On 11/4/2022 at 12:52 PM, Luke_S said:

 

It has not been a good news week for Bibb... I'm hoping that's all it is, and really it's a bit surprising it hadn't happened sooner given his inexperience, but I am a bit concerned. 

 

I think the honeymoon period about his new administration is now over and its painful reality check time. 

8 minutes ago, jcw92 said:

I know Jackson didn't do much but at least there was a sense of respect around him. 

"Didn't do much" is an understatement.  He oversaw a growth of an already bloated city payroll, passed a .5% tax increase and services declined....

3 hours ago, jcw92 said:

 

I think the honeymoon period about his new administration is now over and its painful reality check time. 

Definitely a bad week or two for Bibb.  It started off with the hecklers protesting the composition of the police review board.  Then came the uproar with the stopping of the leaf collections that came about out of the blue.  Finally the road/plow personnel threatening to strike. 

 

Regarding the leaf collection, one of his top-level advisors used the excuse that this is still a new administration when talking to a news reporter.  Very lame.  First, 10 months into his time in office and it should no longer be considered "new".  That is almost 1/4 of his way through the term.  Second, Bibb is from Cleveland.  He should very well know that every October, leaves start to drop and the pickup services happen every year.  One would think he sees the budgeting for various service department activities.  To drop the leaf pickup once people expect it to be started is poor timing.  It may not matter to someone who lives in a downtown apartment as Bibb does, but it does matter to people who have yards to maintain.

 

As for the threatening of a possible strike by the road workers/plow drivers, that will blow up in Bibb's face if it does occur.  People were quite angry with the road clearing efforts for that big January snow.   In that case, using the reasoning that it was a new administration and he only had been in office for less than three weeks was justified.  If the unresolved labor situation carries over into a big snow event, excuses won't cut it.  Again, Bibb is from the area and he knows that once November comes around, major snow events are very likely to occur.  It no longer is a new administration, the additional equipment, the "improvements" to routes and revised priorities won't matter to people who can't get around for an extended period of time.  People will be angry with the drivers if they strike, but Bibb will be blamed for letting it occur.

 

Running for cover and avoiding news reporters won't help his situation.

3 hours ago, LifeLongClevelander said:

As for the threatening of a possible strike by the road workers/plow drivers, that will blow up in Bibb's face if it does occur.  People were quite angry with the road clearing efforts for that big January snow.   

Bibb needs to expose the ridiculous union rules that prior administrations signed off on.  

 

Ever wonder why the early snowfalls are always such a debacle?   Because the city mechanics union contract says they cannot work on the plow equipment until after a specific date (I'm not sure of the exact date, but let's call it "November 1").   So we can have 30 city mechanics sitting around with their feet up all of October with nothing to do, and they won't touch plows.....

 

6 hours ago, Cleburger said:

Bibb needs to expose the ridiculous union rules that prior administrations signed off on.  

 

Ever wonder why the early snowfalls are always such a debacle?   Because the city mechanics union contract says they cannot work on the plow equipment until after a specific date (I'm not sure of the exact date, but let's call it "November 1").   So we can have 30 city mechanics sitting around with their feet up all of October with nothing to do, and they won't touch plows.....

Exposing the ridiculous union rules and eliminating them is one thing, but this not the reason why they are threatening to strike.  It is coming down to those workers wanting the same pay raise as the police department.

2 hours ago, LifeLongClevelander said:

Exposing the ridiculous union rules and eliminating them is one thing, but this not the reason why they are threatening to strike.  It is coming down to those workers wanting the same pay raise as the police department.

Making that raise conditioned on eliminating some of those stupid rules is what the city should be leveraging. 

5 minutes ago, KFM44107 said:

Making that raise conditioned on eliminating some of those stupid rules is what the city should be leveraging. 

Most definitely the raise should be linked to getting rid of those illogical rules.  However, if Bibb holds his ground and refuses the raises, he will pay the price.  

Eric Gordon was a good schools CEO and accomplished a lot.  A lack of confidence in Bibb and perhaps Bibb pushing him out, the dirt is coming to light why Gordon resigned just as the new school year started.

 

https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2022/11/however-mayor-bibb-spins-it-shabby-treatment-of-schools-ceo-shows-his-inflexible-side-brent-larkin.html

On 11/5/2022 at 7:10 PM, jcw92 said:

 

The unions will run circles around Bibb and they know they can. I know Jackson didn't do much but at least there was a sense of respect around him. I don't see that with Bibb and he tries to act tough with something stupid like "no more leaf collection" and it totally backfires. He should have run to be in City Council or something or mayor of Maple Hts or something, but he's really not fit to be mayor of Cleveland.

 

Just as soon as he gains some respect from me by not letting the Issue 24 commission become a rubber stamp for the activists, which would have been easy politically but disastrous long term, this happens.     I agree about their efficiency but they are right about hazard pay and their rates not being comparable to cities of similar size.  The right approach would be address the first and we'll talk about the second, but he's a marketing/planning guy not a negotiator.

22 hours ago, KFM44107 said:

Making that raise conditioned on eliminating some of those stupid rules is what the city should be leveraging. 

 

This.

More info coming out about Bibb and the schools:

 

"...But sources who spoke to Scene under condition of anonymity told a different story: They said that Bibb treated Gordon callously; that he viewed Gordon as “an employee, not the leader of a major urban school district”; that he was high on his own supply and hellbent on disruption for disruption’s sake; and that whether he intended to or not, he undermined Gordon’s leadership in public pursuit of rapid progress.

As mayor, these sources said, Bibb saw himself as the leader and change-agent of Cleveland’s schools, and that this hubris led to a series of miscalculations that resulted in Gordon’s forthcoming departure and – for the first time in his young tenure – open skepticism among institutional stakeholders about Bibb’s leadership...."

 

https://www.clevescene.com/news/the-inside-scoop-on-cmsd-ceo-eric-gordons-resignation-40750462

 

 

19 minutes ago, jcw92 said:

More info coming out about Bibb and the schools:

 

"...But sources who spoke to Scene under condition of anonymity told a different story: They said that Bibb treated Gordon callously; that he viewed Gordon as “an employee, not the leader of a major urban school district”; that he was high on his own supply and hellbent on disruption for disruption’s sake; and that whether he intended to or not, he undermined Gordon’s leadership in public pursuit of rapid progress.

As mayor, these sources said, Bibb saw himself as the leader and change-agent of Cleveland’s schools, and that this hubris led to a series of miscalculations that resulted in Gordon’s forthcoming departure and – for the first time in his young tenure – open skepticism among institutional stakeholders about Bibb’s leadership...."

 

https://www.clevescene.com/news/the-inside-scoop-on-cmsd-ceo-eric-gordons-resignation-40750462

 

 

 

Some solace here:

 

"Even the sources most critical of Bibb and most suspicious of charter school expansion said they were confident that CMSD would land promising candidates to carry on Eric Gordon’s legacy. Both the financial position of the district and the robust community support make the job an attractive one, sources said."

48 minutes ago, surfohio said:

 

Some solace here:

 

"Even the sources most critical of Bibb and most suspicious of charter school expansion said they were confident that CMSD would land promising candidates to carry on Eric Gordon’s legacy. Both the financial position of the district and the robust community support make the job an attractive one, sources said."

 

Even if someone as good as Gordon is found, there will be a new learning curve for the new person not to mention time between leaders. Bibb really screwed things up. And he's probably doing this everywhere, just not the schools. From what I've been hearing about him from how he treats his staff to waitstaff at restaurants--and the media that face up to him (when he immediately ended an interview with Channel 19 or something when they asked about the leaf collection debacle), things are going to get a lot worse for the city before they get better--especially if he pushed Eric Gordon out because he was brainwashed by the charter schools lobby and Gordon was in the path of what they wanted. Its like any interest group can easily control him if they use the right buzzwords.

You sure seem to have an axe to grind. 

This sounds like the poster who was banned a few months ago. Makes you think.

I’m impressed that Pugu has figured how to evade his banning. We’ll see if he keeps pushing buttons. 

49 minutes ago, jcw92 said:

 

Even if someone as good as Gordon is found, there will be a new learning curve for the new person not to mention time between leaders. Bibb really screwed things up. And he's probably doing this everywhere, just not the schools. From what I've been hearing about him from how he treats his staff to waitstaff at restaurants--and the media that face up to him (when he immediately ended an interview with Channel 19 or something when they asked about the leaf collection debacle), things are going to get a lot worse for the city before they get better--especially if he pushed Eric Gordon out because he was brainwashed by the charter schools lobby and Gordon was in the path of what they wanted. Its like any interest group can easily control him if they use the right buzzwords.

 

I've kind of soured on Bibb and I'm tired of him doing cheerleading trips and his people defending him through all the criticism, but this an extreme sky is falling type comment. Please tell us more about how he treats his staff and waitstaff? Let us in on all of this insider info that you seem to have.

 

I'm over his honeymoon period, and I think a lot of other folks are really, really tired of the photo ops and attention without seemingly any action that he's had. I get it, the bureaucracy is absolutely wild in our city but from my perspective I've seen so little change that it's really getting to me. He campaigned on a lot of ideas, notably the "People Over Cars" mantra and hooboy I've seen nothing other than small scale pilot programs and a planning director that doesn't like criticism (why is the midway taking 47 years? where are contiguous bike lanes/networks? why are we building 'speed tables' and not installing permanent speed bumps?, etc.). It's a thankless profession - I don't want it, but still, I want to see something. At least my councilwoman Rebecca Maurer is transparent and is putting out information on all the issues, we need the same from our Mayor and his team. 

3 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

I’m impressed that Pugu has figured how to evade his banning. We’ll see if he keeps pushing buttons. 

 

lol I forgot the name, I was thinking the same thing. We'll quickly see a "what's a Pugu" comment if the past is any indicator.

Pugu's last post was Febuary 6.

 

Then some to breathe during the ban

 

Jcw92 joins over a month later. That sweet spot of about 6 weeks.

 

He's backkkkk

 

Edited November 7, 20222 yr by TBideon

47 minutes ago, GISguy said:

 

lol I forgot the name, I was thinking the same thing. We'll quickly see a "what's a Pugu" comment if the past is any indicator.

I suggested the same thing to him in a private message (after he called me out for downvoting him) and that's more or less exactly what he did. 

1 hour ago, GISguy said:

 

I've kind of soured on Bibb and I'm tired of him doing cheerleading trips and his people defending him through all the criticism, but this an extreme sky is falling type comment. Please tell us more about how he treats his staff and waitstaff? Let us in on all of this insider info that you seem to have.

 

I'm over his honeymoon period, and I think a lot of other folks are really, really tired of the photo ops and attention without seemingly any action that he's had. I get it, the bureaucracy is absolutely wild in our city but from my perspective I've seen so little change that it's really getting to me. He campaigned on a lot of ideas, notably the "People Over Cars" mantra and hooboy I've seen nothing other than small scale pilot programs and a planning director that doesn't like criticism (why is the midway taking 47 years? where are contiguous bike lanes/networks? why are we building 'speed tables' and not installing permanent speed bumps?, etc.). It's a thankless profession - I don't want it, but still, I want to see something. At least my councilwoman Rebecca Maurer is transparent and is putting out information on all the issues, we need the same from our Mayor and his team. 

 

Regarding people and cars, I can say that members of the County Planning Commission are working in conjunction with the City on TOD zoning efforts to be made countywide.  This is in large part due to half of all development in Cuyahoga County between 2011 and 2021 was actually built in the city of Cleveland and in close proximity to transit cooridors.  https://s3.countyplanning.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/TOD_State-of-TOD_10-17-22.pdf.   

 

Getting back to Bibb- last week sucked for him.  All politicians have a bad week.  Leaf pick-up will continue, and he likely learned he can't just up-and-leave during an interview (that might work for some politicians at the federal level without much notable backlash, but not locally).  Agreed on the honeymoon period being over- I'd say that the chronic issues which the City has dealt with for years won't be solved overnight.  However, the City has some things going for it right now that will benefit it and the region for years to come.  With the 8th largest ARPA award in the Country, there's a true chance for generational change.  I'm rooting for him to get things right because it benefits us all if he does.

51 minutes ago, Oldmanladyluck said:

Agreed on the honeymoon period being over- I'd say that the chronic issues which the City has dealt with for years won't be solved overnight.  However, the City has some things going for it right now that will benefit it and the region for years to come.  With the 8th largest ARPA award in the Country, there's a true chance for generational change.  I'm rooting for him to get things right because it benefits us all if he does.

 

I was definitely a bit more salty than was necessary because I do want him to succeed and our city to succeed. I also get the point of him traveling and promoting the city but yeah, last weeks events really showed a lapse in his (and his staff's judgement). There's a ton of red tape and issues with our current system, if he can cut through even a tiny bit of it good for him and us(!).

2 hours ago, Ethan said:

I suggested the same thing to him in a private message (after he called me out for downvoting him) and that's more or less exactly what he did. 

He did already create one new account after being banned (after numerous warnings). That one was discovered and banned. With the new account, he’s been smart enough to tone down his line of criticisms, but apparently he just can’t help himself. The posts on the new account on aviation were the giveaway - still has the same areas on interest. 
 

Seriously, Pugu, there are plenty of ways to express criticisms without being obnoxious and getting banned (again). Or just hide the political threads and enjoy everything else. 

Don't worry, Pugu's gone.  Again.

 

Folks, if you see Pugu-like tendencies from a new forumer, please shoot me a message so we can investigate and potentially zap him/her again.

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb names chief of staff in reorganization of top aides

Bibb previously split the chief of staff role between two advisors. Now Bradford Davy will serve as the mayor’s top lieutenant.

https://signalcleveland.org/cleveland-mayor-justin-bibb-names-chief-of-staff-in-reorganization-of-top-aides/

Lots of great comments in this article, but I’m concerned that we aren’t yet seeing the small, fast improvements yet. 

 

Stuff like this from the Bibb administration is so refreshing:

 

 

18 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

Lots of great comments in this article, but I’m concerned that we aren’t yet seeing the small, fast improvements yet. 

 

 

Thanks for this comment. I've talked to people who deal with the administration on the daily and they're definitely frustrated w/all these press releases and photo ops and little/no action being seen (and glaring inexperience of some of his ppl). Its like he goes to these conferences, gets a press release/buzzwords and then comes back with a neat presentation and no steps or proven steps to achieve that. His press team is good at prepping him for higher office. I'm being very critical, but I've seen such little action (but plenty of photos!) from the man who declared "people over cars". 

 

All this said, there's definitely a ton of red tape in government but idk why we need to study speed tables to see if they reduce car speeds? In pgh the mayor was known as Bike Lane Billy because so much bike infra went in and he pushed through the bs - I really thought that was what we were getting with Bibb.

 

And lastly Bike Cleveland will be pushing for quick easy wins like what you mentioned, we'll see what comes of it.

 

Bibb is off in DC again. It really seems like he hasn't spent like two consecutive weeks in Cleveland in his entire term. Is he gunning for Governor? House? 

 

 

I have no idea if there's any tangible value to these kind of symposiums, but I'll give Bibb the benefit of the doubt. He's an ambassador to the city and needs to be visible in DC and with leaders of high caliber cities/regions. 

 

 

Edited January 18, 20232 yr by TBideon

2 minutes ago, TBideon said:

I have no idea of there's an real value to these kind of symposiums, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. He's an ambassador to the city and needs to be visible in DC and other high worth areas.

DC is where the money is, so if he's multitasking on this trip it's all good.

snowplow drivers and trash collectors in Cleveland ratified new contract

 

On 1/18/2023 at 12:40 PM, GISguy said:

Bibb is off in DC again. It really seems like he hasn't spent like two consecutive weeks in Cleveland in his entire term. Is he gunning for Governor? House? 

 

 

House first, then Governor.  He'd be better in the House, even though I'd almost never agree with him.

 

This was one of my concerns and why I couldn't vote for him.   (Or Kelley...).

Bibb seems genuine by attempting to raise Cleveland's profile and build relationships that can bring downstream benefit to the city.  After 16 years of a mayor that would not leave the city boarders for anything, the optics of Bibb's travel may not look good to some, but this is not unusual for other mayors.   I believe while he's still learning, he brings a fresh set of eyes to the table.  Below is one example that has received push back from the old guard.  

 

https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2023/01/dear-cleveland-city-council-set-aside-your-egos-and-embrace-participatory-budgeting-leslie-kouba.html

 

If Bibb wants to be George Voinovich and do a great job and someday move onto the Senate, more power to him. Those kinds of promotions are the best kind of term limits. 

4 minutes ago, surfohio said:

If Bibb wants to be George Voinovich and do a great job and someday move onto the Senate, more power to him. Those kinds of promotions are the best kind of term limits. 

 

Voinovich was mayor for a decade before he moved on.   He wasn't campaigning for other offices right away.

Just now, E Rocc said:

 

Voinovich was mayor for a decade before he moved on.   He wasn't campaigning for other offices right away.

 

Actually, he famously introduced himself in college as someone who was going to become elected mayor of Cleveland and then become Governor! I'm pretty sure this was at Ohio U....someone whose more sober please google this.  

Just now, surfohio said:

 

Actually, he famously introduced himself in college as someone who was going to become elected mayor of Cleveland and then become Governor! I'm pretty sure this was at Ohio U....someone whose more sober please google this.  

 

That's what he did, except he focused on the mayor's job at first and moved on when he had established his credentials.   

Could someone please explain how a mayor who is actively making rounds and building relationships with people in higher power is a BAD thing for the City, and how this amounts to campaigning?

23 minutes ago, Oldmanladyluck said:

Could someone please explain how a mayor who is actively making rounds and building relationships with people in higher power is a BAD thing for the City, and how this amounts to campaigning?

It isn’t and it doesn’t. Bibb should be measured here by the people he hires and their accomplishments while he’s in office. It’s perfectly valid to complain that there haven’t been enough small wins yet. For example, a simple inexpensive protected bike lane, or not proposing a bunch of money to “fix” Public Square when so many other areas have much more desperate pedestrian safety needs. But there also has been good progress in other areas - a less expensive police station, contracts complete with several department workers, etc. Advocating for the city in DC is a good thing and it’s part of his job. 

I'll be honest - one of my biggest gripes with Jackson was that he was sedentary. The fact that Bibb is frequently going to DC is a good thing. Even if he is aspiring for higher office, he'll have a better chance if he makes dramatic improvements in the quality of life and economy of Cleveland during his tenure. 

 

If he was making frequent trips to symposiums in Miami and San Diego, I'd have an issue with it

at some point these 'connections' need to bear fruit 

^He's only a year in.  

 

I'm also presuming that having  Marcia Fudge in Joe Biden's administration was the main reason why Cleveland secured the eight-highest amount of ARPA funds in the nation ($511 million), but that's taking the thread off-topic.

5 minutes ago, Oldmanladyluck said:

I'm also presuming that having  Marcia Fudge in Joe Biden's administration was the main reason why Cleveland secured the eight-highest amount of ARPA funds in the nation ($511 million), but that's taking the thread off-topic.

 

As I understand it, ARPA amounts were calculated the same way that CDBG is allocated (demographics).

Every cop I know says that the Police Department is way understaffed. I just heard on Channel 3 that Bibb wants to ELIMINATE all the police vacancies so he can say we are "100% staffed" (solves his recruitment issue) AND cuts MILLIONS out of the budget. We need more police. We need to find ways to fill those vacancies not just eliminate them and cut their budget. Bibb just submitted is budget to Council with the vacancies eliminated. This is a very dangerous move as growing the department to where it needs to be then cannot be easily done--as it will be "sorry--beyond budget!" I've been giving Bibb the benefit of doubt so far and even voted for him, and so far he hasn't really done anything of substance--good or bad (except pulling CPD HQ out of Opportunity Corridor which was the right move)--but this is his first major policy decision and its really out there and will be very bad for the city for years to come. 

 

(I just heard it on TV this morning, so I don't have a link--but maybe there is something on wkyc.com)

Edited February 2, 20232 yr by ProspectAve

7 minutes ago, ProspectAve said:

Every cop I know says that the Police Department is way understaffed. I just heard on Channel 3 that Bibb wants to ELIMINATE all the police vacancies so he can say we are "100% staffed" (solves his recruitment issue) AND cuts MILLIONS out of the budget. We need more police. We need to find ways to fill those vacancies not just eliminate them and cut their budget. Bibb just submitted is budget to Council with the vacancies eliminated. This is a very dangerous move as growing the department to where it needs to be then cannot be easily done--as it will be "sorry--beyond budget!" I've been giving Bibb the benefit of doubt so far and even voted for him, and so far he hasn't really done anything of substance--good or bad--but this is his first major move and its really out there and will be very bad for the city for years to come. 

 

(I just heard it on TV this morning, so I don't have a link--but maybe there is something on wkyc.com)

Here is a link to the article.   

 

https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/cleveland/cleveland-mayor-justin-bibb-eliminate-vacant-police-city-positions-balance-budget/95-cd5a9bff-68ce-4df9-a149-8941a0eb2815

 

 

It's sort of misleading in that the staffing level would still be set ABOVE where we are now with CPD.   Also unclear is how many of these vacancies are street cops and how many are administrative positions. 

 

I do like that he is shrinking other bloated city departments.   The services in the city are as bad as ever.   Someone needs to do a housecleaning and start over with people who actually care and want to improve their city. 

37 minutes ago, ProspectAve said:

Every cop I know says that the Police Department is way understaffed. I just heard on Channel 3 that Bibb wants to ELIMINATE all the police vacancies so he can say we are "100% staffed" (solves his recruitment issue) AND cuts MILLIONS out of the budget. We need more police. We need to find ways to fill those vacancies not just eliminate them and cut their budget. Bibb just submitted is budget to Council with the vacancies eliminated. This is a very dangerous move as growing the department to where it needs to be then cannot be easily done--as it will be "sorry--beyond budget!" I've been giving Bibb the benefit of doubt so far and even voted for him, and so far he hasn't really done anything of substance--good or bad (except pulling CPD HQ out of Opportunity Corridor which was the right move)--but this is his first major policy decision and its really out there and will be very bad for the city for years to come. 

 

(I just heard it on TV this morning, so I don't have a link--but maybe there is something on wkyc.com)

 

The proposal doesn't eliminate all police vacancies, from Nick Castele's write up for Signal;

Quote

The budget would fund 1,498 uniformed police officers, a decrease from the 1,640 in last year’s budget. But actual staffing numbers are far lower: 1,292 uniformed officers worked for the city at the end of 2022, according to the budget proposal.

 

So my read of this would be (1) he is bringing the budget back in line after needing to use ARPA funds to close the funding gap in last year's budget and (2) he's setting police hiring goals to a more realistic/attainable level. This allows him to continue to redirect money to improve and fix other areas that have been neglected instead of sitting it in the police budget for positions that realistically wont be filled this year and still run a slight surplus. 

 

Should also remember that Bibb has hired consultants to study how many uniformed officers are needed, and like @Cleburgerpointed out, part of that study was to look into whether administrative roles could be shifted from officers to civilians. 

Edited February 2, 20232 yr by Luke_S

1 hour ago, Luke_S said:

 

The proposal doesn't eliminate all police vacancies, from Nick Castele's write up for Signal;

 

So my read of this would be (1) he is bringing the budget back in line after needing to use ARPA funds to close the funding gap in last year's budget and (2) he's setting police hiring goals to a more realistic/attainable level. This allows him to continue to redirect money to improve and fix other areas that have been neglected instead of sitting it in the police budget for positions that realistically wont be filled this year and still run a slight surplus. 

 

Should also remember that Bibb has hired consultants to study how many uniformed officers are needed, and like @Cleburgerpointed out, part of that study was to look into whether administrative roles could be shifted from officers to civilians. 

Ya. This is just moving money out of the police budget that isn't going to be spent anyhow. In no world are we going to fill 200 more positions than we have now this year. Let alone the 120 or whatever he cut out. It's just shifting funding so that it can actually be used somewhere else this year instead of rolling over at the end of the year. 

5 hours ago, KFM44107 said:

Ya. This is just moving money out of the police budget that isn't going to be spent anyhow. In no world are we going to fill 200 more positions than we have now this year. Let alone the 120 or whatever he cut out. It's just shifting funding so that it can actually be used somewhere else this year instead of rolling over at the end of the year. 

 

Well that’s one (defeatist) way to look at it. Another is, instead of spending the energy to devise budget tricks to conceal problems of police staffing, instead spend the energy to come up with a solid plan and strategy for police recruitment. We NEED those officers. 200 officers is not a lot. If you said we had to fill 20,000 spots—that would be difficult—but a better leader would find a way to fill those slots and keep the new officers. I have a lot of friends at CPD and they all say Bibb hates the police (even though they personally benefit from massive amounts of overtime pay). But even if you have officers working 80 hours a week, its not the same as having more officers on the street each working 40 hrs. (the cost of benefits is still less than the overtime paid) as if you need a large number of physical officers at a given time, you won’t have them if you just give up and say, we can’t and don’t know how to recruit 200 officers so lets just give up and spend the money elsewhere. I hope Council flatly rejects this, though if they may have more funding in their districts they may be compromised from making a sound decision. Then again, the role of council is to be a check on the mayor and this needs serious checking and rejection. 

 

10 minutes ago, ProspectAve said:

 

Well that’s one (defeatist) way to look at it. Another is, instead of spending the energy to devise budget tricks to conceal problems of police staffing, instead spend the energy to come up with a solid plan and strategy for police recruitment. We NEED those officers. 200 officers is not a lot. If you said we had to fill 20,000 spots—that would be difficult—but a better leader would find a way to fill those slots and keep the new officers. I have a lot of friends at CPD and they all say Bibb hates the police (even though they personally benefit from massive amounts of overtime pay). But even if you have officers working 80 hours a week, its not the same as having more officers on the street each working 40 hrs. (the cost of benefits is still less than the overtime paid) as if you need a large number of physical officers at a given time, you won’t have them if you just give up and say, we can’t and don’t know how to recruit 200 officers so lets just give up and spend the money elsewhere. I hope Council flatly rejects this, though if they may have more funding in their districts they may be compromised from making a sound decision. Then again, the role of council is to be a check on the mayor and this needs serious checking and rejection. 

 

 

I mean the person you replied to is a CPD officer so I think it's welcome insight and far from defeatist. The police have been trying to get their numbers up for years, it's not like it's on Bibb or an overnight phenomenon. It's most likely due to a lack of long term planning that government can be so bad at. 

 

I went through the budget yesterday and I'd recommend diving in. Page 45 lists the percentages that departments gained (or lost) in funding (to the Bibb hates the police crowd, they got a 3% funding bump), and page 48 goes through which positions existed in 2022 and will/won't in 2023. The individual department pages go into a lot more detail. 

 

Signal/Nick Castele has had the most transparent reporting and non-click baity headlines out of all of this, it's refreshing to see.

 

The entire document is here: https://www.clevelandohio.gov/sites/default/files/forms_publications/2023MayorsEstimate.pdf