Akron Council's Weekly Legislative Spotlight! 2024 Issue #26

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Akron City Council

Weekly Legislative Spotlight

From the Desk of the Council President

Hello Joan,

Welcome to our new subscribers. We are glad that you joined us! To our regular subscribers, thank you for continuing to receive our newsletter and for your commitment to staying informed and engaged through your continued subscribership to Akron City Council's Legislative Spotlight.

We hope you enjoy the information shared each week, including highlights from the Council's legislative agenda from the previous Monday's Committee and Council meetings. Definitions and information about commonly used terms and council-related facts are also featured.

The information shared in each week's Legislative Spotlight will continue to educate, empower, and liberate you to become increasingly engaged with your City Council in making Akron a better place for all its residents.

You will resume receiving the Legislative Spotlight when Council returns from recess in September. Enjoy the remainder of your summer and have a Happy Labor day!

Sincerely,

Margo Sommerville

Council President

Ward 3 Council Member

Legislative Highlights From Monday, July 29, 2024

Ordinance No. 295-2024 authorizing the Director of Public Service to enter into contracts, without the formality of advertising for bids, to purchase technology that will modernize and streamline snow and ice operations; and declaring an emergency. Vote: Ayes: 11, Nays: 0. (Kammer absent)

Ordinance No. 304-2024 authorizing the Mayor, or his designee, to enter into an agreement or agreements with the House of The Lord in furtherance of the 2024 Fugitive Safe Surrender and community violence prevention programming; and declaring an emergency. Vote: Ayes: 10, Nays: 0 (Omobien abstained; Kammer absent). This event will occur from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm August 7th through August 10th at House of the Lord Church, 1650 Diagonal Road. The event will provide an opportunity for people who have a warrant to voluntarily surrender in exchange for potentially favorable consideration in resolving their cases. For more information, visit the House of the Lord's website.

Ordinance authorizing and directing the submission to the electors of the City of Akron a proposal to amend Sections 68, 70, 105, and 106 of the Charter of the City of Akron, to permit the consideration and hiring of both internal and external candidates for the positions of Police Chief, Fire Chief, and their respective Deputy Chief positions subject to eligibility qualifications set by the City’s Director of Human Resources, in order to provide authority for the City to consider a broad and diverse candidate pool for key leadership positions with the Akron Police and Fire Departments; designating the positions of Police Chief and Fire Chief as members of the unclassified civil service; clarifying that whenever practicable, vacancies in the classified civil service shall be filled by promotion, to be voted upon at the next regularly scheduled general municipal election to be held on November 5, 2024; and declaring an emergency. The recommendation was for an Adverse Report. Vote on the Adverse Report: Ayes: 7, Nays: 4 (Boyes, Davis, Garrett, Omobien). This Ordinance was Filed.

Remember...

You can see all the legislation discussed during the meeting at: https://onlinedocs.akronohio.gov/OnBaseAgendaOnline/

Welcome Ward 8 Councilman

Bruce Bolden!

A quick recap:

On July 1, 2024, Councilman James Hardy resigned. Per Charter, Council needed to fill the vacancy within 30 days. If Council did not fill the vacancy, the Mayor would need to appoint a new Council representative.

Council passed Resolution 242-2024, which accepted the resignation, expressed appreciation to Councilman James Hardy for his service, and established the date for the election to fill the vacancy caused by this resignation as July 29, 2024.

Per Council Rules, the deadline to apply is seven (7) days before the day of the election. Interested Ward 8 residents were directed to apply by emailing their letter of interest and resume to the Clerk of Council by 12:00 noon on Monday, July 22.

Council held a Town Hall on Thursday, July 11th to hear from residents about what they wanted in a new representative.

The President of Council assigned a Screening Committee consisting of the following members:

President Sommerville (Chair)

Councilman Fusco

Councilwoman Boyes

Councilwoman Connor

Councilman Garrett

This Committee held a meeting on Thursday, July 25th. During this meeting, the Committee moved into Executive Session to interview the applicants. Ohio Sunshine Laws explain that Executive Sessions may be held for only a few specific purposes, one of which is Personnel Matters: To consider appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation.

The Screening Committee met again on Monday, July 29th, and recommended Bruce Bolden to fill the vacancy.

At the 6:30 p.m. regular meeting, Bruce Bolden was nominated and elected unanimously by Council.

Resolution No. 312-2024 appointing Bruce Bolden to fill the vacancy in the Akron City Council Ward 8 position until a new Ward 8 representative can be elected at the next regularly scheduled primary and general elections at which all electors of the City are eligible to vote; and declaring an emergency. Vote: Ayes: 11, Nays: 0. (Kammer absent)

The Screening Committee would like to thank all of the applicants and the residents of Ward 8 for their assistance in this process.

Council is on Recess in August.

Though there are no regular Council or Committee meetings held, Council members and staff are still working and just a phone call (or email!) away!

Ring Doorbell Cameras

Each ward was allotted 300 cameras. Staff has worked hard to distribute these at ward meetings, prior to Council meetings, and during office hours. We're continually working through waitlists, so please make sure you check your email if you applied!

On Wednesday, July 24th, we reopened applications for Wards 1, 3, and 5 due to unclaimed cameras in these wards. We received 582 applications and are currently reviewing them.

Approved applicants will be notified by email.

Check out the calendar on

Council's website for

upcoming Ward Meetings!

Your Council Representative

Is Available to Serve You!

There are several ways to reach your Ward Representative:

View their information on the Council's website .
Attend their ward meeting .
Call or email them.

Upcoming Open Comment

Public Hearings

Up for Public Hearing September 9, 2024:

Ordinance authorizing a Conditional Use to vary the parking requirement at 360-454 E. Waterloo Road; and declaring an emergency.

Ordinance authorizing a Conditional Use to construct a solid wooden fence beyond the building line at 2016 Cramer Avenue; and declaring an emergency.

Notices are posted on our website at least 15 days before the meeting.

Suppose the Ordinance is a Conditional Use (Zoning measure). In that case, a notice is also mailed to the owners and residents of property within, contiguous to, and directly across the street from the property involved in the Ordinance (per Charter Section 34). Notices are also published in the Akron Beacon Journal.

You do not need to fill out any forms to participate. You're able to attend in person in Council Chambers or remotely via videoconference.

Those wishing to attend remotely need to notify the Clerk of Council, as outlined in the meeting notice, in order to receive the information to join remotely.

Please Help Us Get The Word Out!

Enjoying the Legislative Spotlight?

Why not share it with your friends and neighbors? The QR code will take them directly to the sign-up page on our website.

311- Akron's One Call to City Hall

If you have a specific city issue that you'd like to see resolved (a pothole, water leak, tree down, missed trash collection, etc.), you can enter it in the online system, call 311, or download

the new "MyAkron311" app.

The app is available for free on all Apple or Android devices in the app store.

After downloading, residents can create a profile, enter a service request, look up timely city information, and set up notifications specific to their address such as trash/recycling collection reminders.

Public Comment Period

A public comment period is held at each regularly scheduled Council meeting, where up to ten (10) members of the public may address Council on matters within Council's authority. No member of the public shall be permitted to address Council during the public comment period more than once every 30 days.

Those who wish to participate in the public comment period of a regular Council meeting need to submit a public comment form by 4:00 p.m. on the date of the meeting.

The sign-up form is available here.

For those that do not have a mobile device/computer to utilize, or need additional assistance, Council staff is available to help.

Signing up is a requirement of Council Rules, similar to other bodies.

Section VII: Election Procedures When Council Vacancy Must Be Filled by Council

Rule 7.8 Appointing Judges

Before counting and tabulating the ballots, the Presiding Officer shall appoint three Council members to act as judges.

If you attended the Council meeting on Monday or watched online, you saw that Councilwoman Davis, Councilman Hannah, and Councilman Lombardo served as judges at the election of the Ward 8 representative.

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You can view the Rules of Procedure

for Akron City Council here.