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2007 Annual Report
of the
Personnel and Finance Committee
Date: December 27, 2007
To: The South Bend Common Council
The Office of the City Clerk
From: Council Member Charlotte D. Pfeifer, Chairperson
Personnel and Finance Committee
I am submitting the following Annual Report of the activities of the Council's Personnel and
Finance Standing Committee which is a requirement of § 2-10 (i) of the South Bend Municipal
Code. 2007 was, like 2006 a busy year for this standing committee.
Background In ormation:
Duties: The Personnel and Finance Standing Committee is charged with "overseeing the
various activities performed by the Department of Administration and Finance, salaries,
budgets, fiscal matters and personnel policies and procedures of the City" pursuant to § 2-10 (i)
(7) of the South Bend Municipal Code. (Emphasis added)
Members: There were four (4) Council Members on this Committee, namely: Dr. David
Varner who served as Vice-Chairperson; Ervin Kuspa and Al "Buddy" Kirsits who served as
members; and myself as Chairperson. I was very pleased that our Committee had one (1) persons
who served as the Committee's citizen member, namely Diana Hess. Diana attended the vast
majority of the Committee's meetings and provided valuable insights for which we are grateful.
Meetings and Topics:
Meetings: The Personnel and Finance Committee held twenty-four (24) meetings this year,
one of which was a joint meeting with the Health and Public Safety Committee. This compares to
the twenty-six (26) meetings held in 2006. The topics for these meetings primarily focused on the
following subject matters:
• Extensive discussions on Bill No. 06-07 which was the Capital Budget Ordinance of
approximately $18 million.
• Several committee meetings were held specifically on the three (3) proposed ordinances
related to the civil city budget for calendar year 2008, which included Saturday morning
sessions and also one (1) session devoted to "Budget Methodology".
2007 Personnel and Finance Committee Annual Report
December 27, 2007
Page 2
• Several meetings were spent reviewing the various resolutions filed pursuant to Section
4-51 of the South Bend Municipal Code seeking the approval of the issuance of Scrap
Metal/Junk Dealers/Recycling Operation licenses.
• Discussion of the 2008 Salary Ordinance for SBCC Council Members which resulting in
Council Members agreeing to freeze their 2008 salaries at 20071evels; discussion of Bill
No. 57-07 setting the Mayor's salary for 2008 with a 2% increase over 2007 levels;
setting the non-bargaining and Teamster salaries for 2008 with a 2% increase over 2007
levels by the September 30~' state law deadline.
Challenges in 2008:
It is anticipated that the following topics are some of the many which will be carefully studied and
reviewed by the Personnel and Finance Committee in 2008:
• Developing fair and innovative ways to address non-bargaining city employee salaries
since their wages for 2007 were frozen at 20061evels.
Monitoring medical insurance costs so that premiums remain affordable for all city
employees.
• Studying the short and long term effects of the 2% Circuit Breaker
It has been a pleasure to serve as the Personnel and Finance Committee Chairperson this year. I
thank all of the Committee members and Citizen Member Diana Hess for their dedicated service on
the Committee in 2007. I wish the 2008 South Bend Common Council all the best. Thank you.
Respectfully submitted,
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Council Member Charlotte D. P eifer, Chairperson
Personnel and Finance Committee
cc: Mayor Stephen Luecke
John Murphy, Interim City Controller