05-29-12 Common Council Meeting Minutes

Home Browse Search

REGULAR MEETING MAY 29, 2012 Councilmember Henry Davis stated that was what he was asking if the Mayor’s Office has done it. Mayor Buttigieg stated no, he did not ask them to contact trucking companies. He stated that he did not think to do that. He stated their approach was based on signage and enforcement, but that is certainly something he will consider going forward. Councilmember Oliver Davis stated that he agrees with Councilmember Henry Davis, because the person that complained to him said that it would have been nice to have been notified about those kinds of things. He stated that they had been doing that for a period of time and all of a sudden to just get pulled over like that they thought they were getting targeted. He stated that it was more of a PSA and would have been a great thing to know and would have helped because when we make those kinds of changes and the public doesn’t know it catches them off guard. Councilmember Dieter stated that he doesn’t know the exact amount of papers put in about the restrictions on the bridge and knows for both north and south bound traffic there are two very large lighted signs and also another just a regular street sign there. If someone is crossing that they are probably either not paying attention or wanting to see if they can make it without getting caught. If people are paying attention, which most truck drivers do, you would be certainly able to see the signs. Councilmember Dr. Fred Ferlic stated that anything that you can do to prevent a tragedy from ended up at Memorial Emergency Room, whether its issuing tickets or whatever you do, he thinks you do as Mayor. He thanked the Mayor for his efforts. Councilmember Oliver Davis asked about the Chapin Street Bridge near the Kroc Center. Mayor Buttigieg stated that he has referred that to the Public Works Department and get back to the Council as soon as he can. UPDATE FROM THE MAYOR ON PROCESS FOR SELECTION ON NEW POLICE CHIEF Mayor Buttigieg stated that Interim Police Chief Hurley is not expected to serve in a permanent capacity and they would like before the end of the year and ideally around the end of the summer to have identified new permanent leadership for the South Bend Police Department. He stated that he wanted share a little bit about their approach and also ask the Council to consider as representatives of the public ways to way in on the Police Chiefs’ search. While the choice of Police Chief is of course a mayoral appointment it is one particularly important throughout the community. He stated that some of the criteria that he thinks is important but will certainly be interested to know what the public through the Council considers important in making this decision. When making any personnel choice his approach focuses on three criteria: 1.) whether they get the overall vision, what they as the administration are trying to achieve in the city. 2.) whether they are competent, can be trusted to get the job done. Both in terms of technical capability and in terms of integrity. 3.) How they work with other people, including co-workers, and also the public which again a public facing job like the police department is especially important. He stated that there are some additional criteria that is clear and would be particularly important for the selection of a new Police Chief; one is the principles of Community Oriented Policing. He stated that he feels strongly that this is one of the areas that they have been doing best in the Police Department in recent years and want to make sure that any gains that have been made in recent years are preserved and built upon. He stated that Police Officers cannot be affected if they do not have the trust of the public and the neighborhoods, the citizens and individuals that they are sworn to serve. The idea of Community Policing is one that any new leader in the Police Department needs to understand very well. Secondly, and related to that is the ability to earn the confidence of all different parts of the community. He stated that we have 6