07-23-12 Common Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING JULY 23, 2012 would expect to see nationally. He stated that he appreciates all the hard work that the Park Department has done on that. He stated that he continues to encourage Police Officers to really adopt ownership of the beats that they work in. That includes walking patrols, he stated that he has walked with police officers on some of the hottest days this summer, and stated that it was really impressive to see them out on the beats and would encourage the Council to consider doing the same to encourage that. He stated that he appreciates the opportunity upcoming to work with the Council on potentially creating a position to address youth engagement; so that they can make sure that they are doing everything they can to be pro-active about violence in the community. He stated that he hopes he doesn’t come off as to impatient in this regard, but want to make sure that we don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good, as we work to make sure that we have a comprehensive solution built into our budget for next year. But don’t waste the opportunity to act sooner rather than later in some way. He stated that also coming up on our legislative agenda, they are hoping to have updates on the Community & Economic Development Department, including a new name for the Department which they would like to call the Community Investment Department and will be approaching the Council with a proposal that is budget neutral but would update titles that would reflect the new organization that they envision. That will enable that department to have a planning function as well as a business development group and an analytics group that can do due diligence on incoming deals, a neighborhood group and an Administration & Finance Group. He stated that they will provide more details in a cover letter to Council as they submit this but, certainly encourage the Council to contact him off-line if a personal briefing ahead of what it is that they envision. The 311 Team is hard at work, as you remember a promise to the public that they would deliver a 311 System by the end of the year. At least on proto-type form they are on tract to do that. The idea is not only to improve our capacity to take and handle phone calls, but also to capture data making it possible to make better decisions as managers. He stated that it is one of priorities that they will be bringing into the process as they think about government for next year and think it will really pay off over the long run, but will certainly requires us to think about some city processes differently, especially when it comes to how citizens get a hold of us in our departments. Similarly, they have a team working on process improvement. He stated that they have a really outstanding team of interns and asked them to take a look at some of the processes that are most common to when it comes to citizens coming to the administration, coming to the government looking for something. What are top 25 things that citizens need and then we can map out those processes and look for opportunities to do them faster, better, and cheaper. He stated that team is grinding away and he is looking forward to reviewing their work and after that certainly look forward to sharing that work. RESOLVE INTO THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE At 7:38 p.m. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic made a motion to resolve into the Committee of the Whole. Councilmember Oliver Davis seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. Councilmember White, Chairperson, presiding. Councilmember White, explained the procedures to be followed for tonight’s meeting in accordance with Article 1, Section 2-11 of the South Bend Municipal Code. Councilmember White stated that a brochure may be found on the railing in the Council Chambers explaining those procedures. 4