08-01-18 Personnel and Finance (Budget Overview)

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®CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK reflect the diverse community that we serve. Empowerment means that everything we do leads to an internal culture where City employees are empowered to bring ideas forth and serve the public in ways that they believe is best. We also want to empower residents which, as our mission statement reflects, is the reason we believe we have City government in the first (1st)place. He went on, I want to take a moment to recap some of what we looked at in 2018 such as the priorities stated by the Common Council as well as the work that is underway thanks to the willingness of the Council to fund some of these efforts. That includes the home repair pilot that has just been launched and that is about a new approach to use what we know are very limited resources but finding how to use them for the greatest possible impact. I know Council Members have been discussing this frequently. Councilmember Williams-Preston was in a recent press conference that discussed this and she is pressing us to make sure we make the absolute most impact with the dollars we get. Light Up South Bend was an initiative championed by Council President Scott and Councilmember White. We believe our neighborhoods will be not just more pleasant but safer. The status of that has plans for about seventy (70) lights to be replaced, enhanced or added and we are currently working in districts three (3) and six (6). We are also paying attention to lighting through the lamp post pilot program.New this year we are using solar lamp posts. They are much less expensive to install because you don't have to run the wire up to the house and, with improved technology,they are actually just as good as or even better than the traditional type of light. We are rewiring historic lights on Riverside. There is a bid coming up for the lights on the bridge on Angela. As a winter City with rather long nights in the winter time,the way our lighting works really reflects how our City looks and feels to residents. And of course,we came before the Council wanting to be responsive to the Council's stated interest in enhanced Code Enforcement and compliance. We received approval for the rental inspection program. We have been underway hiring additional inspectors authorized by the Council and are preparing to approach the Council with a program that will create a basis for those inspections to take place for residential rentals. In addition, I want to mention we brought Code Enforcement onto the 311 service because we want to make sure we are addressing that well. We believe that is helping us more efficiently by having a front desk, if you will, for the department. He continued, Quality of Life in neighborhoods is always a top theme for which Council asks of the Administration to deliver on. That is part of what has motivated our work on what we call phase two (2) of the Vacant and Abandoned Housing. We are now looking at things like legal assistance to help residents obtain vacant lots on lots that have been cleared out. We have the Lincoln Way West Historic Homes tax abatement that the Council recently authorized to help with vacant lots. And we do have to continue some level of demolitions, but nothing like the bulge we had going into the early part of this Administration. We are looking at still about twenty-four(24) demolitions for 2018. The best thing we can do about vacant houses is prevent them from being vacant in the first (Is� place. Fagade grants have been very popular with the small business community. We are trying to make sure we address our corridors. We started on the West Side and we are now looking at opportunities on Mishawaka Avenue,Miami Street and possibly other areas, too. He went on, Infrastructure on corridors was a big theme from Council. In practice, we have been investing in devices that enhance the safety of rail way crossings which help extend the quiet zones in the City. We are, I think,days away from construction on the Lincoln Way West/Charles Martin Street Scape Project. We think it will really enhance the neighborhood. We are getting rid of some asphalt that doesn't need to be there and are replacing it with a more attractive and environmentally EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1227W.Jefferson Bvld j South Bend,Indiana 466011 p 574.235.9221 l f574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 1www.southbendin.gov 3