10-16-17 Personnel and Finance (#8)

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facing municipalities. Increased training will support their professional development as well as their ability to serve the City. Ms. Steele went on, The first challenge I have encountered since my appointment as the new Corporation Counsel is the necessity of rebuilding the team. Just prior to my appointment, Michael Schmidt accepted the position as Director of Purchasing. This has created two (2) openings in our Department. Therefore, my most pressing goal in 2017 is to recruit and retain two (2)new attorneys. Revising and reorganizing attorney assignments has already begun due to our current staff shortage. Many members have stepped up to the plate and have taken on additional assignments and responsibilities to assist in the interim coverage. Once we hire two (2)new attorneys, we will have a solid delegation of assignments plus designated back-up attorneys so we can make sure we are serving the City. The City's collection practice, managed internally by Assistant Attorney Elliot Anderson,has surpassed its goals year after year thanks to his organized and proactive record-keeping and management. We expect to exceed the 2015 and 2016 results at the end of 2017. Only eight (8)new cases were filed against the City in 2017, thanks in part to an extremely proactive claims resolution strategy developed by Elliot Anderson and Lawrence Wroblewski. There are less cases pending at this time than in any of the three (3) years prior. Overall, we anticipate a net reduction in pending defense litigation from 2016 by the end of 2017. Ms. Steele continued, In 2018, the Legal Department will maintain its proactive risk- management strategy to ensure that we continue our steady decrease in expenditures from the Liability Fund#226. These results are thanks to an effective internal litigation management strategy and a proactive claims resolution strategy. By the end of 2018,we aim to have completed more field trainings with department supervisors and staff to further decrease safety and risk incidents and claims against the City. Additional departmental goals for 2018 include the completion of the bodycam contract and the mobilization corresponding software. This will protect our officers and citizens by making transparent, empirical data and footage readily available. The completion of this contract will necessitate the establishment of policies and procedures for handling bodycam footage, which we will complete concurrently with the roll out of bodycams. A further goal of our Department is to begin Lexipol for the South Bend Fire Department which will ensure a web-based Fire Policy Manual, an integrated training component to help our Fire Department operate more efficiently and effectively. We also plan to maintain, or surpass, our 2015, 2016, and 2017 collections totals in furtherance of our City goals in accountability and transparency. Above all, our 2018 goal is to continue supporting the City departments and initiatives and provide excellent service. Mr. Mueller stated, I want to share with the Council some of the progress and conversation between the County and the City regarding the Historic Preservation Commission. Many of the concerns that have been raised over the last few weeks are addressed in the most recent draft of the Interlocal agreement. We will maintain continuity of staff,the structure will remain the same, and what we are looking at is just the transfer of the staff members from the County budget to the City budget. The City will be reimbursed at a rate of thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents per hour($37.50/hr). No one can seem to find the original Interlocal agreement that was forged between the County and the City. Years ago,the City had agreed to reimburse the County $25,000 a year. The total budget, not including all over-head,was $132,000 year. The $25,000 3