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(Th CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK
<br /> before the inspectors even go out to the residence. So, overall, I can't say enough about how great
<br /> I think the program is, and the feedback that I'm hearing from the program.
<br /> She continued, We've accomplished fourteen (14) neighborhood cleanups working with
<br /> community members. So, together, working with community members, primarily on Saturday
<br /> mornings from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., we've cleaned up, from the streets of South Bend and
<br /> properties,47,325 pounds of trash,litter,and debris. So,again,that's community members working
<br /> together with Code Enforcement. If you should hear of anybody who wants to organize a
<br /> neighborhood cleanup,just have them reach out to 3-1-1, and we're happy to organize one(1).The
<br /> community cooperation has been amazing. In 2018, we have sixty percent(60%)of CBOs, which
<br /> means cleaned by owner. So, when we reach out to someone and say you need to address this
<br /> issue, environmental-wise, so trash, grass, weeds, things like that, we had sixty percent (60%)
<br /> cooperation in 2019,that's actually increased to sixty-seven-point-six percent(67.6%),and I credit
<br /> our inspectors for that, in part, because they have been tirelessly going out to any neighborhood
<br /> organization, any meeting that you could possibly imagine. We try to have an inspector at every
<br /> one (1) of them. And we also are pretty big into door hangers as well. So, that's the way for our
<br /> inspectors to put hangers on a door of a property and say these are the issues that you need to
<br /> address. If you have any questions, reach out to us. So, our cleaned by owner numbers have
<br /> increased, which I'm very happy about. We've also initiated steps toward implementation of a
<br /> software solution that we think will definitely improve overall effectiveness, which will result in
<br /> overall better service to the community. We're super excited about that, and happy to be working
<br /> with IT to make that happen.
<br /> Jen Gobel, Shelter Manager for South Bend Animal Care and Control with offices located at 521
<br /> Eclipse Place, stated, Good evening. So, the first (1St) thing, or one (1) of the major things that
<br /> we've done so far this year is add a volunteer coordinator. While that, in and of itself, may not
<br /> seem like a huge thing, it does multiple things not only for staff, but also our animals. Staff is
<br /> really bogged down with a lot of the day to day stuff, so there's things that we really want to do in
<br /> working with the animals, rehabilitating animals, extra care for the animals, and enrichment that
<br /> we just aren't able to do on a more regular basis. The volunteer coordinator has implemented a
<br /> program, and volunteers, and a schedule, and has been instrumental in organizing a basic
<br /> enrichment for animals to help basically their stay not be as horrible as it could be, I guess, being
<br /> in a shelter. Imagine an animal being in a kennel almost twenty-four (24) hours a day. So, by
<br /> having a volunteer coordinator, we're able to get those animals out, get them walked more, more
<br /> enrichments, and more mentally stimulated, making them happy, healthy, and much more
<br /> adoptable. So, that's a big thing that we were able to add this year, and it will continue to enrich
<br /> our animals.
<br /> She continued, Our adoption numbers continue to increase. Since 2016, since I've taken over, we
<br /> average about two hundred and eighty-nine (289) adoptions. We're well over six hundred (600)
<br /> for last year, and we're on course to stay on track for about the same numbers. That is in light of
<br /> our intake numbers increasing continually. But, the more adoptions and the more rescues we get
<br /> out, the length of stay for those animals tends to decrease. We did complete and renovate our
<br /> Community Cat Room. So, we have one (1) room in our shelter where we house a large number
<br /> of cats, where they all cohabitate. We added some more enrichment things for them to make their
<br /> lives a little bit nicer during their stay with us. We only thought we had one (1) slide (referencing
<br /> a slide in the presentation), so I'm going to add a couple things that we couldn't squeeze on there.
<br /> Also, we've increased our licensing for animals within the community by thirteen percent (13%)
<br /> EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT
<br /> 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 I p 574.235.9221 If574.235.9173;TTD 574.235.5567;www.southbendin.gov
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