HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-20-12 Mayor Buttigieg Announces Code for America Partnership Aimed at Bringing Additional Technology Innovation to City SOU TH 8F
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CITY OF SOUTH BEND
PETE BUTTIGIEG, MAYOR
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20,2012
Contact: Mike Schmuhl
Phone: 574-235-9261
MAYOR BUTTIGIEG ANNOUNCES CODE FOR AMERICA PARTNERSHIP AIMED AT
BRINGING ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION TO CITY
Partnership caps outstanding year for technology advancement in South Bend
SOUTH BEND Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced today that the City of South Bend has been
selected as one of nine communities in the United States to participate in the Code for America
Fellowship Program in 2013. The other communities are: Kansas City,Las Vegas,Louisville,
Oakland, San Francisco, San Mateo County, Calif, Summit County, Ohio (Akron), and New York
City.
Through the fellowship program,which is aimed at helping local governments foster technology
innovation, developers and designers will be partnered with various departments to collaborate with
city leaders to address problems or areas for improvement in local government services and practices.
Three Code for America fellows will be assigned to the City of South Bend and start next month.
"This is an exciting announcement for the City of South Bend," said Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
"We've made a concerted effort to become a more innovative and technologically creative city.
Good government starts with being a smarter and more efficient operation. As a Code for
America 2013 partner, we are putting South Bend in high gear as we strive to better serve the
people of our community."
The partnership was made possible with the support and collaboration of the City of South Bend,
the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center,AT&T,
Memorial Hospital, Teacher's Credit Union Foundation, and 1st Source Bank.
Founded in 2009, Code for America held its inaugural fellowship in 2011. In 2012, Code for
America has connected 26 fellows with eight cities across the country. Through the Accelerator
program, Code for America supports civic startups, and through the Brigade program, Code for
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America encourages civic participation by organizing local groups of civic technologists to take
action in their communities.
"We are very excited to officially announce our partnership with South Bend," said Code for
America founder and Executive Director Jennifer Pahlka. "South Bend is a leader in the
innovation world, and our fellows will have the chance to be at the forefront of that innovation.
With the support of such forward-thinking and dedicated city staff, we look forward to
continuing to build long-lasting partnerships with the City."
Announcing the program at Innovation Park at Notre Dame, Mayor Buttigieg explained the Code
for America program to community leaders and partners through some of their innovations in
other cities. Mayor Buttigieg walked through BlightStatus.org, which was created in New
Orleans, and allows residents to simply find out what's going on with blighted properties in their
community. This website eliminates the long process it can take for a resident to figure the status
and future of a vacant or abandoned property.
The announcement today caps an outstanding year in technology achievements for the City of
South Bend. In 2012, the city launched its new voice-over IP phone system and upgraded its e-
mail system for the first time. In addition, South Bend is developing IBM's Intelligent
Operations Center for Smarter Cities software to overhaul its water management system. And, its
revamped website (www.southbendin.gov)won an Honorable Mention in the international
MARCOM Awards recently.
For more information on Code for America, please visit the following websites:
http://codeforamerica.org/
http://codeforamerica.org/2013-partners/south-bend/