03-23-59 Council Meeting Minutes

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Be it remembered that the Common Council of the City of South Bend, met in Regular Session in the Council Chambers, on Monday, March 23, 1959, at 8 :16 P.M., with all members present. The meeting was called to order by President Stanley C. Korpal, who presided, ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Councilmen Korpal, Erhardt, Tellson, Christman, Kroll, Glass, Hahn, Erler and Muszynski. ABSENT: None. MINUTES: Report of Committee on Minutes. To the Common Council of the City of South Bend: Your Committee on the inspection and supervision of the minutes, would respectfully report that they have inspected the minutes of the previous meeting of the Council and found them correct. They therefore recommend that the same be approved. /s/ Stanley C. Korpal /s/ Julius B. Christman, Jr. ; Committee /s/ Donald F. Erhardt South Bend, Ind., March 23, 1959 Minutes of meeting of March 9, 1959. Councilman Muszynski made a motion that the report be accepted and placed on file. Councilman Hahn seconded the motion. Motion carried. COMMUNICATION Board of Commissioners Saint Joseph County Court House South Bend, Indiana Gentlemen: March, 1959 Mayor Voorde has proposed the establishment of a City- County Building Commission to construct governmental buildings and rent them to individual units of government within St. Joseph County. A 1953 law permits this type of com- mission, or building authority. The St. Joseph County Farm Bureau, and the Civic Planning Associations of South Bend and Mishawaka, through a joint meeting of their Boards of Directors, and after careful consideration, have reached the conclusion that such a move would not be in the best interests of their members and the citizens of this county for the following reasons: 1. The Board of Directors of such an authority under the 1953 law would be separated from the voters by Trustees appointed, one each, by the Mayor and City Council, of the county seat city (South Bend), the County Council, the County Commissioners and the Judge of the Circuit Court. The directors would thus be doubly removed from accounta- bility to the voters, and once removed from your respective units and their interests, 2. A major effect of such a commission would be to sidestep the present Constitutional limitation on debt of 2% of the assessed valuation of the taxing unit. This is because such a building authority would issue revenue bonds to finance construction and then repay the bonds out of rentals received for the buildings. This would destroy a very important check and safeguard the taxpayers now have, and would make possible indirect and unchecked taxation with eventual unjustified growth in tax rates. 3. Such a Commission would also sidestep the check and safeguard now given to taxpayers to oppose proposed bond issues for public improvements by obtaining petitions having more signers in remonstrance than on the original peti- tions proposing the improvements. 4. The sole recourse provided the public for dissent to de ^isions of the building authority would be through public hearings on leases by the individual units of government. There appear to be no provisions for public hearings, referendum or petition with respect to construction, financing or operation of public buildings by such an authorit At the annual budget hearings of the leasing unit, the only citizen appeal available would appear to be on the group that the amount of tax money to be raised might be more than actually required to meet the rental previously agreed upon. Thus the public is almost completely unprotected against irresponsible or unwise public expenditures or commitments on major projects. 5. The City of Mishawaka and its 35,000 people would not have a direct voice in the selection of the building authority Trustees. 6. We are further disturbed by the multiplicity of agencies which have sprung up in recent years to plan for the future development of our community and the addition of needed additional public buildings. The city of South Bend has a professional planning staff. The county has a professional planning consultant. And recently South Bend has set up a separate Redevelopment Commission with a professional staff and wide powers, including those of financing public building projects. Already there is evidence of waste due to frictions and conflicts between these Agencies. We fear that to add another complication at this stage would only serve further to compound the confusion. We think it would be better to try to get more evidence of cooperation and concrete results from the agencies we now have. We hope these comments will be helpful to you. We do not feel that this is a most important problem and recognize, as we are sure you do that it is just a phase of the larger problem of metropolitan planning. We assure you of our continued interest and cooperation. Respectfully, ST. JOSEPH COUNTY FARM BUREAU /s/ Harold G. Geyer, President MISHAWAKA CIVIC PLANNING ASSOCIATION, INC. /s/ Henry VerSlype, President Copies: Mayor Edward F.Voorde SOUTH BEND CIVIC PLANNING ASSOCIATION, INC. Mayor Albert Doyle /s/ Karl D. Jahnke, President Members of St. Joseph County Council Members of Mishawaka City Council Members of South Bend City Council. Councilman Christman made a motion that the communication be accepted and placed on file. Councilman Glass seconde the motion. Motion carried.