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Community Engagement News


Friday, October 31, 2008


City-Wide Block Watch Meeting


Any interested resident is cordially invited to the first City-Wide Block Captains Meeting, Tuesday November 11, 2008 @ 7pm, Lakewood City Hall Auditorium.
This will be a great opportunity to meet your fellow block captains, hear about current progress, and voice any concerns & questions you or your neighbors may have about the program. The new mini-station officers as well as members of council and the Mayor have been invited to attend.
If you can attend, please RSVP by Thurs. Nov. 6th. In addition, if you know any residents that are interested in starting a block club on their street but have not yet taken the first step, get them involved too! They are also welcome to attend on a space available basis and should also RSVP to me either by email or by calling my office.
The Lakewood Neighborhood Block Club program is really taking off. Hope you can take advantage of this opportunity to hear what others are doing to make their neighborhoods cleaner, safer and stronger.
An agenda will follow in the next few weeks in a separate email.
See you there!
Terri Richards
Lakewood CERT Coordinator
Block Club Information Office
Office Hours: Tues, Weds., Thurs., 8:30 am-3:00 pm
216-529-6657

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Monday, October 20, 2008


From City Finance Director J. Pae


The City of Lakewood's 2007 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) and Audit was released by the State Auditor's Office today (10-16-08).

The 2007 CAFR reflects not only the City’s continued commitment towards sound fiscal management and excellence in financial reporting, but also presents interesting demographic and economic statistical data. This will mark the 26th consecutive year that the City of Lakewood will have received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association.

You can view the unqualified audit opinion and CAFR at:
I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the development of the 2007 CAFR, especially John Hribar and the rest of the City of Lakewood Finance Department staff.

I would also like to thank the City's Audit Committee for their guidance and feedback during this year's audit process.

Audit Committee members are: the members of the Council Finance Committee (Michael Summers, Kevin Butler, and Mary Louise Madigan), Audit Committee Chair - Ken Haber, Ray Cushing, William George, Charles Page, Jason Stewart, and Clint Weddell.


The charge of the City of Lakewood's Audit Committee is to:
§ Review the financial statements
§ Review the auditors reports and following up on corrective actions
§ Review the comprehensive framework of internal controls
§ Assess the performance of the independent auditors
§ Provide an independent forum to report findings of management fraud, abuse or control override.

Finally, I would like to thank the Financial Audit Staff and the Local Government Services Staff from the Auditor of State Mary Taylor's Office. They are truly a group of hard-working, financial professionals, and it is a pleasure to work with them.

If you ever have any questions about the City of Lakewood's Finances or local government financial issues, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Jennifer R. Pae
Director of Finance
City of Lakewood
(216) 529-6092

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Friday, October 10, 2008


Merger FAQs


Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why did the LakewoodAlive and Lakewood Community Progress Inc. (LCPI) decide to merge?

A: After a significant amount of discussion and analysis, the LCPI Board of Trustees and LakewoodAlive Executive Committee determined that a merger of the two organizations would create a powerful formula for driving economic development within Lakewood for the benefit of the Lakewood community and its citizens. LCPI offers both an optimum organizational structure with the ability to secure valuable grant funding, while LakewoodAlive offers an effective approach to community engagement and for developing greater understanding of economic development.

Q: Why was LakewoodAlive selected as the name of the merged organization?

A: LakewoodAlive was selected as the name for the newly melded organization because of its name recognition and brand equity within the community.

Q: What existing brand elements will be adopted by the new organization?

A: The LakewoodAlive logo will be adopted by the new organization and the website (www.lakewoodalive.com) and newsletter will be enhanced offering economic development information and insights not previously available.

Q: What are the implications of LakewoodAlive (a PAC) merging with LCPI (a 501-c3 organization)?

A: There are no implications. The pre-merger LakewoodAlive organization (a PAC) has been dissolved and all funds held by that organization have been either be expended or donated directly to the NEW LakewoodAlive organization prior to the dissolution. Upon receipt, the NEW LakewoodAlive Board of Trustees will determine the most appropriate use of donated funds. As the NEW LakewoodAlive is a 501© (3) organization, future donations to LakewoodAlive will be fully tax deductible.

Q: Will LakewoodAlive still offer community forums for residents?

A: Yes, absolutely! LakewoodAlive forums have been highly effective in raising community awareness to key economic development issues.

Q: What happens to the LA executive committee?

A: The existing LakewoodAlive Executive Committee will remain intact and will serve as the leadership team for the “Community Engagement” committee within the newly formed LakewoodAlive organization.

Q: Will the LCPI board structure change?

A: No, the LCPI board structure will not change, other than to be renamed as LakewoodAlive

Q: LCPI receives Community Block Grant funds distributed by the City. Will this funding impact LakewoodAlive’s commitment to be non-partisan in its programming?

A: As always, LakewoodAlive will strive to be non-partisan in the availability and positioning of information. LakewoodAlive embraces both sides of any debate and works to provide as complete of information as possible to promote informed decision making. Community Block Grant funds typically are designated by the federal government for a specific purpose and thus are left to minimal interpretation by local sources. We do not believe that there will be any conflict of issue concerns.

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