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CITY OFSOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK
<br /> reasoning for her position and the justification for her salary was to bring diversity to the Police
<br /> Department. That's what I recall as being the key focus. That was the Council before you were on,
<br /> Ms. Broden. When I asked Chief Scott if he felt that she had brought him enough women and
<br /> minority candidates, he said he couldn't quantify it. So what I'd like to know metric-wise is, how
<br /> many women and minorities have been hired at the Police Department? I'd like to know how they
<br /> got there.What was effective? Was it her department or was it something else? So I'd like to know
<br /> those metrics. I'd like to note that I actually went to the minority and women business committee,
<br /> it didn't even meet for two and a half(2.5)years. I mean there wasn't any citizen input. It just plain
<br /> didn't meet. There was no outreach at all. So I kind of wonder on that.
<br /> She continued, I was one(1) of the people that was at the survey that we're going to get the results
<br /> on. Quite frankly, we could have looked at the contract thing and seen that it was less than one
<br /> percent(1%). We didn't need to pay$265,000 to find out we're doing less than one percent (1%).
<br /> We just didn't. You can just open up the budget, open up procurement and see that. What I would
<br /> have preferred for $265,000 would be to divide that money up into $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000
<br /> grants that went to actual women and minority businesses in our community and give them a boost
<br /> up. Instead, you guys gave $265,000 to an out-of-town consultant to tell us something we already
<br /> knew. So, I find that a huge waste of tax payer dollars that went out of our community instead of
<br /> being invested in our community with our actual people.
<br /> She went on, So I brought up this cost saving idea before, but I wanted to bring it up again. And
<br /> with this new billing software for our water and sewer,when I get my bill in the mail, I pay online,
<br /> but every month I'm getting an envelope. So if there could be something attached to the indication
<br /> of that bill being paid,how it was paid, was it paid online, was it paid at a kiosk, whatever. If that
<br /> person for the next three (3)times pays online like I do, then don't insert an envelope in the billing
<br /> because that saves paper, that saves postage, and those could go out as thinner, lighter envelopes
<br /> and we could help the environment, because all people are going to do is just pitch that envelope.
<br /> I'm talking about the return envelope to insert a check and pay the bill. I'm guessing that an awful
<br /> lot of people are paying online now, we don't need that extra envelope. So, my little tiny
<br /> contribution to climate change is, I'd like to see that as one (1) of the things that's tracked in the
<br /> new billing software that we're paying over a half a million dollars for.
<br /> Committee Chair White stated,Thank you so much. We appreciate your comments.Again, all the
<br /> comments, questions will be submitted to the various departments and we will be receiving
<br /> responses to those and they will be posted.
<br /> Councilmember Dr. Davis asked, Mr. Horvath, have you checked in with that EcoPatch? You
<br /> know,the gentleman that talked about that and as a way of saving? He's always saying that he tries
<br /> to reached out to the City. Where are we with that? He says that he's working with the City of
<br /> Indianapolis. He has a contract with the City of Indianapolis that is saving monies and that their
<br /> patches last longer than what we are doing, and not to eliminate what we are doing, but to add on,
<br /> because the City of Indianapolis they said, and his explanation, if I can get it right,they, of course,
<br /> can't do all the patches. No one can. So the patches that they cannot do, he can do, which adds to
<br /> what they're doing. What are your thoughts on where we are with that? And, that's the key thing.
<br /> Mr. Horvath replied, So the EcoPatch is a piece of equipment, actually a brand of equipment. We
<br /> have a similar piece of equipment that does the same thing. So it's a unit that does it all from that
<br /> one(1)thing. So it blows the hole out,it puts in a little agent,and then there's like a gravel or some
<br /> EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT
<br /> 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 1TD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov
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