The Observation Deck

The Conflict-of-Interest Problem Continues

Please take a good look at these minutes of Lakewood City Council.

Former trustees of Lakewood Hospital Association who serve on city council continue to vote on matters before council that stem from the time when they were active trustees.

Council-members Bullock and Litten were both trustees of Lakewood Hospital Association ("LHA") at the time the City entered into the Master Agreement with LHA.

Neither of these former trustees is recusing himself from participating in voting on council measures that relate or benefit the Lakewood Hospital Association.

Cleveland City Council-member Cimperman Understands The Problem--Lakewood Doesn't

http://www.news-herald.com/general-news ... conviction

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-he ... sdemeanors

Council-members Have A Charter-Imposed Duty To Avoid Conflicts of Interest

Here is the text of Lakewood's Third Amended Charter (at pp. 25, 26.)

You be the judge:

While I enjoy the "high fallutin'" verbiage of the charter (I know some of its drafters are very skilled in English) I'd much prefer an adherence to simple arithmetic as a standard of service.
Stan Austin

Perceived Conflict of Interest or Appearance of Impropriety

The Minutes posted above at the top of this thread describe both resolutions and ordinances that relate to the City of Lakewood's Master Agreement with the Lakewood Hospital Association.

Two council-members who were trustees of Lakewood Hospital Association at the time the Master Agreement was adopted routinely vote on matters related to Lakewood Hospital Association's obligations under that agreement. (For example, Lakewood Hospital Association's obligation to fund the site preparation of the former hospital site.)

What I am describing here is the kind of "perceived conflict of interest" or "appearance of impropriety" that the Third Amended Charter was adopted to expressly prevent.

This could easily be addressed by each council-member recusing himself from voting on any measure that relates to the Master Agreement.

Why Does This Matter?

1. Hundreds of millions of dollar are involved in the public decision-making process in the decade between 2014 and 2024 associated with the development of the Master Agreement, its implementation and consequences, as well as the pending development agreement with the City's selected developer. There is nothing puny about these votes. They are crucial to private parties seeking specific preferential outcomes from the City of Lakewood.

2. The Lakewood Hospital Association and its sole member, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, have been the repeated beneficiary of council-member votes cast by members of city council who served as its trustees (Madigan, Bullock, Litten). This sets an unfavorable precedent for future disregard of conflicts-of-interest in city council.

3. The failure of local elected officials to recognize and act upon their individual ethical obligations places them at considerable risk for adverse legal consequences, some of which have criminal ramifications. I will call this the "Joe Cimperman Risk"

4. Finally, what I am describing is both recent, real, and on-going.

Former LHA Trustees Serving On City Council Continue To Vote On Matters Before Council That They Participated In As LHA Trustees

The Third Amended Charter of the City of Lakewood continues to be meaningless, widely-ignored and unenforceable. Witness another vote on the LHA Master Agreement.

Ohio Ethics Commission Explains Conflicts