua Goran
Ceasefire
Ceasefire now
Corey Farrow
Ceasefire resolution
There needed to be a ceasefire 5 months ago. Israel is an apartheid state that cannot claim self-defense when they illegally occupied Palestine. Israel has been killing innocent civilians before October 7th and continue to escalate the killing every day. They are bombing, shooting, starving and torturing innocent civilians. We are all complicit in this genocide and Cleveland needs to pass this resolution. Passing a ceasefire resolution is the bare minimum, we are asking for innocent families to not be murdered, is that such a hard thing to ask for?
cole kaufhold