Covered by Documenter Carolyn Cooper
What happened: Finance Committee members approved spending $300,000 to help reach residents who attended but did not complete college. Chief Education Officer Holly Trifiro said that includes as many as 60,000 Clevelanders, some of whom have debt getting in the way of their return to a college classroom. The money would be spent to promote the “Comebacker Campaign” designed to help people finish degrees and access millions in student-debt forgiveness assistance. Council voted to approve the legislation at its meeting that night.
And also: The committee approved dropping the city fine for fare evasion — not paying a bus or train fare — from a potential $250 and 30 days in jail to $25 and encouraging the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) to cite people under the city law instead of the state law. A $25 fine would be closer to the cost of a parking ticket. Council later approved the legislation at its regular meeting, though the transit authority didn’t commit to using the new law.
Catch up on the background on fare evasion with the primer by Signal’s Doug Breehl-Pitorak.