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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Ceasefire Resolution
After the 9-11 massacre, no person or organization pressured President George Bush to cease fire on the terrorists of Al Qaeda. Israel should NOT be pressured to cease firing on terrorists who slaughtered grandmothers, raped mothers, and decapitated babies in their cribs. How vile and disgusting to pressure Israel to walk away from a terrorist massacre just like the one on 9-11! It is ludicrous that the citizens of Cleveland cannot distinguish right from wrong. I have lived in Shaker Heights for only one year. This past December I put up a large Hanukkah menorah light in my front yard. On only the second day I went to light this electric menorah, I discovered a criminal had cut the power cord to my light display! I have barely lived in this town for even a short time yet I have already been on the receiving end of anti-semitic hate crimes! How disgusting that I have to endure the destruction of my private property! Think of the Israelis who saw the lives of their loved ones cut short! Raping women is WRONG! Slaughtering grandmothers is WRONG! Decapitating babies in their cribs is WRONG! LEARN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG PEOPLE OF CLEVELAND! STOP DESTROYING MY PRIVATE PROPERTY! STOP RATIONALIZING THE INSANE VIOLENCE OF TERRORISTS!
Dr. Cynthia Cohen
STREET REPAIR
I have been trying and trying and trying to get someone to listen to get repairs to the street infront of my house repaired, the plow trucks ended up plowing a big piece of street, and the hole is starting to get bigger, when it rains it just starts flooding. Seems no on listens or is concerned about doing anything
On top of the, the street farther down and next street over got repaved, not our street, all they do is patch work which constantly crumbles apart
This street NEEDS TO BE REPAVED - WHAT ARE MY CITY TAXES GOING TO THEN IF NORMAL WEAR AND REPAIR CAN'T BE HANDLED
DEBORA JORDAN
Residents First Ordinance
This proposition is only going to make affordability for renters less achievable. The idea of added costs will simply be padded into rents, inflating rent beyond where it currently sits. The City of Cleveland also needs to strongly reconsider mandatory interior point of sale inspections. This is a slippery slope that is not only invasive, but unfair to those that are renters, taking away their ability to live without the notion of city officials coming in at any time. I firmly stand behind the notion that exterior-only inspections for ALL residents, on a structured schedule, is the best manner in which to keep the City up to par, and maintain a strong relationship in the community while keeping neighborhoods beautiful.
Cassie
City Councilman Michael Polensek Racist Hate Speech
You all should be ashamed for your utter lack of humanity. How absurd are you to still repeat proven lies to perpetuate zionist rhetoric. Just remember that when he said "the Palestinian-Hamas community", that's actually plausible incitement of genocide. I'll be forwarding that information to the ICC.
Sarah M
The North Collinwood Recreational indoor pool
Our neighbors of all ages need that pool. For exercise and for rehabilitated. This should be a priority for the urban community. Our community needs our pools. Please fix the Pool at the North Collinwood Recreation Center. Please
Sage
Sex trafficking kids
I’ve been trying to get in for weeks now over six weeks and can’t get in because the Palestinians keep taking up all of the conversations topic time something needs to be done this needs to be shut down it’s for the citizens of Cleveland Ohio
Marquona D Tippens
Michael Polensek’s Uneducated Comments
Your uneducated comments and opinions are circling the internet. Polensek is someone who doesn’t have respect for his constituents nor the world as a whole. His words “disgust” me (as he has so eloquently stated openly). I condemn the violent acts on innocent Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank (which Hamas is not in but they are being murdered just the same). I condemn the lies that are being perpetually spread in Western Media to “justify” an occupation that’s creating tens of thousands of casualties. I condemn a politician refusing to see the humanitarian crisis happening within a 25 mile stretch of land. I condemn a resolution that does not include a permanent ceasefire and freedom to rebuild what was destroyed/create a better life. I condemn racism and Islamophobia. What you do not comprehend, Polensek, is that we set out to continually educate ourselves. I see what’s happening on the ground in Gaza- do you see it??? It seems there should be repercussions for your vile words, sir.
Stephanie
Ceasefire resolution
Hi,

I just saw a viral video of a constituent ask those that condemn the killing of civilian men women and children in Gaza to stand. Not a single council person stood up. What is wrong with you all?
Do you know how disgusting and inhuman you look? Shame on you. The way you are all getting dragged on social right now is absolutely deserved. Thankfully the internet is forever and no one will forget that you were on the wrong side of history on this day or on election day.

Johanna Staral
Johanna Staral
Child protective services!
They keep interfering in my parenting Targeting the wrong parents!!! Also I’m having problems with Cleveland police detectives I would like to come speak in person!!
Marquona Tippens
Demand for Ceasefire Resolution
On January 22, 2024, a letter signed by 1,456 individuals, 85 businesses and 72 organizations in the City of Cleveland was submitted to Cleveland City Council urging councilmembers to pass a ceasefire resolution. The letter included a draft proposed resolution similar to those passed by other cities, like Akron. I am once again asking Cleveland City Council to respond to the demands of their constituents and call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Since October 7th, 2023, more than 25,000 people have been killed in Palestine. Almost all of these have been civilians, including journalists and medical personnel, who had no part in inciting this conflict. Gaza has a population of 2.2 million, and nearly 2 million of these (91%) have been displaced due to the conflict (source: www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-20415675). That would be equivalent to 334,512 Clevelanders displaced from their homes, all in a three-month period. In addition to the massive loss of life and displacement, Gazans are faced with famine, illness, and a constant risk of further violence. Many civilians have been arrested without cause by Israeli forces, and those "fortunate" enough to be released share harrowing stories of beatings and torture (source: mondoweiss.net/2024/01/the-shocking-inhumanity-of-israels-crimes-in-gaza/).

Cleveland City Council has a duty to its citizens, particularly to the Jewish and Arab communities, to condemn this violence and demand its immediate cessation. In this crucial moment, I urge you to remember the words of
non-violent anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu: "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."
Claire Smith