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1300 COUNTY -CTry BUn DING <br />227 W JEFFERSON BOULEVARD <br />SOUTH BEND, INDIANA 46601 -1830 <br />January 5, 2016 <br />PHONE S74/ 235-9486 <br />FAX 574/ 235 -7703 <br />CITY OF SOUTH BEND PETE BUTTIGIEG, MAYOR <br />DEPARTMENT OF CODE ENFORCEMENT <br />RANDY WILKERSON <br />DIRECTOR <br />Tim Scott, Council President <br />Common Council of the City of South Bend <br />227 West Jefferson Blvd. • Suite 400 S <br />South Bend, Indiana 46601 <br />The Department of Code Enforcement respectfully requests that the Council consider this <br />ordinance to raise the cost of abatements that are completed by the Department. The current <br />increases reflect an 11.5 percent increase from the last increase in 2008. I have also revised some of <br />the charges to be accurate with our current processes. It is important to point out this is not a <br />request for a budget increase; this is a cost of service fee for the Department to complete the <br />abatements on property owners that do not comply with the Indiana Unsafe Building Law and the <br />City of South Bend's Ordinance's. I Will be available as the presenter on behalf of the Department. <br />The costs of abating a nuisance such as trash, debris, fire hazardous materials and public health <br />hazards and /or removing weeds and rank vegetation from real property include the costs of <br />providing notice, the use of labor and equipment, and administrative costs. A schedule of fees for <br />these services was last implemented in 2008, but the costs have increased since that time and now <br />require adjustment. <br />We presented this to the City of.South Bend Board of Public Works on November 24, 2015 at a <br />public hearing and received information on the current costs of abating a nuisance such as trash, <br />debris, fire hazardous materials and public health hazards and /or removing weeds and rank <br />vegetation, and by Resolution No. 67 -2015, it recommended for Common Council approval a <br />schedule of fees for costs involved in the abatement of a nuisance, which is attached hereto and <br />incorporated herein. <br />The Indiana Unsafe Building Law, Ind. Code 36- 7 -9 -1, which is incorporated into the South Bend <br />Municipal Code (the Code) in full and by reference at Chapter 6, Article 8, Section 6 -37, authorizes <br />the City of South Bend through its Department of Code Enforcement to remove trash, debris, fire <br />hazardous material, or a public health hazard in an about an unsafe premises. The Indiana Code at <br />IC 36 -7- 10.1 -1 et seq. also authorizes municipalities to require property owners to remove weeds <br />and other rank vegetation. <br />A <br />