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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Items 210 and 211 related to expansion of CWRU and UCI Police Jurisdiction
I am a student at Case Western Reserve University and a resident of, and voter in, Ward 6. I'm concerned about the expansion of the police jurisdiction of CWRU and University Circle Incorporated further into Little Italy and Glenville. The most glaring concern is that the Cleveland City police department will now be under appropriate accountability mechanisms through the passing of Issue 24 in November by an overwhelming majority of voters. Cleveland police activity and misconduct is now reviewed and investigated by a community oversight committee that has power to make changes pending the results of the investigation. This type of community accountability is critical for all sectors, especially policing given the impact of it in our lives and the potential for violence. Cleveland was placed under a consent decree because of a federal investigation into our policing which found there was severe misconduct and abuse that disproportionately affects communities of color. The Department of Justice found that Cleveland Police Department has used excessive, unconstitutional force and there is a lack of officer training and accountability, and community engagement, among other concerns. Private police departments/public safety departments, including CWRU and UCI police, are not subject to the same types of community oversight. We should be very worried about the expansion of these jurisdictions without a commitment to the same community oversight mechanisms of Cleveland city police. Thank you for your time.
Jordan Reif
Police expansion
With the presence of University Circle PD, Case PD, Cleveland PD, and East Cleveland PD currently patrolling this area, expansion of Case PD to these areas is a gross overreach and will only infringe upon these communities. If Case is going to expand their policing to Ashbury/Little Italy, they should also put their resources and time into developing community resources in these neighborhoods and improving accessibility (salting and plowing roads and sidewalks) during the winter months.
Caitlin Feely
Decriminalization Of Fare Evasion
Currently, boarding public transit without paying fare can result in fines up to $250 and up to 30 days in jail. I request City Council to think deeply about what purpose this response to fare evasion is serving.

A person who cannot afford $2.50 for fare will likely be unable to pay a fine ten times as much, and a jail sentence of any length does not match up with such a minor infraction. Leaving fare evasion as a criminal offense ultimately does nothing but further burden the impacted individuals, who are overwhelmingly poor and/or people of color, with the legal and social stigma of a criminal record, which will follow them for years to come, if not the rest of their lives.

Is it fair and just for someone to be potentially shut out of housing, educational, and employment opportunities just because they could not afford to pay $2.50? A person in that situation needs help rather than punishment. It's time for Cleveland to reassert itself as a great city and move towards decriminalizing fare evasion.
Michael Harney
Infrastructure
I would like to comment on the state of the roads and sidewalks during this and many other winters. While larger streets get plowed ( making it impossible to walk on the sidewalk if you are a pedestrian), neighborhoods (of whom I’m sure also pay taxes) are left to shovel feet of snow off roads and walkways. You all are aware, as we are, when winter weather will be present. Walking in the street as a pedestrian is dangerous enough without the added danger of snow. It is your responsibility to keep our roads and sidewalks safe and USEABLE. You all are doing an awful job at it and I would like to see improvements. Thank you.
Daniel Artis
#22-225 Emergency resolution urging C|M|Law naming committee recommendation
Students Against Marshall has reviewed emergency resolution #22-2022 and so announces its concurrence with the Council's belief:

1. That because of Chief Justice John Marshall's life long association with slavery, the C|M|Law naming committee should eliminate any reference to him regarding the college of law and further:

2. This constitutes an emergency measure for the immediate preservation of public peace, property, health, and safety.

Therefore, the Students Against Marshall request the Council members to affirmatively vote today for the resolution to take effect and be in force immediately upon its adoption and approval by the Mayor or the earliest period allowed by law.

More information regarding Students Against Marshall, the law school's 2021 diversity report, and the naming committee's community survey which expires next Friday Jan 17 2022, is available online at the following link: www.linktr (dot) ee/csusam or the Instagram handle @students_against_marshall

Thank you for your consideration.
Ms. Stephanie M. Goggans