08-01-18 Personnel and Finance (#1)

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®CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK Councilmember Oliver Davis stated, First(1St) of all,I appreciate the presentation. When it comes down to the year 2021, you were talking about us looking at a two (2) year budget for 2019 and 2020. In order to do that better, are there any preliminary things that they talk about when it comes to the circuit breaker that will hit in 2020? What is the long term effect for like 2021 and 2022? Because if it just goes one(1)rough year then we have good years,all of our pressure doesn't have to be over 2019 and 2020. Some of it could be spread into 2021,too, if 2021 is going to be a good year because of the fact that it takes some of that pressure off 2020 and 2019. You talked about having a possible freeze. If 2021 is still looking like a normal or a better year and then 2022 down the road, and we just have that rough 2020 year because the numbers are lower than where we were at years before, we could absorb some of that in 2019, 2020 and 2021. It doesn't all have to two (2) years. That is just my thought. Mayor Pete replied, That point is well-taken. We want to try and budget conservatively and put ourselves in a position where, if we get more than we thought, so much the better. We definitely don't want to take a meat cleaver to something that may be overreacting. Our general expectation is that it has been growing. I think 2020 will represent this step down and then it will be growing again. So the question becomes how long does it take to make this whole?Unfortunately I suspect, I would say there are two (2) trends that are cutting against each other. One (1) is that there is always going to be inflation, so you could argue that if it keeps growing, it is never going to grow enough to catch up to real terms. The other trend is, if it is true that assessments in general have been systematically, on average, under assessed, then maybe as they catch up to all the economic growth that will be worth more than inflation. The third (3rd) factor that none of us really know what to expect is the macro-economic picture. Sooner or later we go from an expansion to a recession. It will happen one (1) day and we just don't know when. That is why the cash reserves are so important to us. We want to keep them healthy enough that, if we are in a scenario like you are describing, we can cover down a little bit and we would be ready for whatever is next. The point is very well-taken. Councilmember Davis interjected,Yeah and as we look at that, I would not like for us to just focus on those two (2)years. Even three (3)to five (5)just to see where we are because it helps us better address that issue from that standpoint.When I have been in meetings,it normally goes up to 2020. That is the big one (1) and then after that,there is no explanation of any kind of any understanding of where 2021 or 2022 will be. That is something I would like to look at so we can have a better view. I don't want to overreact or underreact,you see? So that is that kind of thing. The last things I would like to say is that I am a curbs and sidewalks person. I am glad you have included that. Of course all of the training for sexual harassment and all of that, that is good. The issue that we will look at too,two (2)things and both are related to trains. The quiet zones,where are we in terms of the West Side issue with that?And then the South Shore. I wanted to set up a time for you to come back and talk about that. If it seems likely that something should be in our budget to address some plan, something should be set aside for something. It may not be for A,B or C because we haven't determined that. The train questions,A and B, what are your thoughts? Mayor Pete replied, I think Public Works will be able to share a little more about where we are headed in terms of the quiet zone picture. The overall framework is that we know there are certain incremental improvements we can make. There is, as I understand it a p oint system with the Federal Railroad Administration so, there is a certain threshold as we make those improvements where they actually trigger the possibility of the quiet zone. I defer the rest of the conversation to EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1 227 W.Jefferson Bvld I South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 l f 574.235.9173 I TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 4