CLEVELAND — Editor's Note: The above video is from a previously published, unrelated story
A little over a month after taking office, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb has released his transition report. The 104-page report outlines Bibb's top priorities, including those for the first 100 days of his administration.
“For the first time in nearly two decades, our city is in a period of transition," said Bibb in a statement. "There’s no roadmap for leadership in a world after COVID-19, but one thing is certain, change is coming. It never comes easy or quickly but it is an opportunity to question the old ways of doing things, fix what is broken and start fresh. I am deeply thankful to the emerging and experienced leaders and community voices that shaped this Transition Report to guide the future direction of our city."
The report is divided into ten parts, one for each transition subcommittee.
- Economic Development
- Education
- Environment
- Equity in action
- Health
- Modernizing city hall
- Neighborhoods
- Open government
- Public safety
- Talent
Among some of the notable recommendations are the establishment of a Department of Transportation/Mobility in the city, the hiring of a "Lead Czar," starting negotiations with police, fire, and EMS unions on new contracts, and hiring a new chief technology and innovation officer.
"This document is a call-to-action to lead with urgency on our commitments to Cleveland. It doesn’t fixate on or shy away from the challenges we face as a city: COVID-19, mental health, climate change, public safety, lead poisoning, and poverty – it identifies what we can do about them. It’s a roadmap to a more prosperous and progressive future, like it says on our city’s flag. It outlines how we can use what we celebrate about our home—our history, our diversity, our lake!—to reach that promised land of opportunity for everyone. What’s more, it’s the result of a civic engagement process involving hundreds of voices from all walks of life," Bibb wrote in the introduction to the report.
On Monday, Bibb's office also launched a new website with a dashboard of 85 measurable actions recommended by the Transition Report, which is accessible at mayor.clevelandohio.gov and will be updated regularly.
“The 100 Day Tracker has been created to offer greater transparency and accountability towards our commitments. It’s an example of how we can use technology to drive culture change at City Hall and get things done,” Mayor Bibb said. “In just over a month, we’re already making progress towards our key priorities focusing on real issues, with 33 out of 85 actions completed or in progress but we’ve got more work to do,” Mayor Bibb added.
Bibb’s priorities for the first 100 Days include plans for targeted investments and actions to make Cleveland a model for the nation on city management, police reform and neighborhood revitalization.
The Transition Report was the result of work done by over 80 "emerging and experienced leaders" who served on 10 subcommittees and two task forces. The members include residents, academics, business and faith leaders, healthcare professionals, and nonprofit leaders.
Some of the names of note as part of Bibb's subcommittees include Destination Cleveland CEO David Gilbert on the Economic Development subcommittee, former Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton serving on the Health subcommittee, Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Eric Gordon on the Education subcommittee, and Cleveland Police Patrolman Association President Jeff Follmer on the Safety subcommittee.
The city says each subcommittee engaged the community through surveys, town halls, roundtable discussions, one-on-one stakeholder meetings, interviews and listening sessions. Subcommittees were also supported by at least one student from Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, ranked one of the best urban planning colleges in the nation, to provide assistance with research, data analysis and report writing. Harvard Kennedy School of Government students later served as fellows to consolidate the policy proposals submitted by each subcommittee to develop this report.
You can read the entire Transition Report here.
Related Stories:
- 'Not good enough': Cleveland City Council expresses concern over city's winter storm response
- 'It's winter in Cleveland, folks': Mayor Justin Bibb updates city on snow removal plan ahead of winter storm
- 'We take that oath together': Justin Bibb sworn in as 58th Mayor of Cleveland
- Cleveland Mayor-elect Justin Bibb names transition committee and task force members
- Dr. Amy Acton a member of Cleveland Mayor-elect Justin Bibb's transition team