EAST CLEVELAND, OH — Auditors discovered $1.5 million in outstanding bills owed by the City of East Cleveland to vendors who performed services or provided goods to the city, according to the chairwoman of the city's Financial Planning and Supervision Commission.
And now, confusion over who's running the city following Mayor Brandon King's felony convictions last week is delaying a proposal to raise East Cleveland's spending limits in an effort to settle those delinquent bills.
RELATED: Here's what we know about who's in charge of East Cleveland
"I'm very hesitant to approve a resolution when we do not know who's in charge and who will be making these decisions," said Barbara Mattei-Smith, chairwoman of the fiscal recovery commission.
Interim Mayor Sandra Morgan said some of the city's unpaid bills date back to 2021 and include $500,000 owed to the company East Cleveland contracts with to pick up residents' garbage.
Morgan was appointed Interim Mayor after King was suspended earlier this year following his indictment.
RELATED: Interim mayor for East Cleveland appointed
But East Cleveland Council President Lateek Shabazz believes the city's charter puts him next in line for the mayor's office.
The question of who's in charge will likely be decided by the courts, but residents like Will Tate feel caught in the middle.
"You're going to hear the same old, same old here in this city," said Tate. "Nothing ever gets done."
Tate, who is 64 years old, said he grew up in Cleveland's Hough neighborhood dreaming of living in East Cleveland.
Now that he lives in the city, Tate said he's heartbroken by what's happened.
"In the last 35 years or 30 years or so, man this city done went through it," said Tate as he sat on his porch.
He said, despite the city's decline, he believes in East Cleveland's potential.
But he wants city leaders to stop fighting among themselves and start fighting for a better East Cleveland.
"Do better, that's all I'm going to say," said Tate. "Y'all can do much better than y'all are doing in this city."
The Financial Planning and Supervision Commission voted to table the proposal to increase the spending limits to allow the city to pay overdue bills to vendors.
The group, which aims to help the city recover from financial emergency, is scheduled to meet again next month.
