11-13-2024 South Bend Common Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING November 13, 2024 None. REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICES David Finley, Director of Data& Performance with offices on the 121h floor of the County-City building, presented a summary of the 2024 Community Survey, conducted biannually to assess quality of life in South Bend. The survey, which began in 2018, was managed by the ETC Institute, with all responses kept confidential. Collected in July and August 2024, the survey received six hundred twenty-eight(628) household responses, about one hundred(100)per council district, and was available in multiple languages to address potential language barriers. Finley highlighted the survey dashboard created by the Department of Innovation and Technology, accessible to the public. The dashboard scores resident satisfaction on key areas: customer service, community investment, public safety, solid waste, water services, traffic& transportation, venues, parks, and arts. Users can view respondent demographics, compare results across four survey cycles, and access a heat map showing satisfaction by council district. Notable findings include an upward trend in satisfaction with quality of life and community leadership since 2022. Residents prioritized city services as follows: streets/infrastructure, code enforcement, growth planning, with police rated lower. Positive trends were seen in customer service, public safety, street lighting, and trash collection, while negative trends included code enforcement, traffic enforcement, and ease of addressing issues. South Bend still lags in national and regional benchmarks for infrastructure planning, code enforcement, and public safety. Next steps involve preparing department-level analyses for each department head. In 2025, departments will engage in individual process mapping sessions, test solutions, and conduct impact and process evaluations to assess service effectiveness. Councilmember Dr. Davis requested a meeting with David Finley to review the survey individually David Finley stated that he would be happy to meet with any councilmembers. Councilmember Rachel Tomas Morgan thanked Finley for the thorough summary and asked how this year's household response rate compared to previous years. David Finley noted that the response rate, in the mid-six hundreds, was typical for the survey. Councilmember Canneth Lee inquired about the contents of the department-specific memos. David Finley emphasized addressing inequities in the community, focusing on this issue with department heads through process improvement opportunities with their teams. Council President McBride thanked David Finley for this thorough summary of the survey results and next steps. PUBLIC HEARINGS None. BILLS ON THE THIRD READING BILL NO. 44-24 THIRD READING ON AN ORDINANCE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA,ANNEXING TO AND BRINGING WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA,AND AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 25471, 25481,AND 25491 CLEVELAND ROAD, COUNCILMANIC DISTRICT NO. 1 IN THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA(3RD READING ONLY) Clerk Tirado read the bill to the Council for its third (P) reading. 2