Dear Friends, Thanks for the opportunity to serve you as County Councilperson. Here are some recent Cuyahoga County developments: Approval of directors: On Tuesday, April 28th, County Council confirmed 5 key directors for Executive Armond Budish as follows: Dennis Kennedy—Fiscal Officer Christopher Murray—Treasurer Mark Griffin—Inspector General Bob Triozzi—Law Director Mike Dever—Public Works Director Arts & Culture Levy: On Tuesday, April 28th, legislation was introduced to place an issue on the ballot this November to extend the Arts and Culture Levy for an additional 10 years. This levy, which was first approved in 2006, provides financial support for a very broad range of arts and cultural institutions in Greater Cleveland. The levy is a 30-cent per pack tax on cigarettes. Recognizing the vital role that the arts play in our community in improving both our quality of life and our economy, I strongly support the levy. However, I prefer placing the issue on the ballot next spring, rather than in November, which would save the County $107,000 in election expenses. I’m confident that the levy would pass with either timing. Demolition Program: Cuyahoga County recently approved grants to over 20 municipalities, totaling about $10 million, to assist with demolition of vacant and abandoned property. All three communities in my district, Cleveland, Lakewood, and Brook Park, received grants. State of the County Address: On Wednesday, April 15th, Executive Armond Budish delivered the State of the County Address. He announced a series of initiatives centered on business innovation and entrepreneurship. Key proposals included the following: 1. Library Innovation Centers: Executive Budish proposed a pilot program to create Business Innovation Centers at three county libraries in Garfield Heights, Mayfield, and Parma at which entrepreneurs could develop business ideas and would have access to state-of-the-art equipment such as 3-D printers and advanced software. 2. Attraction of $15 million in private capital to assist with early stage business development. 3. An additional $2 million county investment in our already-successful Economic Community Development Institute (ECDI) small business loan program. The additional county investment would leverage a total of $8 million in small business loans. 4. Support for economic inclusion goals by eliminating the bonding requirement on construction contracts of $250,000 or less. Dale’s Initiatives: The Executive’s focus and business development is great and I wholeheartedly support it. Believing that businesses need capable workers to thrive, I’m focusing on a complimentary set of initiatives related to helping people reach their full potential, including the following: 1. A comprehensive human services planning process. 2. Creation of a Youth Development Office to coordinate and enhance programs to help young people learn the things they need to know to succeed in life in the 21st Century that aren’t typically taught in the classroom. 3. Enhanced approaches to workforce development that help people think more positively about who they are and what their possibilities are. 4. A small business intern program to help businesses complete projects that they otherwise would not have resources for, help students gain real world experience, and encourage them to stay in Greater Cleveland to live and work. Ice Cream Social: Please mark your calendars for Thursday, September 17, 2015, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM for our annual Ice Cream Social, which will also feature my Announcement of Candidacy for Re-election to County Council. This event will take place, as in the recent past, at the Women’s Pavilion at Lakewood Park. Please contact me at 216-252-7827 or [email protected] if I can be helpful. Sincerely, Dale Miller County Councilperson