Committee approves ordinance for Municipal Court to apply for state body-armor grant

The Committee of Finance, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on March 30 approved emergency ordinance 352-2026 authorizing the Director of Finance, on behalf of Cleveland Municipal Court, to apply for and accept a grant from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to participate in the Ohio Law Enforcement Body Armor Program and to enter contracts to purchase body armor and related gear.

Michelle Kenny, Finance Director for Cleveland Municipal Court, told the committee the funding is intended to equip the court’s Bailiff Department for field work. "What this grant is is something that our Bailiff's Department needs," she said, describing that a few deputy bailiffs go into the field to serve warrants and other orders and require vests and equipment to do that work safely.

Patricia McGinty Gaston of the Law Department provided an amendment to the ordinance's text; the assistant director of law’s requested changes were read into the record and the committee’s legal staff said there was no objection to the amendment. With no questions from council members, the committee approved the ordinance and directed signatures as required. The committee did not record a roll-call vote in the transcript; the chair declared the ordinance approved.