Photo/Video Assignment: General Fund Budget Hearing, Day 1, Morning Session [IN-PERSON ONLY]

601 Lakeside Ave Cleveland, OH 44114 (Directions)

Cleveland City Hall, Mercedes Cotner Room 217

It is budget season in Cleveland! We’re going to document it!

We do not expect you to be a budget expert. Honestly, we don’t know many people who are. We want you to lead with your curiosity. Document the process as you see it. Ask questions about what you don’t understand. And of course, follow the money.

For this assignment, we are asking you to document this General Fund budget hearing with photos and video. We will be using your work to add color and context to our daily budget hearing coverage at Signal Cleveland.

What you will capture in photos and video:

• Scenes of the room
• City representatives presenting and answering questions
• Council members asking questions
• The audience watching the hearings
• Anything of note that happens when you are in the room

What you’ll submit:

• 15-20 photos of the hearing.
• 3 videos of the hearing (min. 60 seconds, max. 5 minutes)
• A list of your photos with the names of people in each photo (to the best of your ability)

Hours and pay:

• This is a 2 hour assignment that starts when the hearings begin at 9am.
• Pay for this assignment is fixed at 6 hours total (2 meeting hours + 2 for prep and review + 2 hours for in-person)
• Total pay for this assignment is fixed at $108.

For this assignment:

• You will need to attend this meeting in-person in the Mercedes Cotner Room at Cleveland City Hall.
• You will need to present a photo ID to enter City Hall.
• You will need a mobile phone with the ability to take high resolution photos and video, OR
• A camera with the ability to take high resolution photos and video.

How to submit: You will submit your photos, video and names document in the “Documents” section of your assignment page (linked in the “you next assignment” email):

• Click the button that says “Add document.”
• For photos, click the “Image” link in the drop down menu, and select “Choose a file” to upload an image. Do this for every image you are submitting.
• For video, click “File” link in the drop down menu, and select “Choose a file” to upload a video. Do this for every video you are submitting.
• Send your list of photos and the people in them to Lawrence Caswell at lawrence@signalcleveland.org.
• Don’t forget to complete your assignment checklist!

Some photo/video resources:

• Here are a few tips on taking photos and video from the Documenters Field Guide.
• How to take awesome pictures with your phone camera (WikiHow)
• How to shoot a video (WikiHow)

Some tips for taking photos and videos in the Mercedes Cotner Room at Cleveland City Hall:

• Under the Ohio Open Meetings Act, you are absolutely allowed to document local government meetings with photos and video.
• In general, try to get as close to the table as you can to get shots of individuals, as well as the whole group.
• You may have an easier time shooting from the ends of the table.
• However, you may be told that you cannot record from certain positions in the room.
• If you’d like, we can provide you with a Documenters card to identify yourself as a Cleveland Documenter.
• If asked about your presence at the meeting, feel free to use this language: I am a Greater Clevelander trained to document public meetings in the public interest. My work as a Cleveland Documenter is published in partnership with Signal Cleveland.

On the agenda for this meeting: During these hearings, City Council will ask questions of every city department, division, and office regarding their proposed 2024 budgets. When we know which sections are set to be covered in your session, we’ll update this spot and also send you the information, including relevant page numbers in the Mayor’s Estimate.

2024 budget hearing resources:

• The 2024 Mayor’s Estimate. Council members will refer to this document in the meeting. It has all the proposed budget numbers. Note: The original PDF might be easier to navigate. To access it from the Document Cloud link, click or tap the button in the top right corner. Then click or tap “Original Document (PDF).”
• Video: 5 quick tips for navigating the 2024 Mayor’s Estimate document: https://youtu.be/TrHO1kFhfdw
• Cleveland’s budget process: How does it work? (Guide) Note: This is from last year, but the process is the same.
• Review past Documenters’ budget hearing coverage.

For any problems or questions before, during, or after this assignment, please reach out to Lawrence Caswell at lawrence@signalcleveland.org or 216-496-3830

NOTE: this is the first time we are doing a photo/video meeting assignment. Tell us what we can do to make it better. lawrence@signalcleveland.org or 216-496-3830

Check the source website for additional information