HomeMy WebLinkAbout25-47 Resolution Acknowledging the Impact of the Federal Government Shutdown on SNAP Recipients and Calling for a Public Hearing to Consider Emergency Measures Filed in Clerk's Office
** City of South Bend Nov 4, 2025
** Councili\ ►3ik. I i
* City Clrr - South Lir Rend, IN
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November 4, 2025
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I'n,ilciu Chairperson Sheila Niezgodski
R cht.1 I ii,:r, Motion South Bend Common Council
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()I Ilic \\"LR,Ie Re A RESOLUTION OF THE SOUTH BEND COMMON COUNCIL
Canned Luc OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA,ACKNOWLEDGING
l ir,l 1)i.1ri,1 THE IMPACT OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ON
SNAP RECIPIENTS AND CALLING FOR A PUBLIC HEARING TO
c )1,I,cI1:1 ( dcu It 1, , CONSIDER EMERGENCY MEASURES TO SUPPORT RESIDENTS
1cc„ii(l I)i,iri,1 EXPERIENCING FOOD INSECURITY
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Fiord ►)i,ui,1 Dear Chairperson Niezgodski:
t r ` \1 tro cr This resolution calls upon the South Bend Common Council's Personnel and
I urll ►)I.I i i Finance Committee to convene an emergency public hearing with the
Department of Administration and Finance to assess how city reserves—
sh,n-% Ii„I,lcit-siiiip,,„i including General Fund and Rainy Day Fund resources—can be temporarily
I'i1i11 I)i,irii.i leveraged to support approximately 20,000 South Bend residents facing the
imminent suspension of federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
livli Ui,uu 1 (SNAP) benefits due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. The
resolution emphasizes the city's fiduciary duty to safeguard the well-being of
1)1.. its residents, especially vulnerable children, seniors, and working families,
\� 1..it and urges local leadership to explore all feasible options to prevent a local
food insecurity crisis.
llarlicl kon,a,
Please schedule this proposed resolution for the Personnel and Finance
Committee meeting on November 10, 2025, and place it on the full Council
h,,n ii L. \\ hu, agenda for later that night.
.ki l..u•,.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely yours,
VI �°
Dr. Oliver Davis, Sherry Bolden-Simpson
At-Large, South Bend Common Council 5th District, South Bend Common Council
Filed in Clerk's Office
Nov 4, 2025
BILL NO. 25-47 Bianca Tirado
City Clerk. South Bend, IN
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE SOUTH BEND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SOUTH BEND,INDIANA,ACKNOWLEDGING THE IMPACT OF THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ON SNAP RECIPIENTS AND CALLING FOR A
PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER EMERGENCY MEASURES TO SUPPORT
RESIDENTS EXPERIENCING FOOD INSECURITY
WHEREAS,as of October 30,2025, the United States Federal Government has
remained in partial shutdown for 30 days,resulting in suspended or reduced funding for
numerous essential programs that directly affect the residents of the City of South Bend; and
WHEREAS,the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known
as the food stamp/EBT program, provides critical monthly food support to thousands of South
Bend residents, including families with children, seniors,and persons with disabilities; and
WHEREAS,more than 20,000 South Bend residents—roughly one in five residents in
the city—depend on SNAP benefits to meet their most basic sustenance and nutritional needs;
and
WHEREAS, the current federal government shutdown has interrupted or imminently
threatens to interrupt these benefits,placing thousands of households at risk of hunger,
malnutrition, and related health and safety concerns; and
WHEREAS, the City of South Bend, as a home-rule municipality, maintains healthy
general and rainy-day fund cash reserves that reflect years of strategic and prudent fiscal
management, and the South Bend Common Council has a fiduciary responsibility to safeguard
taxpayer dollars; and
WHEREAS, the Common Council of the City of South Bend recognizes that fiscal
stewardship also entails the responsible and compassionate deployment of public resources in
moments of emergency that threaten the welfare of the city's residents and neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, it is both reasonable and necessary for the South Bend Common Council to
hold an emergency public hearing to evaluate potential strategies—including, but not limited to,
the temporary allocation of city reserve funds—to ensure that all residents,particularly children,
seniors,and people with disabilities,have access to adequate food during the continuation of the
federal shutdown; and
WHEREAS, the Common Council affirms its commitment to transparency,
accountability,and the public trust by engaging residents, community organizations,and city
departments in open discussion regarding the potential use of local resources to alleviate
immediate hardship; and
WHEREAS, replacement state funding is needed to maintain the level of public safety
and services that residents of South Bend expect and deserve.
NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED, by the Common Council of the City of
South Bend, Indiana, as follows:
Section I. The Council shall convene, through its Personnel and Finance Committee,a
public hearing to receive testimony, review available fiscal data, and consider the feasibility of
allocating a portion of city reserves to provide short-term food assistance or related relief to
South Bend residents affected by the federal shutdown.
Section IL The City Clerk of the Common Council shall transmit this resolution to all
Members of the South Bend Common Council,Mayor of the City of South Bend, and to the
Department of Administration and Finance for prompt review and coordination.
Section III.This resolution shall become effective upon the date of passage.
Dated this 10th day of November 2025.
Canneth J. Lee, Council President
South Bend Common Council
Attest:
Bianca L. Tirado, City Clerk
Office of the City Clerk
Presented by me, the undersigned Clerk of the City of South Bend, to the Mayor of the
City of South Bend, Indiana on the day of ,2025, at o'clock .m.
Bianca L. Tirado, City Clerk
Office of the City Clerk
Approved and signed by me on the day of , 2025,at o'clock
.m.
James Mueller, Mayor
City of South Bend, Indiana