City Council

Council Minutes October 15, 2024 City Hall Council Chambers The City Council met in a work session at 7:01 p.m., Mayor David E. Weiss presiding. Council members present: Mrs. Kaus Mr. Malone Mrs. Moore Ms. Anne Williams Ms. Carmella Williams Ms. Bixenstine Mr. Claytor Council Members Absent: None * * * * Video of this meeting may be found here through October 15 2027. * * * * Strategy Matters Founder and Principal Liz O’Connor, Chief Diversity Officer Colleen Jackson, and Diversity Coordinator Jonathan Ballom presented the Listening Project Final Report. * * * * The Mayor invited members of the audience and those participating via Zoom the opportunity to “raise their hand” to provide public comment. Clerk of Council Ms. Chaikin summarized the comments received by Victoria Cole. * * * * There being no further business before Council, the Mayor adjourned the meeting at 8:54 p.m. _________________________________________ DAVID E. WEISS, Mayor _________________________________________ JERI E. CHAIKIN, Clerk of Council Victoria Cole 1. Request City Council to Conduct a Thorough Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Listening Project: As the Listening Project comes to an end, it is important that we as a community reflect on this experience, gather lessons learned, and understand the implications for the City of Shaker Heights moving forward. While the Listening Project aimed to address important concerns regarding policing and community relations, it is essential for us as a community to consider whether the ends justified the means. For this to happen, it is imperative that we understand the overall investment that was needed to arrive at any findings that will lead to improvements. This analysis should not only include the fees paid to third-party consultants, but also the time, resources, and costs associated with any and all meetings, communications, and events involving City employees, inclusive of the Process Management Team, the CAG, and city resources. Understanding that these resources come from the taxpayers of Shaker Heights, transparency in this matter is essential in arriving at our conclusions as to the true value of this initiative. The analysis should also consider the impact that the accusations and misinformation from the Fair Ticketing PAC have had on the quality of service and performance of our police officers. At a time when many police departments across the nation are facing significant staff shortages and are lowering their qualification standards to fill positions, we should be laser-focused on recruiting and retaining the best police officers possible to maintain the highest levels of actual and perceived safety that the report alludes to. With this in mind, we should have insight into the number of qualified officers who have cited the Fair Ticketing initiative and its subsequent activities as their reason for leaving the department due to unfair allegations, as well as whether the heightened scrutiny our department has faced has affected the willingness of qualified candidates to apply to join our police force. I strongly urge the City Council to conduct a thorough and objective Cost-Benefit Analysis to close out the results of the Listening Project, and to recognize the efforts that have been invested by so many residents and employees of the City of Shaker Heights. 2. Request City Council to Expand the Scope of the Community Advisory Group The main takeaways from the Listening Project suggest that subjects of fairness, racial inequality, and racism are much bigger problems than policing, and several of the findings are problems that are outside of the scope of the police (i.e. school security, public works, fair housing, etc). Given that the issues identified extend beyond the police department, the City Council should strongly consider expanding the scope of the Community Advisory Group to address these recommendations, even if that means adjusting or bringing in additional CAG members to provide the skillset and experience needed to accomplish this.