Would You Give Beachwood Mayor Merle Gorden a Raise?

Gorden is practically an institution in Beachwood, having served the city for many years on city council, as a firefighter and as mayor and safety director for the last four terms.

Mayor Merle Gorden is up for a raise next year.  But The Plain Dealer's recent article about Gorden's status as a "double dipper" --collecting retirement benefits while still working for the city -- questioned whether city council should consider that in determining whether to give him a raise.  The Plain Dealer reported that Gorden is collecting $157,000 in retirement benefits from the state in addition to his Beachwood mayoral base salary of $175,000. Add another $23,000 for the value of his pay for officiating marriages, the use of a car and some of his contributions to Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and his annual salary is $355,000.  Gorden's base salary is more than the $148,337 annual salary of Ohio Gov. John Kasich in 2012…

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Beachwood City Council to Go Paperless

Planning & Zoning meetings will also be paperless, saving the city nearly $7,000

Beachwood's Board of Education isn't the only entity in the city to eliminate paper documents. City officials on Thursday announced that City Council and Planning & Zoning Commission meetings would be paperless. The school board made a similar announcement this week. “Beachwood is always searching for ways to become more resourceful and sustainable,” Mayor Merle Gorden said in a statement. “Transferring to paperless meetings saves us time and money and it’s good for the environment as well. This is one more step Beachwood is taking to better serve our community.” The city expects to save $6,689, 75,000 sheets of paper and 200 hours of labor with this decision. The Fire Prevention Bureau went paperless inspections in June 2012 by using …

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Beachwood Contracts with University Hospitals for Drug Tests

The city has approved a two-year renewal with the hospital system

As part of its contract renewals for the beginning of the year, Beachwood Mayor Merle Gorden has again selected University Hospitals to handle drug testing and physicals for employees. UH will begin a new contract with the city starting March 1, and ending Feb. 28, 2015. A renewal was needed because the city's one-year contract with UH ends at the end of February. All City of Beachwood workers must take pre-employment drug tests. Employees in the Service Department are subjected to random testing. Civil Service workers have to take pre-employment physicals. The city is charged per test, with prices varying for the type of exam. Finance Director David Pfaff said costs generally exceed $15,000 per year for the tests. "I have been satisfied …

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Beachwood Officials: We're Prepared for Snow

The service department has 6,500 tons of salt for this season

Beachwood officials issued a statement Friday assuring residents that every effort will be made to keep roads safe in the midst of the season's first storm. “Every day, more than 100,000 residents, visitors and business people travel through Beachwood so it is imperative we keep out roads in pristine condition,” Mayor Merle S. Gorden said in the statement. “Our service department does a great job of maintaining our roads, keeping our city safe and accessible for residents and commuters.” According to the city, the Service Department’s snow removal crew employs 28 workers who operate 20 snow plows and salt trucks. Service Director Dale H. Pekarek said the department is positioned to maintain uphold road safety throughout the storm. “We are …

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Beachwood to Enhance Its Wi-Fi Network

The city will contract with a Cleveland firm for nearly 40 pieces of equipment

Though Beachwood has provided wi-fi service to a few parts of its city hall and other areas, officials found a need for an enhancement. That's why City Council approved a contract with Cleveland-based CompSource Inc. to improve Beachwood's network. The CompSource contract will cost the city $17,493. Beachwood Finance Director David Pfaff reviewed four quotes, but selected CompSource's, which was the cheapest, according to city documents. Each quote was for 39 pieces of equipment. Brecksville-based BPI's quote would have cost $20,675. Enhancing the city's wi-fi capacity was important because Beachwood had so outgrown its service that it began using outdated equipment previously used the library, Pfaff said. "The city previously provided wi-…

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Beachwood Contracts with Area Firms for Engineering & Planning Services

Oxbow Engineering of Akron and Painesville-based GPD will service the city through 2013.

Beachwood City Council this week approved measures allowing Mayor Merle Gorden to enter contracts with two firms who will provide professional planning and consulting engineering services to the city. GPD Group and Oxbow Engineering will both service the city through Dec. 31, 2013. Headquartered in Akron, GPD has multiple locations throughout the country, including one in Cleveland. Oxbow is located in Painesville. Oxbow's work will include developing plans and estimates for improvements, as authorized by the city, for the guidance of contractors who will work on various projects. GPD's Joseph R. Ciuni will act as a consulting engineer and attend meetings for council and the city's planning and zoning commission, as fit. He will also …

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Beachwood Discusses Building an Incentive Framework for Economic Development

A presentation from the city's economic development director laid out ideas on how the city could attract more businesses

Beachwood wanted to attract more businesses for years, and now officials have a plan to achieve that goal. Economic Development Director Jim Doutt gave other city officials a presentation Monday on the types of firms they should target, how they should go about doing so and the selling points for their city. "It just makes so much common sense to build this framework because it can be used as an economic development springboard for this community for years to come," Doutt said. The framework Doutt discussed for nearly 90 minutes arose from the SZD Whiteboard study, conducted in 2011. Doutt said the initial, "out of the gate" steps of the framework are: Those incentives, coupled with establishing the advantages of doing business in …

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Beachwood Mayor Attends Maltz Jewish Heritage Celebration

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, others celebrate at Cleveland City Council meeting

PHOTOS: Local Celebs Chop for Charity at Beachwood Benihana

Celebrity cook-off held Wednesday to raise money for Northeast Ohio Adoption Services and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

The 10th Dave Thomas Celebrity Cook-off was held yesterday at the Benihana in Beachwood. The celebrity cook-off was to raise money for Northeast Ohio Adoption Services and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Local sports stars, TV, radio and political celeb chefs cooked at tables for eight. There was also a silent and live auction.

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5 Things To Know Today

5 Things You Need to Know Today: A Few Showers in the Forecast

Start the day by reading five things we hope will make it better

Mayor Merle Gorden will deliver a proclamation this morning at the Diabetes Partnership of Cleveland at 8:30 a.m. in honor of the organization’s name change from Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland. Today is the last day to vote for the best farmers market, and a local market is vying for the title. Today is also the last day to see award-winning photographer and Laurel student Sarah Litt’s exhibition “Springtime Snapshots of Shaker." Beachwood High School senior Jon Sender gave us another podcast yesterday, in which he interviewed favored health teacher Holly. We’ll see a few showers today with intervals of sunshine and a high temperature of 82 degrees.

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