HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-15-2026 Information & Technology Committee Minutes
OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
BIANCA L. TIRADO, CITY CLERK
INTEGRITY | SERVICE | ACCESSIBILITY
Jasmine Jackson Matthew Neal Margaret Gotsch
CHIEF DEPUTY CITY CLERK / CHIEF OF STAFF DEPUTY CITY CLERK / DIRECTOR OF POLICY DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS
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
INFORMAION & TECHNOLOGY JUNE 15, 2026, 5:30 P.M.
Committee Members Present: Rachel Tomas Morgan, *Sherry Bolden-Simpson,
Heidi Beidinger, *Dr. Oliver Davis, Sharon
McBride, Maria Gibbs, Joshua Walters
Committee Members Absent: None
Others Present: Jasmine Jackson, Lari’onna Green, *Bob Palmer
Presenters: Madi Rogers
Agenda: Call to Order
Introductions of Committee Members & New CIO
Madi Rogers
Bloomberg Mayor's Challenge Grant & other Departmental Updates Presentation by Madi Rogers, CIO Innovation & Technology, and Department Staff
Nov. 2025 Committee Discussion on "AI in
Government & City of South Bend's Work" A. Recap & Updates B. Follow-up: Council GenAI 101 Training Opportunities
Further Questions & Comments: Members of
Committee, Council, and the Public
Time Permitting, Solicit Priority Topics for Future Committee Meetings
Adjournment
Members marked with an asterisk (*) are in virtual attendance.
Please note the attached link for the meeting recording:
https://docs.southbendin.gov/WebLink/0/fol/409263/Row1.aspx
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
Committee Chair Rachel Tomas Morgan called to order the Information & Technology
Committee meeting at 5:30 P.M.
Introductions of Committee Members & New CIO Madi Rogers
Committee Chair Tomas Morgan requested that committee members and attendees to introduce
themselves.
Bloomberg Mayor's Challenge Grant & other Departmental Updates Presentation by Madi
Rogers, CIO Innovation & Technology (I&T), and Department Staff
Madi Rogers, Chief Innovation Officer (CIO), with offices located at the Technology Resource
Center (TRC), South Bend, IN 46601, stated that she had worked for the City for several years
and, after a brief hiatus, returned in a new capacity as the Chief Innovation Officer. Madi Rogers
gave an overview of the I&T department’s mission as well as the department’s overall
organization. I&T has been forwarding digital accessibility compliance, procuring HealthCall
software, building a library vending machine (Dream Machine) at the Dream Center, driving
cybersecurity measures, and producing property activity briefs. The pilot for Flow Forward
launched on May 18 , which is currently an invitation-only pilot program designed for Utility
Assistance Program (UAP) enrollees that combine financial mentorship with the Financial
Empowerment Center (FEC), utility account stabilization with City-matched scheduled
payments, and resource coordination through the Resident Success Team. The transportation
benefit program Commuters Trust, which helps connect residents recovering from Opioid Use
Disorder (OUD) to critical services, is set to relaunch on July 12.
Troy Warner, Chief of Staff to the Mayor, asked how long the City has been doing Commuters
Trust, and Madi Rogers stated that the program began in 2018.
Madi Rogers stated that the Bloomberg Mayors Challenge (BMC) is a program that provides up
to one million dollars ($1,000,000) for roughly twenty-five (25) cities to develop innovative
solutions to complex municipal problems. South Bend is one of only two (2) cities to ever win
the BMC more than once. In 2018 I&T was a BMC winner for the Commuters Trust program.
South Bend has been selected once again for the BMC, this time to utilize the one million dollars
($1,000,000) over a two-year (2) period to develop and implement the Community Assistance
Risk Estimator (CARE) Project. The CARE Project seeks to transform South Bend’s 311 services
from reactive to proactive. For the CARE Project to be realized the City must create a reliable
data foundation that supports proactive risk identification. Then, in conjunction with Notre Dame,
I&T will develop a machine learning algorithm aimed at utilizing the City’s data to produce
signals for staff to react to. The CARE model will detect when a particular household may be at
risk of financial vulnerability. This will allow staff to intervene earlier with clearer workflows and
stronger coordination. Some system triggers may include inconsistent utility payments, or
overgrown yard citations. In six (6) months, I&T will deploy CARE models for the initial use
case of targeting financial vulnerability of households as a pilot program in which models will be
refined, tested, and operationally ready for live use. Priority datasets will be integrated, staff
workflows will be designed, and checks will be put in place. In twelve (12) months, CARE will
be used in live operations for the initial use case, with trained staff, active workflows, and
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
proactive outreach. In eighteen (18) months, CARE will expand beyond the initial use case to
support additional resident-based ore place-based use cases. This is when more departments,
workflows, and service partners will be using CARE outputs to intervene earlier and more
effectively. In twenty-four (24) months, I&T will have data to show the effectiveness of CARE’s
impact and will have a clear plan for long-term governance beyond the grant period.
Committee Member Heidi Beidinger asked if CARE could be used to highlight households that
may be at risk of homelessness.
Madi Rogers answered that eviction data can be hard to decipher due to cases such as silent
evictions where there may not be a legal trail of data; however, CARE may be able to recognize
patterns that could precede an eviction, such as missed utility payments.
Committee Member Beidinger asked if the data sets being utilized by United Way for their Asset
Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) Reports could be used also for CARE.
Kerry Joseph, Chief Digital Officer, stated that chronic homelessness may be a topic that requires
more time and funds before CARE would be able to effectively pattern data sets and generate
workflows.
Citizen Member Maria Gibbs requested information regarding I&T’s partnerships with
community organizations.
Madi Rogers stated that the identified community organizations are a database of resources that
the City can offer to residents, and moving forward they can be sources of data for CARE.
Reed Lyons, Project Manager, stated that I&T hopes to be able to create workflows that more
seamlessly gets residents in contact with community organizations.
Citizen Member Maria Gibbs requested information regarding how the City would reach out to
residents.
Madi Rogers stated that there are many different methods of getting in contact with residents
including partnering with community organizations.
Citizen Member Maria Gibbs stated that there are different ways residents may respond to being
contacted; some residents may feel watched and others may feel helped.
Reed Lyons stated that messaging is something that I&T considers when reaching out to residents.
Committee Member Sharon McBride stated that she would like to hear more from I&T about
property activity briefs.
Madi Rogers stated that the initial use case for CARE is financial vulnerability risk, but as the
program develops there will be more use cases such as identifying patterns in the wear of
infrastructure.
Citizen Member Joshua Walters asked if there have been considerations on pulling property data
from the cameras on trash trucks.
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
Madi Rogers stated that the current trash truck cameras don’t have the capacity to capture a picture
wide and clear enough of homes to establish usable data; however, there are cameras in the City
that may prove to be useful in capturing data for CARE.
Committee Chair Tomas Morgan requested information regarding the Flow Forward pilot
program.
Madi Rogers stated that the Flow Forward program pilot has two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars ($250,000) in funding, is invitation-only, and has a capacity of two hundred (200)
residents. The residents selected must be enrolled in the UAP and owe at least three hundred
dollars ($300) on their utility bills. Each week the Resident Success Team is reaching out to
twenty-five (25) new residents. The program consists of five (5) meetings with the Resident
Success Team and FEC five (5) times over the course of sixteen (16) weeks, and the City will
match every scheduled payment the resident makes during that time until the account is at current
balance or at zero (0). The purpose of the program is to instill good payment behaviors for
residents.
Committee Member Dr. Oliver Davis asked if there is coordination among local bodies (county,
schools, etc.) to help direct residents to a wider variety of resources.
Madi Rogers stated that I&T has data sharing agreements with schools as well as programs such
as the Citywide Classroom program which helped provide students with at-home internet access.
Dan O’Connor, Chief Technology Officer, stated that he periodically meets with the County and
does receive some data from them to update the City’s systems. The City also collaborates with
the County regarding Cybersecurity threats.
Nov. 2025 Committee Discussion on "AI in Government & City of South Bend's Work"
Committee Chair Tomas Morgan stated that in November 2025 the Information & Technology
Committee met and had a discussion regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI) in government and
more specifically its impact on the work being done in South Bend. Committee Chair Tomas
Morgan asked Madi Rogers for any updates regarding the City’s use of AI.
Madi Rogers stated South Bend is ahead of the curve regarding city-use of generative artificial
intelligence (GenAI). Typical use-cases for generative AI in cities include agents for resident-
facing navigation, internal agents for streamlined work, translation work, application/permit
assistance, AI-assisted analytics, and asset management assessments. The City has a GenAI policy
aimed at supporting responsible, efficient, and creative users in utilizing GenAI tools safely. I&T
has learned that having a policy in place is not enough and has implemented training sessions to
supplement the information found in the policy. I&T will be updating the GenAI policy this
summer to highlight guiding principles for AI use, to tailor Do’s/Don’t’s that more closely
resembles how the City’s teams are using AI, and to include additional trainings and workshops
to demystify AI use for those who are eager to use it productively. The next GenAI 101 training
will be held on Wednesday, August 5, 2026 from 10:00A.M.-11:00A.M.
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
Committee Chair Tomas Morgan requested information regarding GenAI 101 and GenAI 201
training sessions.
Madi Rogers stated that GenAI 101 is a general introduction to AI whereas GenAI 201 is specific
to Copilot.
Committee Chair Tomas Morgan stated that it is important for all Councilmembers to attend a
GenAI 101 training session and requests the Clerk’s Office to send Councilmembers a calendar
invite for the next session.
Madi Rogers stated that I&T can hold training sessions for specific departments as well to
accommodate schedules and to focus on more specific use cases.
Committee Member McBride stated that there are specific interests Council may use GenAI for
and stated that Council could benefit from a more specialized training session.
Anmol Rathore, Technology Equity Manager, stated that in-person attendance often is more
effective for training sessions.
Further Questions & Comments: Members of Committee, Council, and the Public & Solicit
Priority Topics for Future Committee Meetings
Committee Member McBride requested information regarding an overarching guide for resources
(Crisis Intervention Team, Motels4Now, food banks, etc.).
Committee Member Beidinger stated that in 2020 the Family and Social Services Administration
(FSSA) was cataloging different resources.
Committee Chair Tomas Morgan stated that 311 can provide information regarding resources
over-the-phone.
Madi Rogers stated that the City’s website has a page (southbendin.gov/support) dedicated to
resources available to residents.
Committee Member McBride stated that the Clerk’s Office is currently working on creating
newsletters for each Council district and stated that it would be good to highlight resources
available to residents.
Citizen Member Maria Gibbs stated that she would like to hear more from I&T once phase one
(1) of the CARE program is completed.
With no further business, Committee Chair Tomas Morgan adjourned the Information &
Technology meeting at 6:44 P.M.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rachel Tomas Morgan, Committee Chair
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
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