HomeMy WebLinkAbout26-29 Resolution Appointing an Agent/Negotiator and an Advisory Common Council Negotiating Team to Represent the Common Council in the Upcoming Fire Department NegotiationsCanneth Lee
President
Sheila Niezgodski
Vice President
Ophelia Gooden-Rodgers
Chairperson, Committee
of the Whole
Canneth Lee
First Dishict
Ophelia Gooden-Rodgers
Second District
Sharon L. McBride
Third District
Dr. Heidi Beidinger
Foiu-th District
Sherry Bolden -Simpson
Fifth District
Sheila Niezgodski
Sixth District
Dr. Oliver Davis
At L.uge
Rachel Tomas Morgan
At Large
Karen L. White
At Large
City of South Bend
Common Council
300 City Hall • 215 S. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
South Bend, Indiana 46601
South Bend Common Council
Filed in Clerk's Office
Aug 19, 2026
Bianca Tirado
City Clerk, South Bend, IN
August 19, 2026
3rd Floor, City Hall
South Bend, IN 46601
Re: A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, APPOINTING AN
AGENT/NEGOTIATOR AND AN ADVISORY COMMON COUNCIL
NEGOTIATING TEAM TO REPRESENT THE COMMON COUNCIL
FOR THE UPCOMING FIRE DEPARTMENT NEGOTIATIONS
Dear Chairperson Niezgodski:
The City has been informed that the Firefighter's union has elected to renegotiate
the current contract which expires on December 31, 2026. As in the past, the
Council will name a chief negotiator and a Council Advisory Team for the
negotiations.
This proposed resolution names Council Attorney Bob Palmer as the Council's
Chief negotiator and Council members Canneth Lee and Ophelia Gooden-
Rodgers as the Council's Advisory Team.
I ask for this proposed resolution to be put on the agenda for consideration by the
Personnel & Finance Committee for its August 24, 2026, meeting and the full
Council meeting later that same evening.
Thank you for your consideration.
Canneth Lee, President, South Bend
Common Council
BILL NO. 26-29
RESOLUTION NO.
Filed in Clerk's Office
Aug 19, 2026
Bianca Tirado
City Clerk, South Bend, IN
A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, APPOINTING
AN AGENT/NEGOTIATOR AND AN ADVISORY COMMON COUNCIL
NEGOTIATING TEAM TO REPRESENT THE COMMON COUNCIL
FOR THE UPCOMING FIRE DEPARTMENT NEGOTIATIONS
WHEREAS, the Board of Public Safety is the administrator of the Fire Department and
has the "exclusive control over all matters and property relating" to it and the authority to adopt
the rules goveming the Fire Department pursuant to Indiana Code §36-8-3-2; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Indiana Code §36-8-3-3(d), the Common Council has the
exclusive authority to fix by ordinance the annual compensation for all members of the South Bend
Fire Department and other appointees by the Board of Public Safety until November 1, 2025; and
WHEREAS, such ordinance may grade the members of the Fire Department and regulate
their pay by rank as well as by length of service; and
WHEREAS, the 2026 Collective Bargaining Agreement between the City of South Bend
and the South Bend Firefighters Association Local No. 362 of the International Association of
Firefighters AFL-CIO will expire at 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2026; and
WHEREAS, the Common Council desires to appoint a Chief Negotiator and an advisory
Common Council Negotiating Team to represent it and to provide updates during executive
sessions called for the purpose of discussing strategy with regard to collective bargaining pursuant
to Indiana Code §5-14-1.5-6.1(b)(2)(A); and
WHEREAS, the Advisory Common Council Negotiating Team shall not be considered a
"governing body" or "public agency" under Indiana Code §5-14-1.5-2; and
WHEREAS, the Common Council believes that this Resolution is in the best interest of
promoting positive and harmonious labor negotiations.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IS RESOLVED, by the Common Council of the City of South
Bend, Indiana, as follows:
Section I. The Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana hereby appoints Robert
J. Palmer as its Agent for the upcoming labor negotiations with the South Bend Firefighter's
Association Local No. 362 of the International Association of Firefighters AFL-CIO. Mr. Palmer
shall be the Common Council's Chief Spokesperson and Negotiator concerning all matters related
to the Common Council's right to establish the compensation of the Firefighters by ordinance. The
Common Council also appoints as an advisory Common Council Negotiating Team, Council
members Ophelia Gooden-Rodgers and Canneth Lee.
Section II. This resolution shall be in full force and effect from this date until an ordinance
regarding the Firefighters' compensation is passed by the Common Council.
Dated this 24th day of August 2026
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 , 2026, at o'clock .m.
.m.
Bianca L. Tirado, City Clerk
Office of the City Clerk
Approved and signed by me on the day of , 2026, at o'clock
James Mueller, Mayor
City of South Bend, Indiana