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Home My WebLink About11-2009 NewsletterNovember 2009 Letter from the Mayor Necessity leads to efficiency Dear Friends and Neighbors, THIS MONTH... Mayor's Letter Green Tips Operation ReLeaf Map & Schedule Celebrate the Holidays Downtown In the last two newsletters, I've described the services that the South Bend has been able to preserve, thanks to increased local option income taxes. I've also detailed targeted budget cuts that have enabled us to live within our re- duced annual revenue as a result of the state's property tax caps. My report this month highlights the ways South Bend has saved millions of dollars through operational efficiencies. Long before the prospects of the property tax caps, South Bend has worked to streamline services through a combination of innovation, new technology and common sense. These efficiencies have enabled us to eliminate 206 positions since 2000 without substantially reducing the services those personnel provided. Here are some of the steps we have taken to improve government efficiency. • Over the next decade, we will save a projected $2 million in avoided electrical and operational costs by converting our traffic signals in 2007 -08 from incandescent bulbs to energy - saving LEDs. • Although our Legal Department is larger than similar sized cities like Fort Wayne, Evansville and Gary, we spend less in total legal fees. With our in -house legal team, we find other efficiencies as well. We save an estimated $4 million annually by managing the City's self - insurance liability program. We also collect Code Enforcement penalties as special tax assessments. • How we deploy our staff saves us money. We've equipped our code inspectors with handheld units, reducing time away from neighborhoods and improving communication. Plus, they save gas in warmer months by making inspections by bicycle. For City crews still using vehicles, we optimize routes with Automatic Vehicle Location software. For our City crews, tight • Our environmental practices improve quality of life and our bottom line. We save hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by collecting yard waste at our Organic budgets have produced the kind Resource Facility. (Free compost and mulch are available to City residents.) We burn methane gas produced as a by- product of the sewage treatment process to heat the of creative thinking that yields Anaerobic digestion process at the Wastewater Treatment Plant — saving more than $125,000 per year in avoided natural gas purchases. We're reducing heating costs at the new efficiencies. Potawatomi greenhouse by using heat exhaust from Notre Dame computers. I'm especially pleased about our newest effort. Our goal is to reduce citywide energy consumption costs by more than 25 percent through adding a new Director of Energy thanks to a federal stimulus grant. • We go the extra mile. Environmental Services crews, using a digital sewer camera during routine maintenance, can diagnose potential sewer backups for homeowners from root masses invading sewer laterals. We will send warning letters when cleaning is needed on the private laterals. • Sometimes our crews do their job so well that we sell their services to others. We provide traffic signal maintenance under contract to other units of government. • We seek out new materials and improved ways of achieving desired results. We use asphalt overlays to save costs on concrete repairs. The Street Department recently participated with other units of government in a cooperative purchase of road salt with the State of Indiana, enhancing availability and affordability by buying a large quantity at about $55 per ton. (Last winter, market rates had spiked to $97 per ton — and some local governments had to pay as much as $150 per ton, if they could find salt.) In addition, our crews installed liquid salt brine - making equipment to dramatically increase the salt's effectiveness. Where 1 ton of rock salt covers 4 miles of street, that same amount of salt, when converted to brine, accomplishes the same results for 19 miles of streets — a nearly fivefold increase. The savings is further compounded in the means of application — salt brine is applied proactively ahead of storms during " straight -time pay" periods. Road salt is applied on overtime pay during storms. Necessity has been called the mother of invention. For our City crews, tight budgets have produced the kind of creative thinking that yields new efficiencies. Sincerely, SI USTED NO ENTIENDE 1NGLES Y NECESITA AYUDA PARA TRADUCIR ESTE DOCUMENTO, O SI TIENE ALGUNA PREGUNTA, POR FAVOR LLAME AL TELEFONO (574) 235 -5858 X 1000. Tips for an eco- friendly Thanksgiving! • Buy organic milk, meat, veggies and an organic free -range turkey. • When shopping, buy things that have the least amount of packaging and try to buy packaging that is environmentally friendly. • If you make too much food, give the leftovers away to family and friends; don't let them mold in the fridge. • If you do not plan on washing dishes, purchase biodegradable dinnerware. • Plant a tree. Winter season is a good time to plant trees and shrubs so take this time to plant a tree and keep the green growing. Source: www.aboutmyplanet.com Celebrate the Holidays Downtown South Bend, Tree Lighting Ceremony December 4, 5:30 - 6:45pm College Football Hall of Fame's Gridiron Breakfast with Santa December 5, 2009, 8 -9:30 am Newman Center- Northside Blvd at Sample St. Registration required at O'Brien Recreation Center beginning Nov. 2 until full. $5.00 /person Tea with Santa December 5, 2009, 12 noon & 1:15pm Erskine Park Clubhouse Pre - registration at O'Brien Recreation Center required beginning Nov. 1 until full. $5.00 /person Santa's House and Workshop! December 5,6,12,13,19 -21, 24 Open: 12 noon Located near The South Bend Chocolate Cafe in downtown South Bend Holiday Art Walk Saturday, December 6, l lam - 5 pm Arts Corridors Holiday Ice Skating Party Howard Park December 6, 4 pm- 6 pm. Pre- registration is not required. Fee: Two pet food items to donate to South Bend Animal Control, or $2.00 /person For more events! - Visit www.DowntownSouthBend.com or www.DtsbSantaHouse.com or http: / /sbprk.org. Visit Our Website at www SouthBendIN.gov! City of South Bend 2009 Operation ReLeaf Prepared by Bureau of GIS. Depar6nent of Pubk, TT' k,. C,U, ofSoath Bend, IN 10!142009 Weekly Pickup: Monday Nov. 2nd - Dec. 76 Crews will make two complete sweeps of the city Operation ReLeaf will begin in the Northeast side quadrant and will continue clockwise twice around the city, through December 11th. DO NOT allow children to play in leaf piles for their safety! • Please rake leaves to the curb line, not into the street, as this will plug the street drains, causing them to flood. • Crews will not return until the next scheduled day in your area (approx. 2 weeks later). • Do not park on top or in front of leaf piles along curb lines. This hinders crews and could cause a fire. • Do not contaminate leaf piles by putting in sticks, trash, and other debris. Crews will not pickup these piles, and the property owner will be responsible for disposal of contaminated piles. • Burning of leaves is totall pprohibited in the City of South Bend and is a violation ofyCity ordinance. TO HEAR A TAPE RECORDED MESSAGE OF OUR WEEKLYSCHEDULE, PLEASE CALL 287 -5005. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL 235 -9244 Monday — Friday, 7am4pm. N W +E S NOVEMBER 17TH& DECEMBER7TH NW Lathrop S[ 1 ^ NOVEMBER 16TH & v I' DECEMBER 4TH Elwood Ave NOVEMBER 2ND& NOVEMBER 13TH& DECEMBER3RD NOVEMBER 18TH NE ILlc Xz'nley Blvd NOVEMBER 12TH & Wnshin,;mn , 11 DECEMBER 2ND NOVEMBER 3RD& 11 W Vern Ave NOVEMBER 19TH J, 1Bvd I NOVEMBER 4TH & NOVEMBER 11TH & ,' — NOVEMBER 20TH DECEMBER15T Indiana Ain NOVEMBER 5TH& _ - -- SW - NOVEMBER 23RD Lbving Ave NOVEMBER 10TH & NOVEMBER 30TH NOVEMBER 6TH & NOVEMBER 24TH SE° Ireland Rd NOVEMBER 9TH & NOVEMBER 25TH L Legend MajorRoads_South Bend Railroads E� South Bend City Limit St Joseph River Weekly Pickup: Monday Nov. 2nd - Dec. 76 Crews will make two complete sweeps of the city Operation ReLeaf will begin in the Northeast side quadrant and will continue clockwise twice around the city, through December 11th. DO NOT allow children to play in leaf piles for their safety! • Please rake leaves to the curb line, not into the street, as this will plug the street drains, causing them to flood. • Crews will not return until the next scheduled day in your area (approx. 2 weeks later). • Do not park on top or in front of leaf piles along curb lines. This hinders crews and could cause a fire. • Do not contaminate leaf piles by putting in sticks, trash, and other debris. Crews will not pickup these piles, and the property owner will be responsible for disposal of contaminated piles. • Burning of leaves is totall pprohibited in the City of South Bend and is a violation ofyCity ordinance. TO HEAR A TAPE RECORDED MESSAGE OF OUR WEEKLYSCHEDULE, PLEASE CALL 287 -5005. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL 235 -9244 Monday — Friday, 7am4pm.