10-28-13 Common Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING OCTOBERT 28, 2013 BILL NO. 13-72 - CONFIRMING TAX ABATEMENT FOR LEBERMUTH COMPANY INC. 4004 TECHNOLOGY DR. Councilmember Schey made a motion to refer this bill to the Community Investment Committee and set it for Public Hearing and Third Reading on November 11, 2013. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. NEW BUSINESS Councilmember Henry Davis asked to be put on the last agenda of the year to report on his 2013 Travel. Council President Dieter announced there will be a Special Common Council Meeting on th Wednesday, October 30, 2013 at 7:00 p.m., on the 4 Floor County-City Building, 227 W. Jefferson Blvd., South Bend, Indiana. PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR Mr. Cottrell stated that what he has to say will take about 6 minutes. Councilmember Henry Davis, Jr. made a motion to allow Mr. Cottrell 6 minutes. Councilmember Oliver Davis seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. Pat Cottrell, 1838 Stonehedge Lane, South Bend, Indiana: Good evening Members of the South Bend Common Council my name is Pat Cottrell. I’ve lived in the City of South Bend my entire life with the exception of the time I served on active duty in the military during the Viet Nam War. I grew up on the Westside at 449 S. Albert, and graduated in 1965 from Washington High School. I’m a retired South Bend Policeman who served the city for 21 years on the South Bend Police Department. I’m also the former President of the Board of Public Safety. I served on the Board of Public Safety from December 2005 to September 201. I do want to thank the Mayor for his “form letter” thanking me for my years of voluntary service on the Board of Public Safety. Part of the duty as a member of the Board of Public Safety was to sit in judgment on police and fire department disciplines. Many times throughout the 8 years I served on the Board of Safety we had hearings to determine the guilt or innocence of those men and women who serve on the departments who were charged with violations of their department rules of conduct. There were two very recent cases of police officers charged with misconduct where hearings were held and those officers were determined to have violated the rules of conduct and were disciplined severely. One officer was fired and the other after a four day hearing was suspended 120 days without pay and will be demoted upon his return to duty. I’m telling you this because what Board of Safety Members do is very serious business with decisions made impacting the lives of the public safety employees severely in many cases. The Councilmembers might remember a few years ago several cases being brought by the chiefs of both the police and fire departments of employees misconduct with driving under the influence and the Board of Safety taking a very firm stand on the punishment of those cases being more severe than it had been before with suspension time off without pay and demotions for a six month period upon return to duty of those public safety employees. During that time the South Bend Police Department had a division chief charged with DUI and Mayor Luecke had the responsibility of determining the South Bend Police Department punishment of the officer by state law and not the Board of Safety. The mayor came to the Board of Safety before talking with the chief and told us he understood the message we were sending to the public safety employees and agreed with us. He was therefore giving the chief the same punishment we had given the rank and file employees. It was a substantial suspension without pay and demotion in rank for six months but while still required performing his same duties at the lower rank and pay. Now we come to the current matter of Chief Teachman which the mayor describes as a politically motivated complaint which is a “mole hill” being made out to be a mountain. I find it hard to believe a man elected to be mayor of our city would characterize what our brave men and women do as “mole hills.” I also find it hard to believe the Mayor would make his decision on what Chief Teachman didn’t do and what Chief Teachman did do based on politics. Yes, I said the Mayor based his decision on politics. You see to do what two Board of Safety Members recommended to ask for Chief Teachman’s resignation would be to admit he (our mayor) had made a mistake in hiring this man 38