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CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK repair and things like that. Because of the light brought onto the issue, the department chose to actually create a division that is really focused on equity and looking at those issues. So, we will continue to work with that particular division to sort of move some of these things forward. These (referencing a copy of the 2018 Annual Report of the Community Relations Committee which is available in the City Clerk's Office) are the things we have been doing. As I mentioned, the housing. As, we had convened around reducing violence by building peace. So, we looked at partnering with peace keeping organizations as well as South Bend Schools around circles. There is currently a proposal being developed that will come before us. I imagine, at some point, we will think of how we can further that by connecting with schools and do more circles in the community. Again, the concept is in-reach. How can we prevent some of these issues before they escalate and get to a place of violence? So, that is a different approach. We have to work with the community to do our part and not just rely on police. She continued, The war on litter, jumping down to that, we are partnering with the NRC, Code Enforcement and the Department of Community Investment. That kind of dovetails with Love Your Block. So, we are looking at going into the communities and not just fixing up homes but also cleaning up the area with the residents. Coming up, we are looking toward, and we have the bill tonight,rental safety inspections. One(1) of the things we hope to do is to begin a partnership that includes tenants and having a tenant's rights organization. We also want to include homeowners, landlords and the City to see how we can work together and find proactive approaches to some of the issues we are having with unsafe housing conditions, all while trying to make sure things can remain affordable. She went on, One (1) of the bigger things I'll mention is with regards to education. We've done the Toys for Tots. So, the concept is using our relationships with the City to encourage people to donate toys that encourage early literacy in kids.Also,one(1)of the other things is the book series. We are partnering with the Brain Lair. If you're not familiar with that, it is the multi-cultural bookstore. That is an amazing resource. I think the nearest multi-cultural bookstore is in Kokomo. We have one(1)right here. So,that is exciting, and we are partnering with them to actually capture our stories of people in the community. She continued, Also, specifically with education, I had mentioned this before, but it is really something I think we definitely need to get on, given the state of our public school system right now, but we need to nail down the compact agreement. The Schools are writing up some stuff,but they really aren't sharing or communicating with the City too much about it. So, we are going to be looking at how to best work with the schools and actually solidify that partnership in that compact agreement. Also, we are going to do a little investigation on the Commission on Education. The landscape of education in South Bend is rapidly changing. We've had new charter schools come in as well as a new high school being proposed. Frankly,people are really confused. So, how can we as the City be a resource for everyone including, most specifically parents, to understand what is happening in terms of education. Committee Chair Williams-Preston then opened the floor to Committee and Council Members. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, I want to hit a couple things that were brought up here. One(1), the Committee is codified. So,the Committee is in Code and the description of what the Committee does is in the Code. So, for that to change, it would have to go through this Council and be voted on. EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION I INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld I South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f574.235.9173 I 10574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 2