The East Cleveland Narrator 2014 Issue 5, September | Page 3
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(From p. 1) and pay off debts.
e Merriam-Webster dictio‐
nary defines deficit as “an
amount (such as an amount of
money) that is less than the
amount that is needed.”
Speaking of deficits, Johnson
compared a city’s finances to a
large bank account that has sev‐
eral smaller accounts under it.
ese accounts are called funds.
He said City Council gives him
the job of deciding how much
money should go in each small
fund so the money can be used
to take care of each fund’s busi‐
ness.
For instance, the Helen S.
Brown Fund is supposed to
only be used for the HSB Senior
Center, he said. However, when
one fund’s money is used for
another fund’s business, the first
fund ends up with a deficit—
having less money than it
needs.
e East Cleveland Narrator • September 2014 • Vol 1 • Issue 5
the City went on to miss the
deadline to turn a financial re‐
covery plan in to the state. at
October, Yost said the City was
in fiscal emergency.
A a six-member financial com‐
mission was put together to
help the City make its financial
recovery plan. Norton and City
Council president Barbara
ompson are on the commis‐
sion. Yost approved the com‐
mission’s plan this June.
e commission members at‐
tended the August 6th meeting.
So did the four supervisors Yost
picked to regularly come to City
Hall to help make the plan. At
the meeting, Johnson explained
to the commission members
what the City has done to get
back on track.
When he finished, commission
chair Sharon Hanrahan read a
letter by Yost. In it, he said
money that was supposed to be
used for the City’s Law Enforce‐
ment Trust Fund and Self In‐
surance Fund was missing from
the City’s records. In addition,
said Yost, some funds either
cost more money than the
City’s budget allowed or they
weren’t listed in the budget.
ese funds were: the Local
Law Enforcement Block Grant
Fund, Helen S. Brown Trans‐
portation Fund, Water Capital
Improvement Fund, HSB Fund,
Law Enforcement Trust Fund
and the Self Insurance Fund.
Yost said the City’s plan includ‐
ed earning more money for
some items than the items
make. ese include traffic
cameras and the mobile phone
cell tower the City rents out.
Lastly, the City started using a
self-insured healthcare
program, said Yost. But because
claims from it come in on and
off, it’s hard to tell if the pro‐
gram is saving as much money
as the City planned.
Regarding Yost’s letter, Norton
asked Hanrahan if the Com‐
mission could have a “condi‐
tional vote” about the loan in‐
stead of a just voting yes or no
about it. He wanted commis‐
sion members’ votes to say they
would or would not let the loan
go through if the City took all
the steps Yost laid out.
However, Hanrahan said she
didn’t want to “go out on a
limb” by allowing a conditional
vote. So she asked members to
just vote yes or no.
In the end, Norton and City
Councilor omas Wheeler—
who came instead of Council
president omas, because she
was out of town—voted yes.
e other (Cont. p. 7)
East Cleveland has about 12
funds that have deficits, said
Johnson. ey each have less
than $0.00 in them. We have
70–90 funds that have more
than $0.00 in them—but only
on paper, Johnson said. In reali‐
ty, because we spent money
from the wrong funds, even
funds that look like they have
money in them are almost emp‐
ty.
“I’ve gotten to the point where
there are so many negative
funds, I can’t operate,” said
Johnson.
In fact, it even looked like John‐
son would have no money to
pay workers on the August 29
payday. However, as of August
27, when this paper went to
print, he reported that pay
checks would go out on time.
“MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, MONEY”
City finance director Jack Johnson addresses members of the Financial Planning and Supervision
Commission, August 6, 2014, in the East Cleveland Public Library lower auditorium. (ECN Photo)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
BACK TO SCHOOL
Another problem the City has is
debt. We owe money to others.
ANTHONY PRICE
ECN: Who helped you get to
where you are in life?
So about $1.9 million of the
loan the City wants would be
use to pay back money we owe
others, Johnson said. e other
$5.3 million would pay for
deficits—the money we owe our
funds.
(From p. 1) mother about it. She
was so proud. She said this
would be an excellent opportu‐
nity.
AP: My mother. She instilled in
me that what you do today is a
reflection of your tomorrow.
She raised me to be a leader, to
be a person that gives back to
my community. Without my
mother. I don’t think I would be
the young man I am today.
In 2012, Ohio state auditor
David Yost placed East Cleve‐
land in fiscal watch because of
our money troubles. In last
month’s Narrator, Smedley
talked about that time. He said
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