2023 Department of Law Annual Report

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Filed in Clerk's Office . '.7 1 0 20211 Bianca Tirado City Clerk, South Bond, IN Venues Parks & Arts The Department of Law provided legal support to the Venues Parks, and Arts department as well as the Board of Park Commissions at their public meetings.In addition to the support provided for the Dream Center project,we also provided counsel on key partnerships between VPA and DTSB and Block by Block. The collaborative nature of our efforts combined with key team members delivered another successful year of special events, most noticeably, Fusion Fest, for which the Legal team developed and reviewed contracts with vendors, entertainment providers, sponsors, and local property owners. Department of Administration & Finance The Legal team supported the Administration & Finance team and other departments to close a $32,861,269.70 municipal bond transaction to fund infrastructure improvements, as well as a $36,000,000.00 municipal bond transaction to fund additions and improvements to the municipal Sewage Works system. We also worked with the A&F team to provide guidance on approved uses for incoming funds from settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. Department of Human Resources The Department of Law provided assistance to department leaders with regard to critical employment decisions to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local laws, as well as recognized best practices. This guidance included advice on matters pertaining to general personnel policies and procedures, hiring, termination, employee leaves of absence, compensation, benefits, and accommodations. The Legal team also provides guidance for the administration of the City's workers compensation program for compliance with the Workers Compensation Act for non- bargaining and Teamster employees and with Title 36 for public safety employees. The Legal Team also represented the City in three grievances with the Teamsters Local 364, resulting in one favorable decision, one withdrawal, and one partially favorable decision. Office of Diversity, Compliance, & Inclusion The Legal team assisted Diversity, Compliance, and Inclusion leadership with regard to the implementation of contract-specific goal setting for City contracts. This joint effort produced over $4.9 million dollars in payments to M&W subcontractors in 2023. Members of the Department of Law made multiple presentations to local community groups throughout the year discussing the City's MWBE Ordinance and how to contract with the City. We also headlined a panel at a Statewide conference discussing the City's MWBE Ordinance and how Indiana municipalities can implement such an ordinance. We provided support to the Inclusive Procurement Board in its public meetings. Human Rights Commission The Department of Law worked to sustain the Human Rights Commission during its interim director transition, wherein we transitioned away from using third party legal services. We developed and executed training for the HRC staff on the Access to Public Records Act, document retention, investigations,and conciliations. The Legal team also provided general advice to Commissioners and staff relative to civil rights and fair housing laws, updated the HRC staffs processes and legal documents to promote high legal standards,and conducted conciliations. 5I I'