12-09-19 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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REGULAR MEETING December 9. 2019 Finance Committee Chairperson Karen White, for their work with our Administration and Finance team to deliver a 2019 budget process that was the smoothest yet. We are good at budgeting: Our City received multiple awards for our budget presentation and process from the Government Finance Officers Association. And we continue to have the rare distinction of a double -A (AA) bond rating, independent confirmation that we are one (1) of the most fiscally sound cities in the State. The State has thrown another challenge at us in the form of the so-called 2020 "fiscal curb." But we've have been preparing for this for years by identifying efficiencies and controlling costs, and we will continue to collaborate on tough choices this budget season to ensure the 2020 budget is responsive and responsible. One (1) of the most remarkable achievements of the City in this decade has been its arrival as a national leader in the field of civic innovation. We started with the basics like the creation of a 311 center. Today it's hard to picture our City without 311, but eight (8) years ago it was just a campaign promise. Now, the representatives there have handled roughly 850,000 calls on everything from filling potholes to picking up Christmas trees. More recently 311 has partnered with Vets' Community Connections to connect veterans to available resources. And we've placed the same information the 311 representatives use online, on a re -designed website, so residents can get questions answered any time. Our 311 system and website stand alongside lower -tech methods for collecting feedback, like the Mayor's Night Out events that have led to hundreds of in -person meetings for residents with me and department heads, all with the goal of better service. Internally, the SB Stat process identifies performance improvements and has found efficiencies in the Fire, Police, Public Works, and Parks departments. In the spirit of transparency, we now publish SB Stat presentations on our website, so that you can see the same information that comes to me in these targeted and effective meetings. From equipment investments like iPads in the field helping us optimize leaf pickup, to investments in our people through the SB Academy training process for building technical skills, we are ensuring that this community has top talent and technology at the service of residents. Here, too, we are mindful of equity, because the "digital divide" threatens to reinforce inequality in the new economy. That's why, in 2016, we introduced free WiFi downtown, and are equipping community centers and Housing Authority properties with Internet access. Mayor Buttigieg went on, I am proud of our Administration team. But we could do nothing without the partnerships that drive our City. We have worked with federal partners from law enforcement to environmental protection. We have moved past old suspicions between South Bend and Indianapolis to mobilize State partnerships in economic development to benefit our City. We have collaborated with our colleges and universities on initiatives from the Bowman Creek Educational Ecosystem to legal aid for those most in need. We have teamed up with the county on matters from public safety to public health. And we have done everything we can to support our South Bend Community Schools. One (1) of the most rewarding developments in my time in office has been the growing partnership with the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. We are proud of the recognition that finally came to Pokagon sovereign land within our City limits. History will record that when federally -recognized Indian Country first (1`t) came to Indiana, it was here in South Bend. Now, we have begun collecting the first (1") installments of millions of dollars in benefits negotiated with the Four Winds Casino to support everything from parks and recreation to childhood development, and we expect our partnership with this area's original residents to continue and bear fruit for generations to come. As South Bend's national reputation has grown, so has our ability to attract support from national philanthropic partners. Tonight I want to highlight two (2) such partnerships. The first (1st) helps show how we can respond to the accelerating pace of change in the nature of work. As chairman of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Task force on Automation, I have seen cities grappling with the question of how to prepare workers for a future in which my generation will change careers more often than my parents changed job titles. One (1) thing we know is that skills will become more important than ever. Last spring we announced a partnership with the Drucker Institute to establish a Center for Lifelong Learning, the first (1st) of its kind. Financed by the philanthropic arms of Google and Walmart, this will lead to a platform for our residents to develop their personal, professional and technical skills as they adapt to the workforce of the future. The initial commitment of $500,000 has helped us to do early design work on a platform for early learning that could be a national model, and we are working to scale this up with even more private support. The second (2"d) collaboration has to do with transportation, and the trap of being a low-income worker who lacks reliable transportation to work. With this problem in mind, we entered the Bloomberg Mayor's challenge, competing with over three hundred and twenty (320) cities from around the world. Last fall we were announced as one (1) of nine (9) winners of a $1 million grant to fund our proposed solution, based on the success of our pilot. Our solution is based on the concept of transportation -as -a -benefit. The City partnered with local employers to arrange for rideshare as a backup option to get employees to work. Over eighty 12