11110-24 Draft Amendment Sec 2-7 contractual services for minutes

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Bill No. 10-24 Ordinance No. 11110-24 AN ORDINANCE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND,INDIANA, AMENDING SECTION 2-7(C) OF CHAPTER 2,ARTICLE 1 OF THE SOUTH BEND MUNICIPAL CODE,"DUTIES OF THE CITY CLERK AS CLERK OF THE COUNCIL"TO PERMIT THE CITY CLERK TO HIRE OUTSIDE CONTRACTUAL SERVICES FOR THE INITIAL PREPARATION OF DRAFTS OF MEETING MINUTES STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND INTENT State law and city ordinance designate the City Clerk to serve as Clerk of the Council. One of the duties of the City Clerk as Clerk of the Council is the preparation of all meeting minutes as proscribed by city ordinances. South Bend City Code, Ch. 2 Art. 1 Sec. 2-7(c) states the "City Clerk's Office shall prepare minutes without consultation with anyone not a part of said office." The transition from an outgoing clerk to the newly elected clerk has resulted in a gap and backlog of unprepared meeting minutes of both Council and Committee meeting from the term of the outgoing Clerk. The newly elected Clerk is working to complete this backlog and the use of outside contractual services would bring the Council into full legal compliance more quickly. Additionally, modern technology, including new artificial intelligence can now prepare meeting minutes from meeting video much more efficiently and cost effectively than having City Clerk's staff prepare meeting minutes. Although in the future such technologies and software might be available at an affordable cost point for purchase,it currently is fiscally sensible to hire an outside company with this technology. NOW, THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND,INDIANA, as follows: Section I. The current language codified in of Chapter 2,Article 1, Section 2-7(c)of the South Bend Municipal Code is hereby amended to read in its entirety as follows [omitted text strieken, new text in bold]: (c) The Clerk, or a designated representative of the Clerk's Office, in addition to the powers and duties enumerated in Section 2 11 other sections of this Code, shall attend all regular and special meetings of the Council and shall keep an accurate journal of the proceedings of the Council and exercise and perform the powers and duties as provided and prescribed by law,this Code or ordinances. The City Clerk's Office shall prepare minutes without consultation with anyone not a part of said office. However,when necessary,the City Clerk,with the approval of the Council President,may contract with an outside contractual service company to prepare an initial draft of meeting minutes. All meeting minutes must still be reviewed for accuracy by the City Clerk's office and the Council Subcommittee on Minutes prior to any submission for approval by the full Council. Section II. Severability. If any part, section, subsection,paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason declared to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. Section III. Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by the Common Council and approval by the Mayor.