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Judge Carroll explained that because of his role as an instructor with the Ohio Judicial College that the Court has not had to pay the expense of attending those required courses. That will change with the incoming Judge. Councilmember Neff remarked that she and Judge Carroll have met to review the budget, which appears to be adequate at this time. In response to a question, Judge Carroll explained that many funds in the budget, including the computer maintenance fund, the special projects fund and others are not budgeted by Council, but rather, are set by statute and rely on outside factors such as license reinstatements. Judge Carroll answered councilmember questions regarding specific funds within the budget. In response to a question, Judge Carroll discussed the impact of COVID on court operations. He expressed pride that the Court adapted to the challenges of COVID through new technology and operations, but never closed. He explained that due to COVID that building code violations, traffic violations and landlord-tenant cases have declined. He remarked that the court has made efforts to help landlords and tenants resolve their disputes without court action. Domestic violence cases have increased. He predicted that in 2-3 years that the Court will have an uptick in civil litigation related to credit card debt, due to the challenging economic times. Also related to the impact of COVID, the police and the Courts took steps to reduce the jail population by using discretion on what kinds of offenders needed to be in jail, and which could be sent home while waiting for a court date. Councilmember Bullock thanked Judge Carroll for his many years of honorable service. Building &Housing Department Building Commissioner Chris Parmelee Commissioner Parmelee stated that the Building & Housing Department manages the housing license process for the 2,800 rental properties in the city. He gave an overview of Building & Housing's function and the variety of roles it plays in city business. He offered statistics on operations, noting that point of sale inspections were up 174% in 2021, compared to very few taking place in 2020 due to Covid. Complaints were up 27% as well. Exterior/proactive inspections were down and the housing stock's solid status reflects that. The department had a total of 2,000 property maintenance cases in 2021. Commissioner Parmelee spoke to construction permitting in the city over the past year. He noted that commercial permits were up 6% and that residential ones were up 19%. Lakewood's construction valuation jumped 135%, from $28 million in 2020 to $66 million. In regard to plan reviews, commercial reviews were down 5%, with residential ones going up 16%. The plan review fee was boosted and is more consistent with area comparables. 2