The Cleveland City Council on Wednesday voted against the a proposal that would have raised minimum wage to $15 per hour.
The proposal would have raised the minimum wage 85 percent higher than the state's standard, at $8.10 per hour. The legislation was brought about by a petition campaign by Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union, which has led the fight for $15 campaign's in other state's, according to their website.
The vote against the proposal is the council's final action on the measure.
In other meeting news, the council voted to place a proposed city charter amendment on the Nov. 8 ballot that would reform the Cleveland Police Department.
The amendment is meant to bring transparency and accountability to the public regarding complaints against the police. Among the changes, the name of the "Police Review Board" would change to "Civilian Police Review Board," and the board would be reconstituted to make it more effective in handling charges of misconduct, according to the meeting notes.
The proposal is an effort to comply with a federal order aimed at restoring police-community relations after the Department of Justice declared in December, 2014, that the Cleveland police engaged in patterns of excessive force.
Proposed in the reforms is an effort to diversify the Civilian Police Review Board to make it more reflective of the city's demographics. Also, amendments would give city council the authority to appoint four of the nine members. It would also forbid the appointment of law enforcement officers and all current or former employees of the Cleveland Division of Police.
“We’ll continue to work toward the necessary changes,” said Councilman Matt Zone, chairman of Council’s Safety Committee.
