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Home My WebLink AboutIT 2026 Budget DeckCity of South Bend Innovation & Technology City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Innovation & Technology August 20, 2025 | 2026 Proposed Budget City of South Bend Innovation & Technology City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Agenda Quick Background on I&T Recent 2025 Accomplishments 2026 Projected Activities Budget Summary+ Personnel Changes Questions August 20, 2025 Budget Hearing City of South Bend Innovation & Technology About I&T, our departmental structure and work Background City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T Mission South Bend’s Department of Innovation & Technology (I&T) leverages technology, data, and design to empower a thriving City workforce and improve quality of life for the region. As a centralized IT and innovation team, we serve City departments. In addition to providing core IT services like hardware, technology support, security, and network maintenance, we help city teams procure or develop new solutions, improve processes, use data to forward goals, and digitize city services. City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T Mantra Listen First, Build With. In 2019, our Department chose this mantra because we believe it represents the human-centered design and collaborative culture we aim to infuse into all our work. Reminder: I&T is an internal service department City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T Values •Collaboration –Our mantra is “Listen First, Build With”, so we work hard to live up to that. We don’t want change to happen to people –we want them to be partners. This demonstrates respect and makes our work stronger. •Customer Service –Kindness, respect, and empathy reign supreme. Whether it’s with a resident or a department partner, we listen actively and help them get to their goals. •Curiosity –People who love learning (skills, knowledge, whatever!) do well in our team. There is always more to dig into, more to learn, more problems to get to the bottom of. Everyone is a detective and a source for great ideas. •Responsiveness –Our team sometimes needs to be on call when things break. Some people go above and beyond at all times to answer the call and be there for clients! •Resiliency –I&T projects and services can be complex and chaotic. People who can be calm in the storm and make order out of chaos do well! City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T Divisions Division Description Customer Service & Success 311, Case Management, City Service Center ("One Stop Shop") City Hall Experience Digital Services UX, Low code platforms & solution design/development, digital communications support, website maintenance and training Digital Integration & Development (formerly: Applications) Custom integrations, web apps, data engineering/automation Data & Performance Performance management, data analytics and transparency, data warehouse. business process improvement, GIS Civic Innovation Digital equity, smart cities/urban sensing, university partnerships, special projects, Commuters Trust + transportation programs/pilots Infrastructure Network maintenance/security, South Bend Open WiFi, cameras, physical and virtual environments Enterprise Services & Software Helpdesk, hardware/rights/software management and distribution, technology procurement, software maintenance Project Management Priority IT Project Management, SB Academy (aka training) Coordination, Department Portfolio Maintenance City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T Org Chart –Divisions Chief Innovation Officer Data & Performance Civic Innovation Customer Service & Success Project Management Chief Digital Officer Digital Services Digital Integration & Development Chief Technology Officer Enterprise Services & Software Infrastructure City of South Bend Innovation & Technology City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T Org Chart (Detailed) 47 FT employees Chief Innovation Officer Director, Data & Performance Assistant Director, Data & Performance GIS Senior Specialist Senior Business Analyst Business Analyst (2) Director, Civic Innovation Technology Equity Manager Program Manager - Transportation Director, Customer Service & Success Manager, Customer Success Case Manager (2) Manager, 311 311 Liaison (10) Ops Manager Project Manager Chief Digital Officer Director, Applications Applications Developer II Applications Developer I (2) Director, Digital Services Web Manager Product Manager Solutions Designer Chief Technology Officer Director, Enterprise Services & Software Manager, Enterprise Software Software Specialist Manager, Services Services Specialist (2) Director, Infrastructure Manager, Infrastructure System Specialist III (2) City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Our Team City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Culture is Strong in I&T Mission is the #1 motivator, followed by ability to influence. With very few exceptions, employees feel positively about their positions and their connectedness to I&T. City of South Bend Innovation & Technology National Recognition – Late 2024 to Present •South Bend was recommended for, but ultimately didn’t receive a coveted NTIA Competitive Digital Equity Grant ($13M). •South Bend was named a Global Bloomberg Mayor’s Challenge Finalist City – only 50 finalist cities from 630 applicants were selected. •South Bend was recertified as a What Works Cities Gold City in 2025. •South Bend 311 was recognized as the #2 311 System/Team in the USA at Engage311 2025. They were second to Atlanta, Georgia. •South Bend recognized as a Visionary Digital Equity Trailblazer City by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance for the second year in a row. •South Bend won a 2025 IDC Smart City Award for Public Safety for the Sync South Bend Grant Program. City of South Bend Innovation & Technology National Recognition – Late 2025 to Present City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T in the News •Q&A with South Bend CIO on Digital Transformation •City Awarded What Works Cities Gold Certification •South Bend CIO Named 25 GovTech Doers, Dreamers, Drivers •South Bend named #1 Digital City of 2024 •South Bend CIO named ASPACA Emerging Leader •IDC 2025 Winners Showcase Passion and Partnerships •South Bend Training AI to solve problems before they are found •South Bend named a Visionary Digital Equity Trailblazer City •How the Competitive Grant Program Awards are connecting US Cities •NTIA Recommends over $250M in grants in 39 states •Better Call Code Enforcement City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Highlights from 2025 (thus far!) Recent Work & Accomplishments City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T 2025 Numbers at a Glance •Benchmarked as better than 50% of peers for Cybersecurity – up from 35% the same time last year o Lowered projected losses by 800K – 2M for each major risk event category •100 new cameras installed across 4 Downtown Garages •60,000+ subsidized or free rides (Transpo and Ride Share) distributed via Commuters Trust: o 43k for the Employer Partner Program for South Bend hourly wage workers o 17k for the Nonprofit Partner Program •1,960 total users supported, 1246 total PCs supported, 400 ipads supported •254 software programs managed, 14 “tier 1” systems with new RACI and business continuity plans City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T 2025 Numbers at a Glance (cont.) •4,459 HelpDesk Tickets addressed •200+ residents engaged in MySB website redesign activities across 12 events •72,000 311 calls taken with a <1 minute average hold time for 2025 •4.4 - 4.7/5 ratings for friendliness, timeliness,knowledge, customer satisfaction throughout the year •185 new resident welcome packets/cards distributed to onboard newest neighbors more efficiency to City services •3,300+ residents in UAP as of August 2025 – an all time high City of South Bend Innovation & Technology City of South Bend Innovation & Technology 2025 Themes of Accomplishment ✓Customer service modernization ✓Streamlining and digitizing city operations ✓User-friendly web products ✓Cybersecurity improvements ✓Public safety technology & data upgrades ✓Improved IT and data governance ✓Efficiencies and a performance-focused workplace Highlight of current plans with Departments Note: not a comprehensive list City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T Highlights – Customer Service Modernization Involved Divisions: Customer Service & Success, Data & Performance, Civic Innovation, Enterprise Services & Software, Digital Services, Development We adopted new tools, processes, ideas to create the City Service Center at City Hall + improved off-site self service •New appointment and queue management tools mean user-friendly time management and predictable wait times. •New digital payments and forms so that residents who don’t want to come in, don’t HAVE to come in. •New cash-taking kiosks in trusted spaces: MLK and La Casa Embraced experimentation with proactive AI, wrap-around service models •I&T proposed a modern take on 311 which got South Bend recognized as a Bloomberg Mayor’s Challenge Finalist City Drove improvements in customer satisfaction and self-service stats •Post-call surveys have seen large jumps in customer service interaction ratings compared to 2024 •South Bend 311, with partners, drove improvements to (1) digital and auto payment for utilities and (2) digital self service for 311 City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Project Highlight: Kiosks + Digital Payments Kiosks can take cash, check, and card payments. City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Project Highlight: "City Service Center" Design I&T worked with Departments to map out customer journeys for City Hall City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Bloomberg Mayor's Challenge 2025 City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Project Spotlight: SBARC Art + Adoption Drive SBARC and 311 teamed up with a local school art program to bring awareness to pet adoption. City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T Highlights – Streamlining and Digitizing City Operations Involved Divisions: Data & Performance, Enterprise Services & Software, Digital Services, Digital Integration & DDevelopment Digitized resident-facing forms, applications, and payments •Water Start Form – 3 paper forms are now down to 1 consolidated form with a digital option •SBARC paper forms are now digital: Apply to foster, Surrender, Lost/found pet •Vendor Registration Form •Ordinance Violation Bureau Payments Newer, better systems •SmartRec for a more uniform, user-friendly booking and recreation experience for VPA! •OpenGov to support the operations of the Neighborhoods team, replacing Accela. •UKG for payroll, training, benefits. City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Project Highlight: SmartRec One portal and payment experience for pavilion booking and VPA memberships City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T Highlights – Streamlining and Digitizing City Operations Involved Divisions: Digital Services, Development, Customer Service & Success New Websites •I&T redesigned the South Bend Police website, embracing a more modern look and functional organization •Digital Services created the SouthBendin.gov/Welcome page to consolidate information for our newest neighborhoods •The new MLK site was launched – a beautiful design to match the space SB UX •The Digital Services Team engaged 200+ residents in the early website redesign and digital engagement planning process for the City's future customer service portal: MySB. City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Project Highlight: Web Improvement City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Project Highlight: MySB Resident Co-Design City of South Bend Innovation & Technology SBUX Draft Personas & User Journeys Resident feedback has shown the need to push information to popular personas who don't currently enjoy convieniently bundled information. City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T Highlights – Public Safety Data & Tech Involved Divisions: Infrastructure,ESS, Data & Performance, PMO Capacity Building, Partnerships •Integrated 60+ external partner sites into the City's Real Time Crime Center, boosting safety as well as small business technology infrastructure Data Projects Supporting Public Safety •Cross-Departmental Narcan Administration Dashboard •New Real Time Fire Operational Dashboard Expanded Enterprise Camera Footprint •Garage expansion completed in Summer 2025 – 100 new cameras across 4 garages •Fire stations, Seitz, MLK, and City Hall also received new enterprise cameras City of South Bend Innovation & Technology New Data Support for Fire Operations City of South Bend Innovation & Technology 60+ private sites integrated to RTCC The Sync South Bend Grant Program won the 2025 IDC Public Safety Smart City Award. City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T Highlights – Better IT and Data Governance Involved Divisions: ESS, Data & Performance, Infrastructure New policies •Acceptable Use Policy Update (with Handbook), GenAI Policy Updates, Video Access Policies Better cybersecurity •Rated better than 50%of peers (up from 35% this time in 2024) •Created and published the City's first coordinated Incident Response Plan •Did the City's first ever incident response tabletop exercise with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Rolled out a new product management tools and best practices •Biz Continuity Plans •Product management training City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Software Resource Guide Our new software guide helps our team identify enterprise savings, track Department tools, maintain vendor relationships. City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Physical Tech Installs: MLK, City Hall, Seitz, Fire Stations, and more I&T took the lead on outfitting several key City spaces and places with the technology it needs: conference rooms, cameras, safety tech, queue management, etc. City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T Highlights – An Efficient, Performance- Focused Workplace Involved Divisions: Civic Innovation, Digital Integration & Development, ESS GenAI efficiencies •Translation App expanded use •Rebuilt and improved the Internal Department Assistant •Rolled out 100 Copilot licenses to priority staff with training and use case ideation Improved Performance Management and Data Tracking •Data Huddles: Customer Service, City Service Tracker, Fire Operations, RTCC expansion •GVI Data Improvement Project Data Products for Efficiency and Transparency •Sewers Map •New Neighborhood Dashboards City of South Bend Innovation & Technology "Data Huddles" led to operational improvements The City Service Tracker measures requested services against SLA targets. Monitoring of this data has resulted in better technology adoption and service delivery. City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Neighborhood Dashboards City of South Bend Innovation & Technology And, of course, the CatCam! Thanks to the Digital Integration & Development Team, you can now watch South Bend Cats live from your home! City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Our plans for next year based on Department requests, upcoming opportunities 2026 Projected Activities City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Where do our 2026 projected activities come from? •Department Partners. As an internal service department, I&T meets with Departments at the beginning of budget season to understand high level technology goals for the following year. Resident goals drive their goals. Their goals are our goals. •Ex: Neighborhood Software, PD transparency •External Opportunities. We see and prepare for opportunities coming down the pipeline: grants, legislation, new standards, City Hall •Ex: grants, ADA compliance laws for web •National Best Practices. As centralized IT/data/digital shop, we identify opportunities for improving tech governance, mitigating risk, becoming more efficient •Ex: Citywide MFA, business continuity plans City of South Bend Innovation & Technology City of South Bend Innovation & Technology 2026 I&T Projected Activities •Focus on product and infrastructure maintenance – leveraging existing tools to their full potential. •Find IT cost savings for Departments. •Upskill the South Bend workforce to responsibly adopt generative AI tools into their work routines. •Digitize even more City applications, services, and payments for residents. •Continue to transform Customer Service at the City via the Bloomberg Mayor’s Challenge “Proactive Assistance” model, the refinement of the City Service Center experience, and the development of the MySB Platform. •Major improvements to boost productivity/mission and save City staff time: •Single sign-on for workforce •Copilot •Other AI applications, tools, and efficiencies •Improved cybersecurity posture, aiming to be benchmarked better than 60% of peers by 2027. •As funds allow, software implementations and system upgrades: AFIS, enterprise permitting, Cityworks, AVL upgrade + more. •Pursue grant funds to supplement public safety technology, digital equity work, and Commuters Trust nonprofit partner program. Highlight of current plans with Departments Note: not a comprehensive list City of South Bend Innovation & Technology 2026 I&T proposed budget Budget Summary City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Line Item Example Amount Allocation Method AFIS Upgrade 475,000 100% Police Microsoft E3 O365 300,000 By license Hive 24,000 100% Morris VoIP Licensing 40,000 By num phones Milestone VMS 80,000 Camera Allocation Cybersecurity Professional Services 30,000 Admin Allocation GIS Manager 59,000 GIS Allocation •I&T’s budget is comprised of the budgets of all other departments. We begin each budget season taking inventory of all tech operational costs and new needs across the city to put it our budget. •Every line item in the I&T budget is assigned an equation based on how that line item is consumed across Departments. See examples to the left. •Note that some line items are fully dedicated to certain departments and some are shared or “enterprise” resources. •Different I&T staff (individuals and teams) have cross-departmental equations associated with them based on projected amount of support that role provides to that Department. Reminder: How the I&T Budget Works City of South Bend Innovation & Technology City Expenditures I&T = 3.5% of the City of South Bend Budget City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T Budget Context for 2026 Going into 2026 there are several factors that are shaping I&T budget planning: •Rising IT costs: We are seeing 4-9% software cost increases, new and higher data costs •Very selective new technology: Permitting, Workforce SSO, AVL, AFIS upgrade, end-of-life technology •Leaning more on existing staff and solutions: We’ve trimmed professional services, cut lesser used tools •A focus on maintenance: The last 7 years have seen big increases in workstations, software, and infrastructure – we want to maintain what we've built. City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T 2026 Proposed Budget City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T 2026 Proposed Budget The jump in Repairs and Maintenance represents across the board 4-9% software increases City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T 2026 Proposed Budget The jump in Salaries & Wages is from: - An absorbed FT position from PW (New City Hall Admin) - One proposed staff raise City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T 2026 Proposed Budget About 500K in cuts to supplies and professional services compared to 2025 City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Personnel Request: Promotion One above standard raise and title change. Why this change? Reward high performers who have grown with the City. This staff position already carries the weight of a Director-level position at the City AND will be getting new certifications (PMP) to additionally justify the promotion. Old Title New Title 2025 cap Proposed 2026 cap % increase Manager, Operations - IT Director, Project Manager 81.808 97,597 19.3% City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Personnel Request: New Staff Member in I&T absorbed from another Department One new position in I&T absorbed from PW and given an increase (replacing an existing position) Why this level? With the creation of new City Hall logistics and operations, an existing admin was identified for reassignment to the Customer Service & Success Division and be admin for all of City Hall. Old Title New Title 2025 cap Proposed 2026 cap % increase Admin I City Hall Executive Administrator 47,366 66,500 38.5% City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T 2026 Proposed Budget Summary The proposed I&T budget as stayed steady despite the rising costs of software and data and a net new position being absorbed. To facilitate this, the Department has: •Slowed expansion of new enterprise camera assets •Trimmed professional services – any unplanned costs will have to go to Council •Reduced licenses and tools to save money (ex: Placer.ai, un-used Adobe licenses, phasing out, consolidating project management tools). We anticipate more of this activity in coming years. City of South Bend Innovation & Technology I&T Budget Context: Beyond 2026 Beyond 2026 there are several factors that will shape the I&T budget: •A cost-benefit/evaluations of existing tools •More cross-departmental efficiencies •Identifying savings and saved time from AI tools •For I&T and other business units we support this will mean a focused effort on AI data readiness, training, and change management. City of South Bend Innovation & Technology More information: Public Sector IT Budgets •Gartner Forecast on Government IT Trends and Budget Growth •3 Key Priorities as State and Local Gov IT Budgets Grow •Deloitte study on IT Budget benchmarks across industries •Education & nonprofits: 4.54% •The 2026 proposed budget puts us at 3.56% City of South Bend Innovation & Technology Please ask now or follow-up via email driedl@southbendin.gov Questions? City of South Bend Innovation & Technology More information Appendix City of South Bend Innovation & Technology More Reading – I&T Reports & Background •You can read a case about the creation of our Department •Link to the Department’s Medium Blog •Transparency & Performance Page •Commuters Trust Site