Cancelled 06-27-13 Special Committee South Bend Animal Care & Control

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Derek D. Dieter President Oliver J. Davis Vice - President Karen L. White Chairperson, Committee of the Whole Tim Scott First District Henry Davis, Jr Second District Valerie Schey Third District Fred Ferlic Fourth District David Varner Fifth District Oliver J. Davis Sixth District Derek D. Dieter At Large Gavin Ferlic A t Large Karen L. White At Large City of South Ben Common Council 441 County -City Building • 227W. Jefferson Blvd (574) 235 -9321 South Bend, Indiana 46601 -1830 Fax (574) 235 -9173 http://www.southbendin.gov June 24, 2013 -via electronic mail- Dear Committee and Community Members, This is an exciting time for animal care and control in the City of South Bend. In 2012, the City completed construction of the new, state of the art animal shelter. The new shelter represents a significant investment made on behalf of the city to address a serious problem that many residents care about. Similarly, in 2013, the Common Council appointed a special committee to conduct a thorough review of Chapter 5 of South Bend's Municipal Code. This is the chapter that governs animal care and control within South Bend City Limits. The goal of this committee is to prepare a summary of advisory recommendations for revisions and updates to the Health & Public Safety committee of the SB Common Council. Chapter 5 as it exists today was enacted in 1985. In the past 27 years, the standards of care have changed significantly. It is the sincere hope of many that the work of this committee will help to make South Bend a model city for animal welfare in its ability to balance safety in its neighborhoods with the humane -treatment of its animals. To date, the South Bend Animal Care and Control Special Committee (SBAC3) has had three meetings and has reviewed Sections 91.001 and 91.002 of the Fort Wayne Chapter we are using as our working foundation. Topics discussed have included public safety and enforcement considerations, legal shortcomings of ordinance as it is currently written and impact of legislative actions on daily shelter operations. SBAC3 consists almost exclusively of South Bend residents each with an extensive knowledge of animal welfare. The structure provides us with an ideal opportunity to listen to the people we serve in order to ensure we are meeting the demands and expectations of the community we serve. However, in order to maximize participation and collaboration, we will be inviting the Director of Code Enforcement, Ms. Shubhada Kambli to consider joining the committee. We believe Ms. Kambli's knowledge and experience with the daily operations of the department will provide the committee an important perspective in terms of enforcement of the ordinances. 1