East Cleveland officials are reviewing options to fight against state control of their finances, but a lawsuit might be the only measure to at least delay the process.
At a special council meeting Tuesday night, East Cleveland鈥檚 law director, Kenneth Myers, proposed the lawsuit to block receivership. He also gave a warning about the court-appointed receiver if a lawsuit is not filed.
鈥淵ou may decide that鈥檚 a good thing, let the receiver make the decisions,鈥� Myers told council. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 an option. But the receiver has broad powers. Unlimited. Only limited by a judge in Columbus.鈥�
, tucked away in the state budget, the Ohio Auditor of State can refer cities like East Cleveland, now under fiscal supervision for nearly 30 years, to the Ohio Attorney General to have a receiver appointed.
Once that happens, the Ohio Court of Claims appoints someone with authority over all financial decisions made by a city.
on Monday he planned to take this step. The law went into effect Tuesday. On the same day, to the attorney general.
Myers told council he had approval from Mayor Lateek Shabazz to file a lawsuit to stop the process, based on the city鈥檚 home rule authority. But they want council鈥檚 support before moving forward.
鈥淭his hit us all like a lightning bolt yesterday,鈥� Myers told council. 鈥淲e have a very short amount of time to make a very consequential decision. This is what you all signed up for.鈥�
Myers encouraged council to schedule another special meeting later this week to vote on filing the lawsuit. Council members were conflicted about what to do.
The city has been under fiscal supervision for all but a few years since 1988. The state auditor鈥檚 office has been unable to complete audits of the city because of missing records. The most recently elected mayor, Brandon King, was convicted of theft in office earlier this year. His predecessor, Gary Norton, was removed from office by recall and pleaded guilty to federal obstruction charges.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just, like, a negative cycle that there鈥檚 nobody to be trusted,鈥� said Councilmember Twon Billings, adding it may be too late for East Cleveland to solve this on its own. 鈥淚 want to save East Cleveland, but I've seen these missiles fired at East Cleveland before. These people gave us rope after rope after rope after rope. And now that they're starting to make their move, I don't know if we can stop them.鈥�
Shabazz鈥檚 chief of staff, Eric Brewer, accused Shabazz鈥檚 predecessor, Sandra Morgan, of failing to properly account for more than $5 million in grant money during her short tenure in office.
Later in the meeting, Morgan, who's running against Shabazz for mayor in November, was called up to explain the missing money.
鈥淟et me say this about that,鈥� Morgan said. 鈥淚f there is money missing, then it has been misplaced by the current administration, not by me.鈥�
She added that on the day she left office, July 17, there was still $5 million in the account with the alleged missing money.
Morgan is a member of the current fiscal commission and was appointed interim mayor after former Mayor Brandon King was indicted.
posted Monday, Morgan expressed support for going into receivership.
鈥淚 welcome this intervention,鈥� Morgan wrote. 鈥淚 see it as an opportunity, not just to uncover the truth, but to build the foundation for a stronger, cleaner, more responsible city government.鈥�
One member of council, Timothy Austin, argued the city should prepare for a receiver to come in and finish their work as fast as possible.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still going to be East Cleveland,鈥� Austin said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to go through the process and figure it out until we鈥檙e healthy and whole again.鈥�
Other residents and council members weren鈥檛 so sure about what would be left on the other side of a receivership.
The receiver would have the authority to require the city to follow the recommendations of the fiscal commission.
In a letter sent Wednesday to the state auditor and attorney general, Shabazz rejected the receivership and placed much of the blame for the city鈥檚 ongoing problems on mismanagement by the current commission, which has been in place since 2012.
鈥淓ast Cleveland entered fiscal emergency with a $5.87 million deficit on October 9, 2012,鈥� Shabazz wrote. 鈥淯nder the Auditor of State's supervision as the designated Financial Supervisor, that deficit has ballooned to an estimated $70鈥�100 million.鈥�
Faber said anywhere from $60 million to $70 million of that deficit is from civil judgments against the police department.
Many residents and council members expressed concerns at Tuesday鈥檚 meeting about whether there was a long-term plan to redevelop the inner ring suburb and displace residents.
鈥淓verybody knows the plan, there's two tables,鈥� Billings said. 鈥淭here's a table they let you play in and there's a table that they make the decisions in. And at that table, they came ready to come in and make their moves.鈥�
But several, like Eve Westbrooks, said they feel stuck, unsure about a receiver but also were running out of patience with the people running the city.
鈥淲e want East Cleveland to be our home," Westbrooks said. "A safe place, a clean place, and we're not getting that. We're just getting more and more negative stuff. And this is true, this receivership is a two-edged sword.鈥�
Some council members plan to hold at least one public meeting over the weekend and schedule a special meeting next week to vote on the lawsuit.
