04-09-05 Informal Meeting State Senators & State Representatives

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Informal Meeting With State Senators&State Representatives 2005 South Bend Common Council The Saturday, April 9, 2005, Informal Breakfast Meeting with State Senators and State Representatives was called to order by Council.President Charlotte D. Pfeifer at 8:40 a.m. in the Council Informal Meeting Room. Persons in attendance included Council Members Pfeifer, Dieter, Kelly, Puzzello, Varner, Kuspa, Kirsits, Rouse and White; Mayor Stephen J. Luecke, State Senator John Broden, Commissioner Cindy Bodle, Commissioner Steve Ross, County Council. President Rafael Morton, County Council Member W. Randall Przbysz, Citizen Member Martha Lewis, Rita Kopola, Executive Director of the Department of Economic Development Sharon Kendall, Jeff Parrot of the South Bend Tribune and Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand,Council Attorney. Council President Pfeifer welcomed everyone to the meeting and had all individuals present introduce themselves. She then called upon Mayor Luecke to provide an IACT update. Mayor Luecke noted that 1113 1120 addresses the tax levy. The Governor would like the amount capped which is paid by the state (currently 20%). An Income Tax Council is being proposed. He provided a written summary. The Mayor expressed concern over giving more power to Local Government Finance and with their ability to get their work done in a timely fashion. TACT opposes this bill. He believes it warrants a Summer Study Committee or an implementation date of for the 2007 budget. Mayor Luecke state that there is a bill proposed which would take gaming monies for the state. Currently $78 million are raised annual in gaming revenues. Communities are relying on that money and this bill is being opposed. Mayor Luecke state that HB 1063 would restrict eminent domain by changing the definition of blighted. TACT opposes this bill. South Bend uses eminent domain as a last resort. It passed in the Senate 26-22 and was sent to a conference committee. SB 524 now has an amended added by Representative Ryan Dvorak which would restrict annexation such as the Portage Prairie annexation/rezoning. It would give residents who live outside of the annexation area of up to 1/2 mile to petition the township and if there are 65% petitioning they can then challenge such annexations thru the court system. The Mayor stated that he opposes Representative Dvorak's amendment. Representative Warlorski has added an amendment to a different bill to allow Nappanee to annex land near their airport. In response to a question from Dr. Varner, the Mayor noted that Senator Broden introduced SB 524 which would allow any bidder to bid on sub-standard properties so that they could be made before the deed is transferred. A banned bidder list would also be created. In response to a question from Council Member Puzzello, Senator Broden noted that the Senate is stricter than the House with regard to having bills amended. In the Senate such amendments April 9,2005 Informal Meeting With State Senators and State Representatives -page 1-