02-27-12 Common Council Meeting Minutes

Home Browse Search

REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 27, 2012 , Whereason January 14, 1985, Ordinance No. 7420-85 was passed by the South Bend Common Council which reduced the Energy Conservation Commission from fifteen (15) members to thirteen (13) members with the provisions of both of these ordinances being codified into the South Bend Municipal Code as Section 2-53; and , Whereas on July 12, 2010, the South Bend Common Council passed Ordinance No. 10023-10 which among other things created the position of Director of Energy Conservation; and , Whereas the Common Council, in conjunction with the City Administration have implemented many regulations with regard to vehicles which have been codified into the South Bend Municipal Code, namely: SBMC § 2-122 Use of Private Vehicles for City Business SBMC § 2-123 Regulation of City-Owned Vehicles SBMC § 2-124 Discretionary Vehicle Allowance to City Department Head or st Key Employee with an Annual Vehicle Report being submitted by July 31 of each year. The 2011 Annual Vehicle Report set forth information on seventeen (17) departments and bureaus of the City of South Bend where it gave detailed information on 1,091 “units” used by the city listing the unit #, year, license #, description, serial #, purchase price, assigned employee, whether it is a take home vehicle, whether the employee lives in the City of South Bend and whether the vehicle has an authorized city seal or marking thereon; and , Whereas on February 29, 2012 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. a “Green Summit VI: The Future of Transportation” with this Summit being a community-wide, annual event where Jon Burke, the City of South Bend’s Director of Energy Conservation will be a speaker. Now, Therefore, be it resolved, by the Common Council of the City of South , Bend, Indiana as follows: Section I. The 2012 civil city budget has gasoline budgeted at $3.60 per gallon. In light of the continuing spike in energy costs, the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, believes that there are urgent energy issues warrant the attention of the City Energy Director and staff and the Green Ribbon Commission, so that they may report and update the Common Council and the City Administration in a timely manner. Section II. The Council believes that in addition to the responsibilities set forth in the South Bend Municipal Code which shall be assigned to the entities identified in Section I of this Resolution, that some of the issues which could be addressed include: 1.The feasibility and required mechanisms to purchase gasoline, fuel-efficient fuels and energy efficient vehicles with other entities such as the school corporation, the county, TRANSPO etc. in order to realize cost savings to the taxpayers. 2.Developing short and long-term plans to retrofit and/or replace city-owned vehicles so that they can use alternative fuels. 3.Developing enhanced partnerships such as with the ethanol plant which are currently under utilized local resources in our community. 4.Developing programs addressing trip bundling, carpooling, and financial incentives for efficient vehicle use. 5.Developing proper fleet size which focuses on fuel-efficient vehicles that are of an optimal size/capacity for the intended functions and uses. 13