09-07-01 South Bend Common Council & Indiana State Senators and State Reps

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ammttt impart: Mtxtarmaz Eluting of the gbauh V tttY (tammatt Canna nix the ltttrtatta *tat •ettatarz anti Cate litortalmtatiDes The September 7, 2001 Informal Meeting of the South Bend Common Council and the Indiana State Senators and State Representatives representing the South Bend area was called to order by Council President Charlotte Pfeifer at 12:10 p.m. in the Council Informal Meeting Room. Persons in attendance included Council Members: Kelly, Pfeifer; and Varner; Senator John Broden, Mayor Stephen J. Luecke, Citizen Member Khadijah Muhammad, Citizen Member Isabel Gonzalez, City Attorney Charles Leone, and Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand, Council Attorney. Council President Pfeifer welcomed everyone to the luncheon meeting. Senator Broden stated that the upcoming legislative session will be a short session lasting for only six (6) weeks. The 3rd Tuesday of November will be the "organizational meeting day" and the session will run from January 15, 2002 to March 1, 2002. Senator Broden noted that the Council Attorney had briefly discussed with him Building Commissioner Don Fozo's continuing concern that state owned buildings are not required to have building permits and therefore are not inspected. In response to a question from Mayor Luecke, Senator Broden noted that the gas tax receipts were approximately $ 83 million low as of July. Build Indiana Funds are received every other year. In light of the pending lawsuit filed by the Civil Libertarians regarding faith based initiatives and the receipt of public funds, several of the not-for-profit requests have been put on hold including but not limited to YWCA, YMCA, Saint Margaret's House which would total $ 60,000 in grants. Monies for governmental programs are moving forward. Dr. Varner inquired about the source of the budget shortfall. Senator Broden stated that there were high Medicaid expenditures and prescription costs which were higher than anticipated. Mayor Luecke noted that personal property inventory tax also brought in less revenues than projected. Senator Broden also noted that income tax and corporate tax revenues were also down. Several issues were then brought to Senator Broden's attention. Citizen Member Gonzalez requested an update on the ASL Program addressing a pilot program and English as a second language. She noted that there were five (5) employers selected on a statewide basis to participate in this program. Council President Pfeifer suggested that programs permitting individuals to learn Spanish should also be considered. Council Member Kelly and Citizen Member Muhammad agreed. Council President Pfeifer inquired about the priority of neighborhood revitalization programs at the state level. Senator Broden noted that Representative Dvorak is involved with the NRPES Neighborhood Program and partnership programs could be addressed as part of that program. Senator Broden noted that bills are much more successful if they are jointly initiated in both the House and Senate. He noted that Greg Server of Evansville, who is the Chairperson of the Utilities Committee,and Senator Blade of Terre Haute, have been helpful in the past.