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REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 28, 2016 <br />to make the ordinance more cohesive with what is already in the Municipal Code and with Police <br />and Fire Department processes. <br />Councilmember Scott recounted the story of two (2) shooting neighbors in the Second (2nd) <br />District, with one of the neighbors calling the Police with violation complaints on the other <br />neighbor. When the Police arrived at the scene, it turned out that the neighbor who had called <br />had lied. Councilmember Scott explained that someone who lies when calling the Police <br />regarding violations would themselves be in violation of the ordinance. The good part about this <br />enforcement is the human factor —that the Police will come out and investigate to know what is <br />going on, to identify root causes before fining individuals. <br />Councilmember Broden asked, With regard to the management companies that would be on the <br />front lines of this, have you circled back to them? Are they aware of these changes? How much <br />feedback did you get from them? Because a lack of violations is profitable to these managers, the <br />ordinance directly impacts them. Councilmember Broden asked Councilmember Scott to address <br />how they have been brought into the circle of the implementation of changes in the ordinance. <br />Councilmember Scott responded that they have had some of the large complexes come forward, <br />but that Officer Keenan Lane and Ms. Colborn probably had had the most contact with those <br />property managers. He stated that the changes were mostly to the language of the ordinance, as <br />well as Chronic Nuisance as it affects those unwilling to work with Officer Keenan Lane. <br />Keenan Lane, Police Officer at 701 West Sample Street, South Bend, IN, asked for clarification <br />on Councilmember Broden's question. <br />Councilmember Broden responded that she wanted to know how involved property managers <br />were in the process, as some of them had big recommendations regarding this, such as legal <br />recommendations and certain marks to hit. She asked, How comfortable are you with the <br />feedback from management companies? <br />Officer Lane responded that he was very comfortable with the feedback. When his position was <br />created, his first inclination was to meet with the larger apartment complexes in South Bend, <br />because he receives so many calls from them. They had many meetings wherein they could <br />educate property managers or owners about what the ordinance was, such that they could better <br />identify problems on which to work on their end. <br />Councilmember Broden requested that the Fire Department have a visible job description for <br />Chronic Nuisance so that the Council could identify a go -to person in.the Fire Department, <br />equivalent to Keenan in the Police Department. She asked about whether or not there were any <br />issues with the team's capacity. <br />Councilmember Scott explained that before Officer Lane took on the post, they were not sure <br />how much work would be involved. He further stated that though Officer Lane has been very <br />busy, he has kept up very well with the workload. <br />Councilmember Davis asked how many more staffers were going to be added to the staff back in <br />2013. <br />Councilmember Scott and Officer Lane explained that there had been interns and cadets that <br />helped temporarily with the effort, but Officer Lane has not had full -time help. <br />Councilmember Davis voiced concern with there being only one (1) person at the post. He stated <br />that there should be several people with Officer Lane's skills and knowledge at the job, such that <br />the work is not completely on one (1) man's shoulders, and if anything should happen to Officer <br />Lane, the work could still be done. Councilmember Scott agreed and stated that these were <br />concerns to be brought to the Fire and Police Chiefs. <br />Councilmember Broden asked, Where would this naturally fit within our purview as a Council? <br />Looking at this on a periodic basis, are we hitting the mark? Are we addressing the problem? Is <br />that a Health and Public Safety issue? Can we incorporate that into a report-out function on an <br />annual basis? Is that something we should imbed within this, or is it something that, <br />administratively, we can just put on the task? Like some of the calendaring of reports of what <br />we're doing, what we're trying to accomplish. <br />12 <br />