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Accountability

Vision

A city that openly and proactively informs and engages citizens and inspires everyone to feel the city is working for them.

Questions

  • How can city government be more transparent?

  • How can city government involve more citizens in setting priorities?

  • How can public engagement be facilitated so the process is civil and productive?

  • How can the city use new technologies to track performance and make data public in accessible formats?

Recommendations

  • City Council:

    • Allow public comments at City Council meetings, as called for by Clevelanders for Public Comment. Done!

    • Move Council committee meetings to venues and times accessible to more citizens.

    • End Council’s debate-gagging “unit rule” and limit the use of “emergency” legislation for routine business.

    • Stop allowing Council members to retire early and select their own replacements to finish the term.

  • Allow participatory budgeting (as is being demonstrated by Refund Cleveland) so citizens can better understand budget trade-offs and help set priorities.

  • Make the city’s public utilities, especially Cleveland Public Power, more open and transparent.

  • Update and redesign the clunky city website. (An RFP was issued in 2020 for a new site.)

  • Improve the city’s 311 system to make it easier for citizens to report problems and make suggestions—and then receive responses about actions taken.

  • Support the efforts of the city’s Office of Sustainability to use LEED for Cities and Communities to track the city’s progress toward greater sustainability and quality of life.

  • Support the municipal modernization recommendations of the 2021 Neighborhood Platform.

Resources

What’s missing? What else should be included on this page? Go here to contribute your ideas.

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