2003 Annual Report - Council Rules

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Council Rules Annual Committee Report for 2003 Date: December 4, 2003 To: The South Bend Common Council Office of the City Clerk From: Council President Karen L. White, Chairperson CK. Council Rules Committee Pursuant to Section 2-10 (i) of the South Bend Municipal Code, I am pleased to file this Council Rules Annual Committee Report for 2003 which will highlight activities during the calendar year and set forth recommendations for discussion to improve the overall operations of this Committee. The 2003 Council Rules Committee is composed of Council Members David Varner who is the Vice-Chairperson,Council Member James Aranowski,and myself as Chairperson. This Committee is one of eleven standing committees of the South Bend Common Council which is charged with: "Overseeing rules and regulations governing the operation of the South Bend Common Council, as well as all matters of public trust as more specifically set forth in section 2-10.1 of the Municipal Code and applicable State and Federal laws". There were no meetings of the Council Rules Committee this year since there were no proposed ordinances addressing Council procedures filed this year,nor were there any violations of Council Rules filed against any Council Member. It should be noted that the regulations addressing the Council Rules Committee were initially enacted in 1977, and were last amended in 1988. You may recall that on October 29, 2003, a summary was prepared with regard to the number of boards, commissions and other entities which comply with South Bend Municipal Code section 2- 58. This section call for the filing of various information with the Mayor's Office and the City Clerk's Office on their operations. That provision of the Code was included to increase communications of all of these entities. Unfortunately, there has been a lack luster compliance effort on the part of many of these entities. I am also attaching a copy of a Memorandum dated November 26, 2003, which addresses various deadlines set forth in the South Bend Municipal Code. It should be noted that again there are compliance issues with some of these provisions. In light of these concerns, I would recommend that perhaps the Council review whether incorporating a"compliance"portion to the duties of the Committee. In this way the new Council can work with the new City Clerk and his staff in developing workable and consistent procedures which are fair to all who are required to submit information pursuant to the Code. $ 0 t� f ,< - �ce I welcome your input. Thank you. �» J. LIMA ®EtA{{t