Cleveland City Council voted to more than double the amount of money that members can be reimbursed for monthly expenses.

The new expense limit is now $2,500 per month, up from the longstanding amount of $1,200. Council introduced and passed the legislation Monday night.

Members use their expense accounts for mileage, supplementing assistants’ pay, renting office space and other costs they incur while doing their jobs. 

Council President Blaine Griffin said that council raised the limit to keep up with inflation. The old maximum had been in place for four decades, he said. 

“It costs more to do business as a council person,” he said. “And this thing hasn’t been changed since 1986, so do the math.” 

Back then, $1,200 had the buying power of $3,548. 

Expense accounts have also been misused. In 2021, a jury convicted former Council Member Ken Johnson on corruption charges that included using false expense reports to pocket his $1,200 per month. Johnson was released from federal prison last year after serving four years on a six-year sentence. 

Media scrutiny of Johnson’s expenses in 2019 prompted council to hire a law firm to look into how members sought reimbursement. The audit found that some members didn’t properly document their spending. 

Asked how he could prevent another Johnson-style case, Griffin pointed to council’s expense account guidelines, which were last updated in 2020. 

The rules prohibit reimbursements for cash payments and require council members to submit their expenses, with documentation, within 60 days. 

“We have guidelines and guardrails in place in order to make sure that we hold people accountable,” Griffin said, “and our fiscal team is being a lot more diligent as far as making sure that they flag expenditures that are not allowable.” 

Read council’s guidelines below: