TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo City Council's Katie Moline, George Sarantou and John Hobbs III all voted no on the vote to work with the Louisville-based Cities United consulting firm, which helps communities get out of violent cycles. According to the firm's website, they've worked in more than 130 cities across the nation.
WTOL 11 caught up with District 1 Councilman John Hobbs III at one of his monthly town halls. There, he asked his district's residents what the city needs to do better and gives candid answers. To no surprise, the councilman was upfront about wanting Toledo's funds to be better spent in the city rather than the program.
Hobbs argued that there were already local community organizations working to help curb the violence, and since Cities United has NOT gotten rid of crime in Louisville, there's no point in asking them to try and fix things.
"We have local people that are out here grinding every day with our young people. With these young men, with these young women, let's help them," Hobbs III said.
Hobbs said truly the only way to make a difference with the youth and the city of Toledo as a whole, is to work with those in the community. This is especially the case when it comes to curbing violence this coming summer.
Hobbs listed off First Tee, The Junction Coalition, The Fredrick Douglas Center, The Movement, and The Boys and Girls Club of Toledo at being better places to spend the city's funds. He said those organizations are already doing the work to better Toledo.
"When they had financial support it made in a difference in our community with our young people. So, with it not being there then these [shooting incidents] went back up again. If we're going to support, I just believe, that let's support our local people," Hobbs III said.
Hobbs also said last summer, the city gave two million dollars to community organizations who provided the youth with something to do. He said nearly 66,000 children did get involved, which brought down the number of shootings in the city over the summer. But, once the funding ran out and summer was over, those numbers increased.
The Boys and Girls Club of Toledo's President and CEO, Jim Ravas, said since the pandemic, 94% of kids who come to the clubs are graduating. They are also less likely to attempt drugs, drink alcohol underage, or join a gang.
"Think about that, 100 kids that are at risk, youth. 94 out of those100 are finding an alternative way to live a more positive lifestyle," Ravas said.
He added that his organization teams up with others, like the YMCA, to give kids more experiences and opportunities.
"When they have a place to go, and they can develop themselves as a person; a caring responsible individuals, then that removes that temptation from the street," Ravas said.
Overall, councilman Hobbs says he's just not satisfied with Cities United being an option, since there's still a considerable amount of crime in the organization's founding city or Louisville.
Whereas councilwoman Tiffany Whitman voted yes for Cities United. She said the organization will create a comprehensive public safety plan. She added, the program is supposed to look at some of the city's programming to make it better.
But Hobbs III argued about the lack of clarity on how the city or Cities United is able to measure success.
"I think there are a lot of questions that still need to be answered before we allocated $180,000 dollars, with all of these uncertainties," Hobbs III said.
Toledo City Council agreed to sign a year long contract with the anti-violence organization, but WTOL 11 has been told it could go out to 18 months. Click here to learn about Toledo's connection to Cities United.
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