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REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 24, 2016 years' time. The prudent approach would be to do this over time and phase it in. You are facing additional problems in 2020 and we should take a step back. Only two (2) Councilmembers have raised serious questions about this. The Council is the oversight for these type of raises. One (1) raise in particular is of concern, and this is not to pick on City employees who do an exceptional job, but the Park Director received a seventeen percent (17 %) raise in 2014 and is slated to receive another twenty -three percent (23 %) raise in 2017 and that is what the media reported. We should consider a phase -in approach for these because we do not know what the economy will be like next year. He also stated he has serious questions about the consolidation of the Parks Director because it now needs very different sets of skills than one (1) person can do. We have had a problem with funding Elbel because there were insufficient funds and yet we are considering these raises. Drew Duncan, 1620 South Bend Ave, stated he has been here before and he is going from a citizen that is curious to one (1) that is concerned. He stated this is upsetting because he is a young professional that the City is trying to attract and every year our City is put on the map because we have to have these types of discussions. We have added responsibilities but we are not cutting the budget anywhere. He asked who previously had those responsibilities and do they still have jobs. If we are consolidating positions then by all means they deserve more money but that means someone should lose a job and money should be saved elsewhere. There doesn't seem to be a lot of that. There seems to be a cloud of distrust between the citizens and the City workers and who we have elected. He stated never once has he come here and seen something controversial not go through. We have shown that we will not do due diligence and there will be no follow up after this passes. No one will check on the merit and performance of these people. They will get money and that will be the end of it. He asked when the citizens get their questions answered and when will there start being some transparency between the government and the citizens. This is a lot of money considering we have people complaining about the services the City is offering. Also we are adding a position to Code Enforcement which has been an absolute disaster this year so why give them more money. We need to work together so that we are paying attention to what our employees are doing. We are supposed to be retaining top talent but one (1) of the positions is getting a raise of over thirty percent (30 %). We do want smart and intelligent people to work here but we have to spend money wisely and make sure the talent we have here is working. There are so many questions around this talent we are supposed to be retaining but we are having issues with the positions getting more money. If you have someone giving a presentation on the budget and cannot answer all the questions concerning the budget, that should be a huge concern whether we should pass the budget. Sharon Banicki, 3822 West Ford Street, stated Barnes and Thornburg have said TIF funds may not be used for the operational expenses of the Redevelopment Commission. She stated to her that means if you have an engineer on staff then he would be part of operations expenses. Professional services are outside contractors and not on the payroll getting benefits. Playing with the TIF funds is playing with fire. We are not retaining top talent now anyways. There are so many unemployed and underemployed people who would jump at the chance to work at the City for half of these positions. Anyone can be a good public servant at $100,000 a year. Charles Smith, 2023 South Taylor Street South Bend, stated he comes to the City with many issues and the answer he always gets is that we don't have the funds. We do need an increase for certain departments, but where is this money coming from. As Mayor Pete stated there are thirty (30) people living under a bridge but yet he knows of only three (3) leaders in this room that have actually visited that site. Ms. Sullivan, Pile Avenue South Bend, stated we should give a fair increase across the board to all positions. She asked why there was such a radical difference for some of these positions. The people who protect us and keep us safe should get the same increase as what other people do. It is very upsetting that someone can make $117,000 a year but our law enforcement gets two percent (2 %). She stated she is disappointed in the City of South Bend. Gerry Fry, 401 West Madison South Bend, stated he was recently away from town and is just getting back into the swing of things. He stated he is not sure if he is for it or against it but he understands the battle here. He stated he has been a public servant in many different positions and the people do move around when they are not paid well. If you have a good talent you better 15