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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City Council
I went to City Council yesterday for the open comment, just wanted to bring up the disrespect I noticed from the people we rely on to represent us. Other than the supporting of the genocide going on, as all the Palestinian supporters were speaking, council was having side conversations, rolling their eyes and sleeping, but they wanted the respect that they were not willing to show. People are getting killed not just overseas but here in America because all of the hate that's being spread. All these council members care about is lining their pockets. Disgusting. Do better.
MK
Israeli Occupation of Palestine & American Funding
It is absolutely abhorrent to watch this country and its state and city representatives make political pacts and accept funding handouts from an occupying, genocidal, authoritarian, barbaric government in Israel which has publicly commented on their intentions to “kill all” of the Palestinian “animals”, and it is even worse watching US news and government officials attempt to paint support for Palestine as inherently violent - when it is, in fact, the US funding violence, encouraging the massacre of babies and children and civilians, condoning the bombing of cries, vetoing the UN’s proposed ceasefire agreement, denying aid to a dying and oppressed ethnic population which has historically been ruled by invasive fascist elements - being against genocide is not anti-semitism or pro-terrorism. Denying Palestinians the right to their own land, food, water, internet, electricity, military forces, humanitarian and medical aid, and actively pursuing the destruction of said people, is anti-Semitic. America is eating out of the hand of Israel, and now the whole world knows. As a citizen I will not promote or vote for any Israeli-funded candidate. I will not speak of other good things any of you may have done. You are funding a mass extermination of these people. You are backing Nazis. You are paying for genocide. And we are done playing your political party games. We are done being spoon fed half truths at best and blatant lies at worst. This next generation will lead better. I wouldn’t count on the public’s support in lieu of these events. We are supposed to stand for free speech and the right to protest in this country. We have watched every major news outlet conflate truth and lies for decades. We have watched police beat peaceful protesters and charge them with domestic terrorism for peace-promoting actions. America’s freedoms are a joke. You claim to uphold the values of our country, yet you do everything in your power to suppress true freedom while espousing corruption and *actual* terrorism.
Kaitlynn Hanslik
Palestine
I do not support the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Just based on the human rights offenses and war crimes alone, there is no way the City of Cleveland should be in support of this.
M L
Middle East
I was watching today’s council meeting and heard some people talking about the city spending money with Israel. I’m going to do my own research but I really hope this is not true because I am tired of our federal government sending Israel billions of dollars each year and we get nothing in return and now they’re trying to drag us into a war, is there anywhere I can see who authorized money to be spent in Israel? I work very hard and can barely make ends meet to be allowing my tax dollars to go to a different country.
Austin Z.
Gaza
Just wanted to say that I will no longer support councilman McCormack due to his support of Israel. My family has been huge supporters of his for many years now and we no longer can continue our support. As a Jewish American, and an Ohio business owner, whose family company employees over 500 people we cannot support the genocide that’s taking place in Gaza. I completely understand that some console members do not really know what’s going on over there, and that they only hear certain things from certain people with certain agendas but playing ignorance and not knowing is definitely going to start costing people their positions. There is no justifying the many, many years of horrible things that Israel has done to innocent civilians! McCormack you have lost our support, Griffin you have lost our support, Mayor you have lost our support! My family and I are still in discussion, but we may start a ad campaign against all political individuals who have pledged her allegiance to Israel.
David Emoff
The Israeli occupation of Palestine
I do not support the apartheid state that Israel has become; nor the genocide/ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people by the Israeli military. The USA should not be funding a theocratic state’s genocide against an indigenous people. However, the USA is currently funding war crimes and the genocide of Palestinian people. This is not only a serious human rights violation but contributes to the climate crises we are currently facing.

This is not a matter of religion. It’s a matter of supremacy culture which is being proliferated by the USA and the actions of the Israeli government. The USA should not be contributing
aid to the Israeli government/military nor should we be contributing to the propaganda which promotes anti-Arab/anti Palestinian sentiments. It’s wrong, we know better. We’ve seen this behavior before, and it’s disgusting.

The laws which restrict boycotting Israeli defense forces are truly disgusting as well.

The people do not support this, but our government has been complicit in these atrocities. I will not be voting for any elected officials who support this genocide.

Free Palestine. Ceasefire now. Stop funding genocide.

(The amount of funding being used for Israeli military aid could completely eradicate hunger in the USA approximately 3 times over. It is ridiculous. We cannot afford to fund this genocide. It needs to stop now)
Selena Vicarío
Palestine
Israelis supporters often brings up the idea that "Hamas beheads babies," even though this has been refuted numerous times. Palestine gives the whole world evidence to what israel does to the children and peoples homes time after time. When we have people who defend Israel, they never fail to bring up the October 7, 2023 attack. They can only go back to that point. Palestine can go back all the way back to 75 years ago when occupation started. Families are torn from their homes for decades and children are dying. We have the United states funding a genoicde! They let israel send more bombs to Gaza way. A question I have for you is Why is Israel killing children and removing people from their homes if its primary goal was to counter Hamas' attack on Oct 7 2023? I don't know how many times people need to say this but killing children is not self defense...

Israel became a country by stealing land and killing people ‼️
Cineen
FREE PALESTINE
FREE PALESTINE
Nour Karaja
Funding Israel Government’s Attack on Gaza
Over 5,000 people in Gaza have been killed since October 7th. Half of Gaza’s population is children- under 18 years old. Funding Israeli airstrikes is funding the massacre of children and over 5,000 innocent civilians. Please stop.
Maia Jenckes
Palestine
I urge the City of Cleveland to condemn the U.S.-sponsored genocide in Gaza. I also urge Mayor Bibb and Council President Griffin to retract their support for Zionist occupation. Popular opinion dictates that the public will not vote in this upcoming election for politicians who support the genocide in Gaza. Our tax dollars should not support international imperialism and genocide.
Catherine Fields