08-08-18 Personnel and Finance (#2)

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CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK of a better term. One (1) person we had been dealing with heavily had retired from his firm and started his own company. We have been working to decrease our costs for such projects such as Beck's Lake by working through him as opposed to some larger company that, then, we have all these other costs. That is one (1) example but we are looking for other ways where we can reduce cost. Maybe that means changing some of the companies we work with. We want to make sure our quality of work remains at or above where it has been,but if we can change the cost,that would be great. Councilmember Broden followed up, Thank you. It seems you have your pulse on everything. I mean in terms of the research and the right level of expertise for the task at hand. I think that is certainly something that, myself, I think it's a great thing that you are tracking that and being strategic. Thank you. Committee Chair White stated,I have two (2) questions. The first(1S) is about the percentage and the amount of outside counsel that Legal uses as well as with the other departments. The other question is about the taking out of that split position. What would be the overall increase in your budget? Ms. Steele replied, I would be happy to get that information for you. Moreover, according to what is reflected on the sheet, it would be a ten percent (10%) increase but then there is a revenue that comes in. It looks like it would be, maybe a two percent (2%) increase? I have to check on that to make sure I'm giving you the right information. I could be wrong on that and would like to double check for you. Fire Department Steve Cox, Fire Chief for the City of South Bend with offices located at 1222 S. Michigan Street, stated, I have with me today the Chief of Services, Todd Skwarcan, our Operations Chief, Mike, Damiano, our Fiscal Officer, Danny Cocanower, and our Pension Secretary, Captain Gerard Ellis. What I would like to be able to do, if the Council is ok with it, would be to start with the Pension Fund, Fund #701. I will quickly go over our mission statements. So, the South Bend Fire Department's mission statement was created through a strategic planning session with members of the Department back in 2014. `The South Bend Fire Department exists to provide our community with the highest quality emergency services, protecting life and property through education, response and dynamic outreach.' The vision statement was also created by the same group. It reads, `A shared vision of the South Bend Fire Department to create an environment of operational excellence. This will be achieved through innovative training and participative decision making throughout the organization. We will foster a reputation of setting standards of professionalism guided by principles of trust, integrity, honesty, loyalty and respect for all. Being accountable to each other and those we serve. This vision will guide us as we strive to provide exceptional service and education to our customers.' He continued, Those of you Council Members who were here when we went through this process will remember us having brought this whole strategic plan to the Council. That was acknowledged via resolution of the Council. I think that was 2015 when we did that. We anticipate, in 2020, to go back with an additional group of firefighters to look at that strategic plan and look at ways of modifying or addressing the different needs of the Department. As we mentioned, when we were before Council,our goal was not to have a strategic plan that just sits on the countertop somewhere EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building'227 W.Jefferson Bvld I South Bend,Indiana 466011 p 574.235.9221 If 574.235.9173 1 TTD574.235.5567 I www.southbendin.gov 8