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REGULAR MEETING May 9, 2016 landlord who clearly needs to know that information regarding their property but because of challenges with figuring out who the landlord is they have had significant difficulty. Keenan Lane, the nuisance abatement officer with the South Bend Police 701 West Sample, spoke in favor of the bill. This would be a great tool to be used by the police because it is such a challenge to find who the owners of these properties are and to inform them of illegal activity happening on their properties. He estimated he spends two (2) to three (3) hours on each investigation just trying to find the owners if it is a rental property. That includes going the County Assessor, Water Works, County Auditor and Treasurer and any other avenue available to them. This is a great way for us to save time and contact these people immediately. There are cases where he has six (6) to seven (7) neighbors complaining about a house where they are causing problems in the neighborhoods and all he can tell them is that he is doing his best to contact the landlord. If they are easy to contact it makes the process that much quicker and easier for everyone, especially the neighbors who have to live by the property. When they cannot find the landlord and the process is dragged out, the whole neighborhood continues to decline and the people who live in South Bend become more frustrated because they don't live in a quiet neighborhood where they can feel safe. Scott Ruszkowski, Chief of Police with offices at 701 West Sample Street, expressed his support for the bill. Even with all the excellent collaboration that takes place between the Fire, Code and Police Departments it takes hours to find out the owner of some of these properties. If there is a situation where a house needs boarded up, the police and tax payers pay that bill until we can find who the rightful owner of the property is and even then if we can't prove it the taxpayers have to foot that bill. Chief Ruszkowski gave an example where they were alerted to a house where it was obvious something drastic took place and a woman went missing who in the end was a victim of domestic abuse. It took far too long to find that woman because we had no idea who owned the house and could not contact them to find out who this woman was so we could start an investigation. It is a blessing that it erided up okay but there was no way to track her, no way to even know who she was at first. Yes this is only one circumstance but that is why this type of bill is needed because it would have drastically decreased the time spent looking for her. Tasha Reed Outlaw, Assistant City Attorney with offices on the 12th Floor of the County -City Building, spoke in favor of the bill. This legislation would allow the City to operate more effectively and efficiently. There have been a lot of letters and arguments with respect to why this bill should not pass, but a lot of that is perceived threats versus what the evidence shows. There is perceived threat that this ordinance can potentially have a disparate impact on vulnerable or low income tenants. In actuality, the bill has the support of the Human Rights Commission. There was debate among the Council and Ms. Outlaw on the support of the Human Rights Commission. Councilmember Tim Scott announced the various members of the Human Rights Commission who have publicly supported the bill and also stated he has sent an email to the councilmembers from Glenda Rae, Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission, about her contacting the South Bend Tribune to show their support. Ms. Outlaw stated she brought up their support because they are the watchdog organization for fair housing rights in the City. If anyone is going to receive complaints of discrimination they are going to be the first agency to receive those complaints. There is a perception that the City has the highest fines with regard to this bill but in actuality the bill has fixed fines while there are other cities that have a daily fine structure that would surpass what this bill has written. Right now the City uses the County records to get a point of contact for owners of properties but that information is not always up to date. This bill will allow the City to have its own repository of information so that when we have an issue we will not have to rely upon County records. There is the perception that this bill will victimize tenants and victimize landlords. In actuality, this bill allows the City to act as a liaison between landlords and tenants. Tenants will have the comfort in knowing that their landlords have updated information that is with the registry and if there are any issues that landlord can be put on notice. The landlords can actually use the registry as a business tool and point out to their tenants that they are responsible landlords and are compliant with the ordinance. There is the perception that this bill would unfairly charge landlords fines that are not warranted. In actuality, Code Enforcement has publicly stated they are willing to A