Summary
- Cleveland Housing Court Administrative Judge Cheryl Wiltshire and Cleveland Municipal Court Administrative and Presiding Judge Ann Oakar spoke to Cleveland City Council members about their budget needs for 2026.
- The judges highlighted some of the successes of the Municipal Court in the past year and expectations going forward.
- Wiltshire and Oakar fielded questions from council members about a variety of topics, including evictions, shoplifting, traffic tickets and office furniture.
Follow-up questions
- Why is a constituent information management system not already in place?
- What is causing the Bratenahl ticketing percentage mentioned by Council Member Kevin Conwell, and has it been formally addressed and/or researched? [Editor’s note: Black drivers still paying ‘Bratenahl tax’].
Scene setting
During these Cleveland General Fund budget sessions, various city departments present their budget needs to Cleveland City Council members.
The 2026 Mayor’s Estimate frequently referenced in these meetings contains the proposed 2026 operating budget for city departments and divisions.
This session covered the following sections:
- Cleveland Municipal Court: Judicial Division
- Cleveland Municipal Court: Housing Division
Meeting start
The meeting started at 10 a.m. with Council President Blaine Griffin bringing the meeting to order. He then handed over the meeting facilitation to Council Member Charles Slife, as several council members, including Griffin, had to leave to attend an announcement.
The order of the meeting items changed from the planned agenda order due to afternoon commitments of the Municipal Court team.
Cleveland Municipal Court: Judicial Division
- Proposed 2026 salaries budget: $14,350,368
- Proposed 2026 total budget: $26,527,985
- Proposed 2026 staff numbers: 256
Slife began by reminding the council members, and the public, that this is an area of the budget that has less fluidity in budget reconciliation, or the process in which council and the mayor’s administration agree on changes to the proposed budget. He noted that people involved in the criminal justice system have a right to due process, and the council is obligated to fund the Municipal Court to the degree that they can provide services and provide them in a timely manner.
Judge Ann Oakar, who recently stepped into the role of administrative and presiding judge for the General Division of the Cleveland Municipal Court, presented, along with Court Administrator Michael Negray and Finance Director Michelle Kenney.
Oakar opened with remarks prior to the council members’ questions. Oakar said the court looks for underlying causes of crime and works to provide solutions to prevent cycles of reoffending. In the past two months, it has welcomed three new judges. In 2025, there was a ransomware attack affecting city departments. Since then, the court has invested in IT security improvements, and Oakar said the system is safer than ever. In 2025, they opened a new jury lounge.
A video titled “Educating Youth about Ohio’s First Municipal Court” is played for youth on field trips. In December 2025, Court Interpreter Kaoutar Sniba earned the Certified Arabic Interpreter Certification. Sniba is the first Ohio interpreter to pass the Arabic certification exam.
Council Member Michael Polensek encouraged the judges to engage with community organizations to build partnerships and relationships.
Council Member Brian Kazy asked if the staffing levels will allow the court to properly function, and Oakar said they are. Kazy also asked how many cases came before the court in 2025. Oakar didn’t have the exact number but said there was a significant increase from 2024. Kazy also asked the court to provide the total amount of fines and court costs issued by the court last year.
Slife asked where the court’s efforts to strengthen IT security are reflected in the budget. Kenney said they used a specialized docket fund last year, and the money was not from the General Fund, nor is it reflected in this year’s budget.
Slife said businesses have concerns about getting charges and arrests for shoplifting. Oakar said there has been an increase of theft charges on her dockets and is hoping that some of the concerns of businesses have been heard.
Slife gave details of a city government field trip that he has worked with Oakar to coordinate. Fourth graders come into City Hall and create a mock meeting, as well as act out a jury trial.
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Council Member Kris Harsh asked about the budget process for the courts. Kenney said the budget follows the same process as other city departments. The proposed budget is submitted in September, and then they meet with the finance director to review.
Council Member Kevin Conwell asked how Kenney monitors spending. Kenney said they have daily — sometimes weekly — conversations with the law and finance departments to process contracts, pay invoices and make deposits. Conwell also asked about the budget for office furniture and equipment dropping from $25,000 in 2025 to $5,000 in 2026. Kenney said they upgraded materials last year because some of the items were 20 years old.
In the Mayor’s Estimate, the Municipal Court General Division reported a reduction in the failure-to-appear rate, from 42% to 21%. Conwell asked if reduction saves the court money. Oakar said she’s not sure that it affects the money, but it helps in closing out cases in a timely manner.
Conwell asked if Bratenahl is starting to transfer more traffic violation cases to the Cleveland Municipal Court or if there is still a mayor’s court in Bratenahl. Oakar’s understanding is that there is still a mayor’s court in Bratenahl. Oakar can get numbers to see if there is an increase of cases coming to the court, but she said she is not privy to that information since Judge Michelle Earley sits on the Bratenahl docket.
Conwell, who is Black, said 94% of the people who are given tickets “look like I do.” [Editor’s note: The Marshall Project-Cleveland found that an estimated 60% of drivers cited by Bratenahl Police between 2020 and 2022 were Black. A follow-up review of February 2023 through the end of 2023 put the figure at 69%.
He said these tickets create barriers to employment due to losing driver’s licenses. Oakar spoke about ways to get a driver’s license reinstated and changes at the state level to reduce cost of reinstatement.
Council Member Austin Davis asked what went right in getting the failure-to-appear rate improvements. Oakar spoke about the pretrial services program, which was established seven or eight years ago. The individuals have contact from the court while their trial is pending, and it helps ensure reappearance at court.
Council Member Stephanie Howse-Jones asked about the increase in thefts showing up on Oakar’s dockets, asking what is behind that increase, what conditions lead to that person breaking the law. Oakar said they are a problem-solving court that works hard to figure out why someone is there and connect people with services to prevent reoffending. Oakar spoke about the different specialized dockets for certain crimes.
Howse-Jones spoke about there being no specialized docket for poverty, the impact that poverty can have on the psyche, and the increase in food costs since 2019. She said that most people don’t know that the livable wage for a single individual with a child is $80,000. [Editor’s note: The estimated livable salary for one person with a child in Cuyahoga County is $81,869, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage Calculator.]
Council Member Tanmay Shah asked how much a judge makes. Oakar said it’s about $151,000. The judges are paid by the state, county and city. The city is responsible for a small portion of the judges’ salaries.
Cleveland Municipal Court: Housing Division
- Proposed 2026 salaries budget: $3,860,738
- Proposed 2026 total budget: $6,017,076
- Proposed 2026 staff numbers: 55
Newly elected Housing Court Administrative Judge Cheryl Wiltshire presented, along with Court Administrator Etoi Shaquila Young and Chief Financial Officer Director Michael Cummings (spelling unconfirmed). Wiltshire noted that the budget was prepared by the previous judge, and she has gone over it with the court’s chief financial officer and they believe it is accurate.
Polensek asked if the court has adequate staff. Wiltshire said no; they are looking to hire additional staff, and they currently have 50 members, five short of the proposed budgeted headcount. Polensek and Wiltshire discussed the importance of going out in the community and the preparation needed for that.
Conwell and Wiltshire discussed the importance of staff from the Housing Court attending council meetings.
Wiltshire spoke about the legal changes that now prevent the court from requiring proof of rental registration for a landlord to proceed with an eviction. The revenue from landlords being required to get a rental registration has now stopped. This change was a decision issued by the state’s Eighth District Court of Appeals in order to ensure the Housing Court is compliant with state law. The court can still require rental registration for criminal cases, just not evictions.
Suggested Reading
Council Member Richard Starr asked about the current number of housing cases and the average time from filing to resolution. Wiltshire said there were 6,500 civil and 946 criminal cases in 2025. Wiltshire said that there isn’t an average resolution time because the cases are different.
Starr also asked if there is a system in place to track chronic violators. Wiltshire said they don’t have one, but the Law Department and Building and Housing Department should have that information. Wiltshire also said she has been asking for — but has not received — information from City Council members about properties in order to issue sentences. In response, Starr spoke about the need for a constituent management system to track things they hear about properties. He said council members are working on developing that.
Starr asked how many receiverships were granted in the last year. Wiltshire said there may have been two in the last few years.
Harsh asked about the budget being less than last year by about $300,000. City of Cleveland Chief Financial Officer Paul Barrett spoke about the budget process and said the department is carrying several vacancies. Barrett said that as they start filling vacancies, they can discuss changes.
Shah asked how many evictions are filed every two weeks on average. Wiltshire did not have that number but said she could get it. Shah also asked about remote attendance at court. Wiltshire is planning to make adjustments and would like to bring the eviction docket back in person.
Council Member Joe Jones spoke about the difference in evictions in poor vs. well-off communities. In poorer communities, evictions result in belongings being placed on tree lawns, Jones said. In richer ones, they are put in storage. He advocated for treating individuals as human beings and to change the rules about putting personal belongings on the tree lawn. Wiltshire said they can possibly work with the landlord on giving the tenant a certain amount of time before belongings are placed on the tree lawn.
Slife spoke about an incident of someone occupying a property without permission, and the police treating it as an eviction rather than criminal trespass. But the court didn’t know the names of the people occupying the property, so it couldn’t proceed with an eviction. Wiltshire said the owner could file a complaint and name individuals as John Doe or Jane Doe to proceed with an eviction. Wiltshire also said that she would need to research what the police have said about criminal trespassing.
Howse-Jones asked about information related to potential eviction for housing issues related to cleanliness and if there is a standard of household cleanliness. She spoke about the impact on people living around these homes. Young said they are looking to hire a social worker to help with those relationships and work with other agencies to assist the family. Howse-Jones asked if there are resources in the budget to help with that. Wiltshire said the social worker is one of the 55 budgeted positions that will be hired.
Council Member Deborah Gray asked that the judge consider keeping the housing clinics that previous judges provided. Wiltshire said she intends to continue the clinics.
These notes are by Documenter Jamie Harman.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalcleveland.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.