Plain Dealer Reports On Another Step Toward Merger With Cleveland
East Cleveland completed the first
step in opening annexation discussions with Cleveland by appointing three
commissioners to represent the city in negotiations with Cleveland.
During a special council meeting
Monday evening, a unanimous vote approved the ordinance that
designated Andrew Jackson, Chris Glassburn and Sandra Morgan as
commissioners and announced the city's intent to explore a merger.
The choice now goes to Cleveland
City Council to enter these discussions and to appoint three commissioners of
their own.
While Cleveland City Council considers
the proposal, East Cleveland will use the time to provide its commissioners
with all the information that they need, Mayor Gary Norton said.
What led to this?
East Cleveland's leaders are
pursuing a merger between the two cities because of East Cleveland's poor
finances.
An petition effort in 2015 to prod
City Council to pass this kind of ordinance failed when Cuyahoga County
Common Pleas Judge Michael J. Russo ruled that a technical error by the
elections board made the petitions invalid. Petitioners started a second
attempt to collect signatures in April. Petitioners in East Cleveland are
making a second attempt to force City Council to explore a merger with
Cleveland. They hope to get council to start a negotiation process with
Cleveland. A previous attempt ended in court earlier this month.
So what's next?
Cleveland City Council could choose
not to move forward on the annexation discussion, or has 30 days to appoint its
own commissioners, Council President Kevin Kelley said. After that, the joint
commission would have 120 days to discuss a merger and provide a report.
Then the issue would go to both the
voters of both East Cleveland and Cleveland. Cleveland City Council could
choose to approve the ordinance themselves. However, Kelley said people
seem to prefer giving Clevelanders a vote.
Kelley said he's very interested in
keeping this discussion alive, but that the priority will be to make sure
Cleveland is not put in financial harm. "There are a lot of moving
parts," Kelley said. "There are a lot of questions we have to answer,
and we need to get started."
