09-28-15 Common Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING September 28, 2015 42-15 PUBLIC HEARING ON A BILL OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, AMENDING CHAPTER 16, SECTIONS 16-6 AND 16-8 OF THE SOUTH BEND MUNICIPAL CODE TO ADJUST FEES FOR CITY COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL OF REFUSE (SOLID WASTE) MATERIALS 43-15 PUBLIC HEARING ON A BILL OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, AMENDING CHAPTER 16, SECTIONS 16-6 AND 16-8 OF THE SOUTH BEND MUNICIPAL CODE TO ADJUST FEES FOR CITY COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL OF REFUSE (SOLID WASTE) MATERIALS Councilmember White Chairperson, Personnel and Finance Committee, reported that they met this afternoon on Bills 41-15, 42-15, and 43-15 and due to a lack of quorum there is no recommendation. Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Offices on the 14th Floor (Presenter) - I will be brief before turning it over to John Murphy and my other colleagues. I want to begin this with a big thank you to Chairperson White of the committee, the council members, and council leadership, and everybody that has had a hand in bringing the budget together. I brought a copy because I think it’s important for the public to have a feel for just how much information, much data, and how much work is involved in the budget that our administration is presenting tonight. Tonight’s hearing is the next step in a process that has included nine (9) public meetings with council members as well as three (3) public presentations to communicate the budget strategy and its contents. I want to thank the members of our department that have worked to provide a deeper and fuller information requested to shed light on many details that council members have expressed interest in. That process is continuing. We responded to approximately two-hundred (200) questions so far and forwarded three-hundred and seventy-six (376) pages of information last time I checked. I know this reflects both councilmembers doing their due diligence on needs to understand what we’re proposing be voted on as well as relaying questions for concerned and interested members of the public and so we continue to work to gather any information needed th for the vote that is scheduled for the 12 of October. Today’s budget is trying to balance the needs and resources of the community while keeping South Bend’s fiscal strength intact. The focus is to continue South Bend’s extraordinary come back in economic and civil terms, while making sure the benefits of this growth are felt by every family and every neighborhood in the city. That was exceptionally challenging this year because property tax revenue has not substantially increased. For that reason I instructed every department supported by property income taxes to prepare a budget with as close to zero percent (0%) net growth as possible. They were able to do this while offering a two percent (2%) raise and absorbing a twenty percent (20%) increase in health care costs without major cuts to personnel which is a credit to those efforts. Much of what you are going to see in the budget today is reflecting on the need to continue delivering on what has worked in recent years. You will see changes in order to build out areas we believe we need to build more inclusion, innovation, and sustainability. I just want to say a brief statement about that before sending it over for full presentation. When it comes to inclusion I want to emphasize that this budget contains a strategy for addressing an issue that has been on everybody’s mind recently that is diversity and inclusion in our workforces and City operations. The workforce made gains and we may be ahead of some of our neighbors but we are still a long way to go before we are able to say our workforce reflects the community it serves. So that’s the reason that we seek in this budget to create the position of a diversity and inclusion officer. Having taken onboard input from the Council we are asking that this be installed as a direct report to the Mayor’s Office in order to make sure it has City- wide visibility and authority. There are two (2) pillars to the strategy that will be overseen by this office. One is vendors, this is taking up the work that previously had been done by the compliance officer and would continue to be guided by the utilization board and employees. Where we can continue to grow in hiring and recruiting upper management practices, I would expect the incumbent in this position 18