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* City of South Bend <br /> * Filed in Clerk's Office <br /> * Jan 7, 2026 <br /> Common Council <br /> * Bianca Carina <br /> * l-ll Cnuui Cite Building • 2/ \\ . �tllcrsuu Bl�cl City Clerk. South Bend, IN <br /> South 13tncl. Iutli;uri I61;01 <br /> Catttttllt January 7, 2026 <br /> I <br /> I'resitIcni <br /> ShciLt Niti°txlski <br /> South Bend Common Council <br /> \itc l'rc;i<Irul <br /> IF( Warner 215 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. <br /> Chairperson,Commiuc` Suite 300 <br /> ctl the \\'halt <br /> South Bend, IN 46601 <br /> C:nutcih l.tc <br /> hirsl I)isuitt Re: AN ORDINANCE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE <br /> )ithtlia CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, REPEALING, SUPERSEDING <br /> Scc t (l Dtsuitt AND REPLACING CHAPTER 2,ARTICLE 1,SECTION 2-10.1 BY <br /> ESTABLISHING THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE <br /> Sltamn I.. \Iclin`I` COMMON COUNCIL RULES COMMITTEE AND ELIMINATING <br /> Third District THE PROCESS AND PROCEDURES FOR FILING COMPLAINTS <br /> I In\ warm.' AGAINST COUNCIL MEMBERS <br /> Fourth District <br /> Dear Council Members: <br /> Shcrt� 1'tnI<Iru Sind„ it: <br /> hid' District There have been calls by residents and Council members alike to <br /> amend Chapter 2 Article 1 Section 2-10.1 of the Municipal Code regarding <br /> ~lied. Nie/godski written Complaints made against Council members and the manner in which <br /> sia I t District those complaints are resolved. <br /> 1)1. ()Itvcr Dais <br /> tl [.;n:c The current ordinance provides that the initial meeting of the Rules <br /> Committee to discuss complaints to be in a non-public executive session. <br /> R;tthcl l lams Morgan That provision of the ordinance was enacted approximately fourteen(14) <br /> At Large ge years prior the enactment of the applicable Indiana Open Door statute which <br /> h;trot L. whitehas been interpreted by the former Public Access Counselor as requiring a <br /> tt l tr;r public meeting, even at the initial confidential stage of the process. Recent <br /> public meetings of the Rules Committee demonstrated the impossibility of <br /> complying with the confidentiality provisions of the ordinance and the <br /> former PAC's interpretation of the Open Door law. <br /> This led the Rules Committee to investigate how other municipalities <br /> address Complaints against Common Council members. The results were <br /> unexpected. The search revealed that almost no municipality has a similar <br /> ordinance providing for Complaints to be filed, including Mishawaka, <br /> Elkhart, Ft. Wayne, Gary, or St. Joseph County. One municipality that has a <br />