We told you earlier this month that Phillip McHugh – Mayor Justin Bibb’s former safety advisor who resigned amid a storm of criticism – has hired a defamation attorney. 

Last week, McHugh’s attorney sent a warning letter to Council Member Richard Starr. In floor speeches, the Ward 5 councilman had blasted McHugh over a now-settled lawsuit from his days as a police officer in Washington, D.C.

The letter from McHugh’s attorney, Andrew Stebbins of Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, accused Starr of misrepresenting the facts of the case. The letter also said that Starr was carrying out an “ongoing defamatory and harassing campaign which was initiated in order to remove our Client from his position as Senior Advisor for Public Safety.”

McHugh didn’t want to sue and hoped to find another resolution, the letter said. But, the letter continued, “resolution will be impossible if you make any further false statements at this evening’s City Council meeting.”

Stebbins cautioned Starr not to publish the letter. Starr posted it on Facebook anyway. 

Starr told Signal Cleveland that he plans a response soon. What sort of response? 

“You’ll see,” he said. 

St. Clair Superior group’s new boss

We noted last week that Cleveland Board of Zoning Appeals member Terri Hamilton Brown was leaving the board for good. (She temporarily stepped away in 2023 to become Cleveland’s interim economic development director). Her departure from the board should not be a surprise because Hamilton Brown is settling into her new job as executive director of the St. Clair Superior Development Corporation, which manages projects and community activities in a handful of near-East Side neighborhoods. She takes over at a time when community development corporations – and how they are funded – are undergoing big changes. Cleveland Neighborhood Progress Inc., the nonprofit that influences how the city and foundations direct money toward community projects, is driving those changes. Hamilton Brown is certainly familiar with the key players in this space. She has held top jobs at the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Metropolitan Housing Authority, banks and other organizations in town.

Cleveland school district updates deficit numbers

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District has bought itself some time with the round of cuts announced earlier this year. Those cuts include a 12.6% reduction in positions in the central office. 

The expiration of federal pandemic aid dollars has splashed red ink across the district’s financial forecasts. Last fall, CMSD projected it would hit a negative unencumbered cash balance of $168 million by 2026. 

The district now expects to stay in the black until 2027 – when it will face a bottom-line negative balance of $110 million. CEO Warren Morgan indicated at last week’s board meeting that the district was not out of the woods yet. 

“There is definitely a need for us to get revenue into our system and also improve our district operations,” he said. 

Morgan didn’t say the L-word, but a levy is not out of the question. The district acknowledged to Signal Cleveland in April that it might put a property tax increase on the ballot as soon as November. 

No firm decisions have been made, but CMSD’s political action committee has hired campaign consultants. 

Also at last week’s meeting CMSD approved a new contract with the Cleveland Teachers’ Union.