02-26-18 Informal - Laserfiche WebLink

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sense for the City and not have every dollar earmarked within a TIF District. I see advantages to using TIF Funds but we cannot abuse the funds. Councilmember Williams-Preston stated, There has been a lot of conversation around equity and equitable development. The Council has a focus on neighborhoods and stuff going on in the main corridors. How can we be more equitable in the distribution of redevelopment? Ms. Hamann replied, I don't know that I can answer that question from the standpoint of being on the Redevelopment Commission. I know my goal when I ran for Common Council was to address the issue of wage. There are many progressive cities in the United States that have addressed this issue. We have a legislature at the national level that has decided to blind themselves to the fact the minimum wage hasn't increased in ten (10) years. We have people working for a minimum wage that aren't earning a livable wage and they are right here in our own neighborhoods. I think as a City we have a responsibility to address the fact people aren't earning a livable wage. How that can be addressed through Redevelopment, I think agreements should be made with new businesses brought in to be sure they pay a livable wage. Councilmember Williams-Preston followed up, How do you think we could address the low- income housing issues? Ms. Hamann replied, We need to make sure it is a priority of ours that all of the resources in the City are distributed equitably so that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from all of the positive things in the City. I don't want to say that hasn't been occurring but that needs to be a priority moving forward. Councilmember Broden asked, Do you see an issue with how we have managed our TIF Funds? Ms. Hamann replied, I did some research and what I could find prior to this meeting was the establishment of the TIF Districts but it didn't give me a whole lot of how they were structured. I was only able to identify some of the potentials from the City website. I would need to look into them deeper but I think we do need to recognize if there is any adverse responses or fallout to the educational system within the City,that needs to be looked at closely to be sure we are not causing any shortfalls in taxation. Council President Scott dismissed Ms. Hamann from the interview. Stephen Fountain, 3909 Greenmont Drive, was asked by Council President Scott why he would like to serve as one(1)of the Council appointees to the Redevelopment Commission.Mr.Fountain stated, It goes back to when I was a little kid born here in South Bend. I grew up here and I had dreams and visions of areas I thought were blighted. I just felt like there was so much we could do. Back in those days nothing was really going yet and I moved out West for many years. I was on a Commission in Flagstaff Arizona and received a Key to the City there for the work I did. I came back and I noticed there was a lot of work done but there is still a lot to do. We are in a mixed place where a lot is happening and that is good but we need to keep focusing on the good and do more of that. 8