Mission:

As the first Inspector General of Cuyahoga County, I commit to you that if you report an allegation of wrongdoing to my Agency it will be fully investigated and when appropriate a referral for further governmental intervention or internal discipline will be made. It is no longer business as usual in Cuyahoga County. This is about a change in the way we do business. We owe it to ourselves, to the taxpayers and to the residents of the county to engage in business practices of the highest ethical standards.

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Contractor Registration


Introduction
The Cuyahoga County Ethics Ordinance (“Ethics Ordinance”) sets forth several requirements for County Contractors (“Contractor”) doing business with the County.  A Contractor is defined as a person or entity - including but not limited to service providers, vendors and consultants – that provides goods or services to the County under terms specified in a binding, officially approved agreement.  Therefore, all service providers, contractors, vendors or consultants that provide goods or services to the County under the terms of a contract or in exchange for a purchase order or voucher, are required to adhere to the provisions of the Ethics Ordinance.

Pre-Business Requirements
Effective January 1, 2012, Article VII, Section 34 of the Ethics Ordinance requires the following from all Contractors prior to doing business with the County:  

  • The Contractor must be registered with the Cuyahoga County Agency of Inspector General (“Agency of Inspector General”).  Registration includes completion of the attached registration form, signing of the Ethics Ordinance Certification, and, if not exempted, submittal of a $100 registration fee.  Registration is a pre-condition for the signing of any contract with the County.  Contractors must submit the requisite registration documents, and if not exempted, the registration fee to the Agency of Inspector General concurrently with or before they submit competitive bids or proposals.  Contracts not procured through a competitive bid process must submit the same prior to approval and signature of the contract by the County.  Registration is an annual requirement.  All registrations will expire on December 31st of the respective registration year. 
  • A representative from each non-exempt Contractor must attend an ethics training program provided by the Agency of Inspector General within fifteen (15) days of submission of the registration form and Ethics Ordinance Certification to the Agency of Inspector General.  Contractors located in the State of Ohio are required to attend a live training session.  Enrollment is required prior to attendance at a live ethics training session.  Enrollment can be completed by visiting the Ethics Training Page.  Trainings are generally held at the Cuyahoga County Council Chambers located in the Justice Center at 1200 Ontario Street, Cleveland (first floor).  Out of state Contractors can contact the Agency of Inspector General at the number listed below to inquire about the availability of web-based training. 

Submittal of the $100 registration fee and attendance at training is not required for any Contractor whose annual aggregate amount of contracting with the County totals $15,000.00 or less on a calendar year basis.  Such Contractors will, however, still be required to sign an Exempt Contractor Registration Form and Ethics Ordinance Certification prior to doing business with the County.  It is the Contractor’s responsibility to track their annual aggregate amount of contracting with the County and to comply with all registration and training requirements if their annual aggregate amount of contracting will exceed $15,000.00.

 

In addition, the County has approved multiple exemptions to the registration fee and training requirements.  Contractors are encouraged to review the exemption list prior to starting the registration and training process.  Each exempted Contractor, however, is still required to complete an Exempt Contractor Registration Form and Ethics Ordinance Certification.

 
Training  

As noted above, a representative from each non-exempt Contractor must attend a ethics training program provided by the Agency of Inspector General.  Attendance must occur within fifteen (15) days of submission of the registration form and Ethics Ordinance Certification to the Inspector General. Contractors located in the State of Ohio are required to attend a live training session.  Enrollment is required prior to attendance at a live ethics training session. Enrollment can be completed by visiting Ethics Training Page.  Trainings are generally held at the Cuyahoga County Council Chambers located in the Justice Center at 1200 Ontario Street, Cleveland (first floor). Out of state Contractors can contact the Agency of Inspector General at the number listed below to inquire about the availability of web-based training.

 

Penalties

The Agency of Inspector General is designated by Article IX of the Ethics Ordinance as the ethics investigative officer for the County and is required to conduct all investigations pertaining to the Ethics Ordinance. Failure to complete the pre-business requirements noted above will result in the Contractor being prohibited from entering into any contracts with the County until they are in compliance.  In addition, Contractors who are found to be in violation of the substantive provisions of the Ethics Ordinance may be subjected to any of the following penalties:

 

  1. Removal from registry;

  2. Prohibition on entering into any contracts with the County for a period determined by the Agency of Inspector General;

  3. Voiding of existing contract; and/or

  4. Any other penalty(ies) as the Agency of Inspector General may deem appropriate.