Laketa Cole - Accomplishments

My Record

Below are examples of my work on Council:

Established a neighborhood business district support fund.

This fund provides $10,000 per year to each of the city's 34 business districts. The program has three main goals: to assist business associations in recruiting new members and increasing community participation; to provide minimal funding for annual improvements, such as landscaping and safety related projects; and to foster cooperation between business associations and community councils.

Brought Council closer to the neighborhoods with the NIN program.

The NIN program increases interaction between committee members and communities by bringing the Neighborhoods Committee out to the community. It allows citizens who normally could not make daytime meetings to attend, giving them a chance to highlight problems specific to their community. I am extremely excited by the positive feedback I have received about this program.

Cracked down on predatory leasing in our city.

I brought groups representing both community and industry interests together with the city's Law Department to reach common ground on a new law designed to crack down on predatory leasing. My goal was to rid communities of a small but growing group of predators without discouraging legitimate investment. Laws prohibiting predatory leasing practices, such as charging exhorbitant option fees or forcing renters to pay for major repairs resulting from deferred maintenance, are now in effect.

Secured funding to study lending and investment needs of city residents and businesses.

Most of our peer cities such as Cleveland and Columbus have much better relationships with the major banking institutions because they have taken advantage of the opportunity provided by the Federal Community Reinvestment Act. This Act was intended to increase investment and access to capital to underserved areas and populations. By negotiating with various lenders in the area who need to meet CRA requirements, the City of Cleveland has inked deals valued at over $6 Billion in the last 10-12 years. The first step towards successful negotiation with lenders is to come to the bargaining table with credible and actionable information. This is what I hope to gain through this study of investment and lending needs.

Spearheaded the passage of a regional housing policy.

Recommendations include better tracking of housing choice vouchers, tougher enforcement of building and property maintenance codes, and more equitable distribution of low-income housing. The recommendations recognized that many neighborhoods feel overburdened by subsidized housing. I believe that the collective effect of these recommendations will be a more equitable and sustainable distribution of low-income housing that will benefit the city and region as a whole.

Pushed for the creation of a one-stop housing center.

In September 2004, Council voted to adopt a motion my motion asking the city administration to consolidate the city's housing services into a one-stop, Neighborhood Housing Services Center (NHSC). The goal is to give citizens and developers easier access to financing and other housing services by putting these services under one roof where there will be consistent underwriting standards. The NHSC will be up and running soon.

Provided pool passes to our youth as a reward for hard work.

I worked with businesses and associations throughout the community to raise over $7,000 to provide pool passes to 1,400 kids who could not otherwise afford them. I believe this program is helpful for two reasons. First, it let's our youth know that they are a valued part of our community, and second, it teaches them to be responsible, accountable and grateful to the community by requiring them to clean up their neighborhood in exchange for a pass.