City of Cleveland, Ohio: CHARTER AMENDMENTS ADOPTED 11-4-08

Way down the page, in section 25, you will find these parameters:

If the City’s population is: The City shall be divided into the following number of wards:

More than 575,000 ………………………………………………. 25
575,000 or less but more than 525,000………………….. 23
525,000 or less but more than 475,000………………….. 21
475,000 or less but more than 425,000………………….. 19
425,000 or less but more than 375,000………………….. 17
375,000 or less but more than 325,000………………….. 15
325,000 or less but more than 275,000………………….. 13
275,000 or less ……………………………………….…………… 11

The wards so formed shall be as nearly equal in population as may be fair and equitable, composed of contiguous and compact territory, and bounded by natural boundaries or street lines. When any territory is annexed to the City the Council shall by ordinances declare it a part of the adjacent ward or wards.

It's interesting to note here that they provide for annexation, but fail to talk about secession, or de- or dis-annexation.

It is my belief that we should now be talking about getting to a level of 17 wards immediately, if we're so hot to trot on getting busy and getting done before the census.

How many times are we going to re-tool all the systems and paperwork at the city and at the county level, to compensate for serial changes over a period of 2 or 3 years. The Honorable (this always cracks me up, how they've decked each other out with titles) Kevin Kelley, at the public review session last Wednesday at the Jones Home (little did we know we were all orphaned at that time, pending new adoption) whipped some Latin phraseology on us, saying the cost each time and every time would be de minimis.

We need to quantify de minimis and, if it's so negligible an expense, let the councilpeople pick up the tab out of their expense accounts, or personal pocket change.

CHARTER_AMENDMENTS_ADOPTED_11-4-08