**Department of Aging** Helps seniors age 60 and older and adults 18-59 with disabilities with social services, home maintenance, senior education, financial assistance, housing, safety, volunteer opportunities, employment, transportation, and senior LGBT resource information.
**Aging in Place Model:** A community development model where aging and elderly residents are able to continue living in their residences and in their communities as their healthcare needs increase.
**American Rescue Plan Act Funds (ARPA):** Cleveland is receiving roughly $512 million from the federal government. City Council is deciding how to distribute this money.
Animal Control: The division is responsible for answering calls and complaints concerning dogs, cats and nuisance wildlife, including skunks, raccoons, opossums and groundhogs. It also oversees the city kennel and works to get pets adopted and reduce the number of euthanized animals.
Appropriation: Money authorized by formal action, such as a city council ordinance, for a specific purpose.
**Area Median Income:** The midpoint of a specific region’s income distribution. Half of all households in the region make more than this amount, and half make less. This figure can be used to determine who is eligible for affordable housing.
Audit: An official inspection of an individual's or organization's financial accounts, typically by an independent body.
**Ballot Initiative:** Residents can propose a new ordinance or suggest to repeal or amend an existing one by submitting a petition, signed by 5,000 or more eligible Cleveland voters, to the Clerk of City Council. Once certified, the proposed ordinance will go through council’s legislative process. If the ordinance is not passed the way the petitioners want, it can be placed on the ballot for a vote. There is a similar process for ballot initiatives at the state level as well. You can read more about the requirements for a ballot initiative for the City of Cleveland here and for the State of Ohio here.
**Bank Relations:** This office administers Cleveland’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Program, which aims to address the lack of credit and services in the city, particularly for BIPOC and low income residents. This office is part of the Office of Fair Housing & Consumer Affairs, within the Cleveland Department of Community Development.