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1 MINUTES OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MARCH 2, 2026 COUNCIL CHAMBERS Present: Councilmembers Baker ( Chair), Bullock, Strebig Also Present: Councilmembers Kepple, Hamilton Steiner, Bixenstine, Evans, Finance Director Mahoney, Mayor George, Human Service Director Berry, Law Director Vargo, Council staff Call to Order: 6:02 p.m. Approval of the minutes of the February 9, 2026 Finance Committee meeting. A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the February 9, 2026 Finance Committee. All members voted in favor. Motion passed. Minutes approved. Communication from President Kepple & Vice President Baker regarding establishing a Lakewood Host Community Cannabis Fund. (referred to Finance Committee 2/2/26) ORDINANCE 15-2026 - AN ORDINANCE to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least two thirds of the members of Council, or otherwise to take effect and be in force at the earliest period allowed by law to enact Section 129.65 of the Lakewood Codified Ordinances entitled Host Community Cannabis Fund, to provide guidance regarding the use of new tax revenues related to the sale of cannabis. ( 1st read & referred to Finance Committee 2/2/26) Chair Baker provided background on the Host Community Cannabis Fund and explained that the City will be receiving state monies based on the revenue from the two adult use dispensaries located in Lakewood. He said the goal of the proposed ordinance is to establish a new fund into which those monies will be deposited and to define the purpose of the fund. In response to a question from Chair Baker, Finance Director Mahoney confirmed that once passed the ordinance would establish the fund, but it would not authorize the City to spend the money in the fund. She said that once the ordinance is passed, she will introduce an amended appropriations ordinance so the money can be spent. In response to another question from Chair Baker, Finance Director Mahoney said that the proposed ordinance is appropriate, but she will need to send it to the State after passage to authorize the ordinance. Chair Baker then opened the floor to feedback from Councilmembers regarding Section 1 (c) of the ordinance, which outlines the authorized expenditures of the fund. Councilmember Strebig suggested that “ public health” should be added to that section. Mayor George added that she agrees public health expenditures should be included, especially given the recent cuts from the County to the Health and Human Services budget. Docusign Envelope ID: F84361B8- BE2C- 8B8F-8086-B5ADBBA89FFB 2 In response to a question from Chair Baker, Finance Director Mahoney confirmed that the City can spend the fund on capital or operational expenses as long as those expenses meet the intended purpose of the fund. Human Services Director Berry provided an update on funding for the Division of Youth and shared that they were recently notified that the County contract that funds that program has been cut by 24.4 percent across the board. He said that since they have a few vacant positions they will be able to maintain funding for the current staffing levels, but it will be a challenge to meet the rising demand in emergency services. He said he has located funding to get the department through this year and part of next year, but additional funds would help to provide more stability for the program and the critical emergency services it provides for residents. In response to a question from Chair Baker, Director Berry explained that the Division of Youth programs serve the western suburbs and two western zip codes of Cleveland, however lately the vast majority of referrals have been from Lakewood and the West Park neighborhood. He said that the program provides vital services for at-risk families, and the services are needed now more than ever because DCFS staffing levels have also been negatively impacted by the budget cuts. Chair Baker suggested that the committee defer the proposed Ordinance so he can coordinate with Finance Director Mahoney to edit the language to ensure the funds can be used on both operational and capital expenses. He requested that Councilmembers share any suggested edits in written form. In response to questions from Councilmember Bullock, Director Berry explained the timeline of the County’ s budget and the impact on their contracts. He also spoke about their partnership with the Lakewood Foundation to help offset the financial impact of the County’ s cuts. He said they had to eliminate two positions that were unfilled and reduce line items for emergency assistance. In response to a question from Councilmember Bullock, Chair Baker provided more detail on the language of Section 1 (d). Finance Director Mahoney clarified that the Finance Director role is no longer covered under a bond, just regular employee liability. In response to a question from Councilmember Bullock, Chair Baker explained this ordinance is a rough draft and the intent was to start the conversation. He said based on the conversations tonight it would make sense to add “ public health” to the list of authorized expenditures in Section 1 (c). Councilmember Bullock said he is interested in finding other ways to stabilize funding for current programs at the Human Services Department and leverage this fund for new initiatives in the fields of public health and public safety. Chair Baker provided more background on how this funding was used when medical marijuana was first legalized. He said he understands Councilmember Bullocks point, but at the end of the day he does not want to be too restrictive on how the administration can use these funds. Docusign Envelope ID: F84361B8- BE2C- 8B8F-8086-B5ADBBA89FFB 3 In response to a question from President Kepple, Director Berry said that they were officially informed about the cuts from the County about 2 – 3 weeks ago. Councilmember Hamilton Steiner said she is in support of adding “ public health” to the ordinance and allowing for programmatic elements to be funded. She also urged Council to take this opportunity to pilot some metrics that can be used to align the City’ s values of equity and inclusion with their budget decisions. Chair Baker made a motion to receive and file the communication, seconded by Councilmember Strebig. All members voted in favor. Motion passed. Chair Baker made a motion to defer Ordinance 15-2026 for further deliberations, seconded by Strebig. All members voted in favor. Motion passed. Communication from Finance Director Mahoney regarding Audit Committee. referred to Finance 9/2/25) ORDINANCE 27-2025 - AN ORDINANCE to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least two thirds of the members of Council, or otherwise to take effect and be in force at the earliest period allowed by law, repealing Chapter 160, Audit Committee of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Lakewood. ( 1st read & referred to Finance 9/2/25; 2nd reading 9/15/25) Chair Baker made a motion to receive and file the communication, seconded by Councilmember Strebig. All members voted in favor. At the invitation of Chair Baker, Finance Director Mahoney provided background on the origin of the Audit Committee. She explained that over the years the Audit Committee has stopped meeting because the City has had clean audits and there does not seem to be a need for the committee. She said she is proposing that in place of the Audit Committee, the Auditor could come to a Finance Committee meeting to present the results of the annual audit reports. Director Mahoney said she asked the State Auditor if there would be a penalty for disbanding the committee and he said no but it would be good practice to have the Finance Committee review the audit reports. Councilmember Bullock said there was a time when the Audit Committee was active and fruitful, and comprised of financial experts with valuable insights. He said he understands the challenges, but he thinks there is a way to operate the Audit Committee that could once again be fruitful. Director Mahoney responded that the purpose of the Audit Committee as defined by the State is to review the audit. She said she would hate to have citizens be part of a committee that is not necessary. Docusign Envelope ID: F84361B8- BE2C- 8B8F-8086-B5ADBBA89FFB 4 Chair Baker weighed in on the dialogue and suggested that moving the review of the Audit to the Finance Committee would bring more visibility and community engagement to the matter. He said he has a proposal in mind to codify the Finance Committee as the Audit Committee. President Kepple said that Chair Baker ’s proposal seems like a sensible approach. She said she agreed to co-sponsor the ordinance because she does not like having committees that do not have a clear purpose. She suggested that by moving the discussion to the Finance Committee, they could still invite community members with finance backgrounds to participate in the audit reviews. Councilmember Hamilton Steiner questioned if there was a way to form a hybrid approach where an ad-hoc audit committee participated in the audit review. Chair Baker said that the Auditor is the independent third party, and the reports are written very clearly. He expressed no concern about Council’ s ability to understand and interpret the Auditor’ s reports on their own. Councilmember Strebig said she understands both sides and she is looking forward to hearing more about Chair Baker’ s proposal. Chair Baker said he emailed his proposed amendments to the Clerk of Council, and he briefly reviewed them on the floor. Director Mahoney said she thinks the original purpose of the State recommending the Audit Committees was to ensure that the reports were being shared with the public. She said she agrees that a presentation during the Finance Committee would be much more accessible to the public. She also said that as part of the audit process they aways have the option to schedule an exit interview, which could be done in the Finance Committee. Councilmember Bullock said he likes the amendments that Chair Baker has proposed. He added that he has a broader interpretation of Chapter 160.01 beyond just financial oversight. Chair Baker said he welcomes suggested language to be discussed at the next Finance Committee meeting. Chair Baker made a motion to defer, seconded by Councilmember Strebig. All members voted in favor. Motion passed. Finance Committee adjourned at 6:55 p.m. Approved: March 23, 2026 Kyle Baker, Chair Finance Committee Maureen M. Bach, Clerk of Council Docusign Envelope ID: F84361B8- BE2C- 8B8F-8086-B5ADBBA89FFB