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Home My WebLink About10-03-2024 Personnel & Finance Committee Meeting Minutes WS oY�urx eFtio U O', PEACE ` aZ x IHtiS OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK BIANCA L. TIRADO, CITY CLERK PERSONNEL& FINANCE October 3, 2024, 6:00 P.M. Committee Members Present: Sheila Niezgodski*, Troy Warner, Canneth Lee, Ross Deal, Karen White, Rachel Tomas Morgan, Sharon McBride,Angela Smith Councilmembers Present: Canneth Lee, Ophelia Gooden-Rodgers Councilmembers Absent: Dr. Oliver Davis, Sherry Bolden-Simpson, Sharon McBride Others Present: Bianca Tirado, Matthew Neal, Samuel Turck, Bob Palmer Agenda: Council Working Session#2 Members marked with an asterisk (*) are in virtual attendance. Please note the attached link for the meeting recording: https:Hdoes.southbendin.gov[WebLink/browse.aspx?dbid=0&mediaid=386220 Please note the attached link for the budget presentation: httys:Hdocs.southbendin.gov/WebLink/Browse.aspx?startid=8 Committee Vice-Chair Troy Warner called to order the Personnel & Finance Committee meeting at 6:20 p.m. Committee Chair Sheila Niezgodski provided information regarding the 2025 Budget Overview process. Additional questions about this meeting or the budget hearing can be emailed to the Personnel and Finance Committee Chair, Sheila Niezgodski, at sniezgod2c southbendin.gov. and they will be directed to the appropriate department. The Final Budget Hearing is scheduled for October 14, 2024. Chair Niezgodski specified that this working session serves as an opportunity for councilmembers and departments to ask any questions regarding the budget up to this date. Council Working Session#2 Kyle Willis, City Controller, with offices on the 121h floor of the County-City building, stated that he was available to answer questions from councilmembers. INTEGRITY I SERVICE I ACCESSIBILITY Elivet Quijada-Navarro Matthew Neal Samuel Turck CFIIEI'DhiPCTY CITY CLERK DEPL-rY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL OF PROJECI'S EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Blvd.I South Bend,Indiana 46601 1 p.574.235.9221 1 f.574.235.91731 www.southbendin.gov • CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Committee Member Rachel Tomas Morgan stated her gratitude for the department heads present and their ability to answer the Council's questions. Committee Member Tomas Morgan asked for the team at Venues,Parks, and Arts(VPA)to explain the role,highlights,and importance of Group Violence Intervention(GVI) since its addition to VPA. Jordan Gathers, Executive Director of Venues, Parks, and Arts (VPA) with offices at 301 South St. Louis Blvd, South Bend IN 46601, stated that since the inclusion of this intervention program there has been an influx of community leadership working together to lower gun violence and supporting South Bend's highest risk individuals. Jordan Gathers stated that VPA continues to build the mission of GVI throughout the City. Security programming has been in place for several years, specifically at Howard Park. There are also safety and engagement teams placed in park spaces, collaborating with the South Bend Police Department(SBPD)to keep parks safe. Malcolm Coates, Project Manager, with offices at 321 W Walter street, South Bend IN 46614, stated that group violence and gun-related incidents percentages are trending downward. The last report given from GVI was from Januar June_ of 2024 stating there were twenty-two (22) shootings, in comparison to January-June of 2023 there were twenty-nine(29)reported shootings. Malcolm Coates stated that there were 13 gang-member involved (GMI) included in this year's report. He stated that these statistics were collected through the SBPD. Malcolm Coates stated that he believes that the inclusion of GVI has greatly benefited the community in terms of crime rates decreasing in the span of two (2) years. Malcolm Coates explained how the GVI program is intended to work by law enforcement referring the names of known gang or group violence members to the GVI outreach team. The outreach team's role is to speak to these individuals and talk to them about their options, in an attempt to lead them away from a crime-ridden future. This strategy is paired with social service agencies, such as housing, food, transportation,job finding, licensing,child support payments,etc.,making sure these individuals have the resources to choose a better path for themselves. Malcolm Coates stated that the intention is for the individuals to continue working with social services until they are completely detached from the gang or group violence lifestyle. Councilmember Ophelia Gooden-Rodgers asked why Howard Park requires security as opposed to other parks. She also asked what is being done in regards to security for the opening of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center. Jordan Gathers stated that work is being done to create a more comprehensive visitor experience division that would consist of security, safety, maintenance, custodial oversight services. The visitor experience division would help with overseeing safety at all parks moving forward. Councilmember Gooden-Rodgers asked if there have been any safety complaints at other parks. Jordan Gathers stated that VPA has received feedback from citizens, through a visitor experience survey, regarding safety in all parks but three (3) in particular, Howard, Muessel, and Fremont parks. Jordan Gathers stated that the feedback was overwhelmingly positive in terms of citizens feeling safe in South Bend's parks. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Blvd. South Bend,Indiana 46601 p.574.235.9221 f.574.235.9173 www.southbendin.gov CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Councilmember Gooden-Rodgers asked if the survey could become accessible to the general public. Jordan Gathers stated that VIA would take that recommendation. Committee Member Karen White stated the importance of feeling safe in our community. Committee Member White asked how safety agencies work together, specifically the SBPD and the Stand Against Violence Everyday (SAVE) team. Committee Member Canneth Lee stated that while he has not worked with the SAVE team for over two (2) years he is aware of their inclusion in GVI in terms of helping at-risk individuals. Malcolm Coates stated that the SAVE team is owned by Goodwill Industries which is still an active entity after the changing of directors. He also spoke about The Moral Voice and Core Group, both groups of activists known in the community for helping different outreach programs. Committee Member Tomas Morgan thanked Malcolm Coates for his ability to clarify the role of GVI. She asked for a further explanation regarding volunteer ambassadors for programs like, SAVE, GVI, and The Moral Voice. Jordan Gathers stated that not all programs are designed for security but for engagement, attempting to build social capital. He stated that VIA hopes to build more robust security measures in a fiscally responsible way. Committee Member Tomas Morgan asked if there would be an increased scope of the work performed by people currently employed at VIA. Jordan Gathers stated that not only will the scope of employee's work increase there would also be an increase in staff presence in all parks on weekdays and weekends. Committee Member Tomas Morgan asked if the new visitor experience division would overlap at all with the homeslessness outreach coordinator. Jordan Gathers stated that the homelessness outreach coordinator is not under the jurisdiction of VIA. Committee Chair Niezgodski clarified that this meeting will not have a public hearing. Committee Member Lee asked for clarification on the dollar amount of money that would be saved through VPA's budget proposal. Jordan Gathers stated the Visitor Experience Division was marked at two hundred and thirty thousand dollars ($230,000) followed by the insourcing for the Block by Block program at four hundred and thirty thousand dollars ($430,000). Committee Member Lee asked how the Visitor Experience Divison is being quanitified. Jordan Gathers stated that reports are made daily. The VIA team collaborate with different departments such as the SBPD to ensure the proper statistics are analyzed. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Blvd. South Bend,Indiana 46601 p.574.235.9221 f.574.235.9173 www.southbendin.gov CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Committee Member White mentioned how useful it would be to have measurable outcomes put into place to update the council and the general public. She asked for a list of all positions that would be receiving higher than a three percent (3%) increase in their salaries and the number of employees who are not at their salary caps. Kyle Willis stated that there are eighty-one (81)employees currently being paid above their salary cap. Citizen Member Angela Smith thanked the departments that provided organizational charts in their presentations because of its legibility. She stated that going forward there should be more justification for why a position is receiving a higher than standard increase. Angela Smith stated that the County aims to increase salary caps by four percent (4%) every year while City positions are only raised by three percent (3%). She stated that higher than standard living increases should be taken into account. Committee Member Lee asked for a list of locations for the implimentation of speed humps will be installed and if councilmemebrs would have any say in where the speed humps are located. Jitin Kain, Deputy Director of Public Works, with offices on the 13th floor of the County-City building, stated that he would provide a list of speed humps to be installed in the first quarter of 2025. Jitin Kain stated that speed hump location is selected based on a myriad of requirements such as speed studies, land uses, accidents, and formal complaints and cannot be allocated to the councilmembers. With no further business, Committee Vice-Chair Warner adjourned the Personnel & Finance Committee meeting at 7:00 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, )JJ xl�� Sheila Niezgodski, Committee Chair NOTICE FOR HEARING AND SIGHT IMPAIRED PERSONS Auxiliary Aid or Other Services may be Available upon Request at No Charge. Please give Reasonable Advance Request when Possible EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Blvd. South Bend,Indiana 46601 p.574.235.9221 f.574.235.9173 www.southbendin.gov