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
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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I'm writing to share my strong support for requiring the release of video footage of police officers using deadly force within seven days of the incident. I understand an Ordinance is under consideration by the full City Council, and urge you to adopt this reform.
Thank you,
Andrea
https://www.ideastream.org/news/cleveland-city-council-may-require-release-of-some-police-body-cam-footage-within-7-days
remember this y'all together we rise on change not on hatred, or blaming each other, we have Bad cops, and we Have bad People within the Cleveland communities on Both sides of the fence. if the city of Cleveland Leadership and the Cleveland Communities want to bring Positive force of change within the city of Cleveland and within the communities, please give me a call 440.650.7063 Maurice Sledge.
unfortunately experienced a small fire in May 2022. The property has obviously suffered damage in more than one suite of the complex. Unfortunately the property has not been tended to. The windows were broken out during the time of the fire, yet there has been no follow up by the property owners. None of the windows were boarded up while there are other residents still living in other parts of the building. This is not only a nuisance to the neighborhood, but more importantly it is a health and safety hazard to the other tenants. As a resident in the adjacent neighborhood, we are requesting the council person, Joseph Jones to please look into this matter.
Why not fix Cleveland streets and also give to outlying cities whose streets are used by people going to work in Cleveland?
Why not use some of it for picking up all the trash along the filthy streets/freeways surrounding Cleveland?
Why is it only you handful of people get to decide what gets spent and to what?
I am here tonight to specifically urge you to vote in favor of Complete and Green Streets Ordinance (Ordinance 370-2022), sponsored by Council Member McCormack and Mayor Bibb. The Complete and Green Streets Ordinance will improve coordination on road projects among city departments, require street designs to prioritize vulnerable road users, invest in green infrastructure measures, and create an oversight committee to review road projects to ensure the designs meet the needs of all road users.
At the OEC Action Fund, we are constantly examining different ways that we can tackle climate change and help cities reduce carbon emissions. Walking and bicycling are zero-emissions modes of transportation—and a solo commuter who switches to transit could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20 pounds per day, or more than 4,800 pounds in a year. A National Household Transportation Survey indicated that approximately half of all trips in metropolitan areas are 3 miles or less and 28% of all metropolitan trips are one mile or less—distances that could easily be traversed by foot or bicycle; yet, 72% of trips under one mile are now made by automobile.
We know that transportation is not just a minor issue of convenience; it shapes the community members’ access to jobs, education, healthy foods, and health care. According to our partners at Bike Cleveland, nearly 25% of Cleveland households do not have access to a vehicle—and in some neighborhoods, that rate is over 70%. Biking and walking are the most affordable forms of transportation; however, we have not built our city to make biking and walking safe or easy options. Many surveys have found that a lack of sidewalks and safe places to bike are the primary barriers that prevent people from walking or cycling more.
With streets designed for 1+ million people, we have to rethink usage of transportation systems, and build towards more equitable, integrated and inter-modal ways to move people to and from their destinations. The updated Complete and Green Streets Ordinance also integrates important green infrastructure elements that help Cleveland ensure better air quality and stormwater management as well. Implementing this equitable transportation policy centered on people, will help to overcome some of the structural challenges that perpetuate disparity and environmental injustice in our city.
It is imperative for the health of our environment and the health of our community, that we build our roads for multi-modal use and reduce our carbon emissions. We humbly ask that you vote to pass this ordinance so that the City of Cleveland will help mitigate climate change and support our city’s economic growth. Ultimately, passage of the Complete and Green Streets Ordinance will be a significant step in moving the city towards increased sustainability. Thank you.
https://bit.ly/oecaf-cgs-publiccomment
Good evening,
My name is Gwen Stembridge and I'm a 11 year resident of Cleveland and proud homeowner in Ward 11. I come to you tonight as a taxpayer, a voter, a white queer woman, and a self described "CLE-vangelist."
I believe our government and democracy are working best when those with the most at stake have their needs met. Tonight you have the opportunity to create a commission on Black women and girls in the city of Cleveland. Some people might wonder why we need to create a commission for a specific population within the city. Isn't equality about just treating everyone equally? And sure that language sounds so pretty! But there's one adjustment we need to make. We need to not just treat people with equality but we need to ensure equality of outcomes for our residents and neighbors. There are plenty of studies to show how we are failing our Black Women neighbors when it comes to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity, from outside and inside the City of Cleveland. This is not just a problem for Black Women in Cleveland but it's a problem for us all.
Dexter Edgar Converse is quoted as saying that the well being of any country is dependent on the culture of it's women. I would add that the wellbeing of a city like a Cleveland is entirely dependent on the culture of it's Black Women.
If Black Women and Girls are not thriving in Cleveland, none of us are thriving. Cleveland cannot fulfill it's purpose until Black Women in Cleveland are THRIVING!
This commission will ensure our government is prioritizing and investing in Black Women and Girls so that our city can truly thrive!
Submissions are accepted up to 5 hours before a hearing if time slots are available