2011 CAFR Executive Summary - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayoral Leadership Transition This past year was a period of transition in the leadership of the City of South Bend. Mayor Stephen J. Luecke retired effective December 31, 2011. As South Bend's longest serving chief executive (1997-2011), Mayor Luecke has had many significant accomplishments during his tenure including the City's receipt of the All-America City Award fi-om the National Civic League in 2011. New Mayor Pete Buttigieg (a Harvard University graduate and Rhodes scholar) assumed office on January 1, 2012 bringing with him a group of leaders with new ideas and energy to implement transformational reform to City government. Elected at age 29, Mayor Buttigieg is the youngest chief executive of a municipality exceeding 100,000 residents in the United States. Building on the success of the previous administration, Mayor Buttigieg has launched six new initiatives to improve city government: 1. New Economic Partnerships—to lay out a new economic vision for our community as well as to agree on a smarter division of labor among various groups involved in economic development. An Economic Summit was held in June to promote this initiative. 2. High Ethical Standards—on his first day in office, the Mayor issued an executive order introducing a new ethics code for city employees. 3. Customer Service Mentality—design ways that city employees can track and resolve citizens' issues efficiently by using more advanced technology. This effort will culminate with the creation of a "311 line" for non-emergency municipal issues during 2012. 4. Strong Partnerships with Schools—the Mayor has improved dialogue with the South Bend School Corporation and other stakeholders to ensure a strong educational system in the City. Programs to increase school mentoring programs and curb youth violence are being implemented. 5. Transparency and Accessibility— choosing not to serve from behind his desk, Mayor Buttigieg has conducted a series of monthly "Mayor's Night Out" and "Mayor's Night ]n" events around town to allow citizens to speak to him and his department heads directly about concerns and ideas. Also, efforts to implement a first-class performance management system have been initiated. 6. Empowering Volunteers to Help —work to create new opportunities for citizens who want to campaign for the City and help rejuvenate its neighborhoods. A city-sponsored volunteer`blearing house" is being developed to match able volunteers with organizations in need of volunteer assistance. Awards. The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the City of South Bend for its comprehensive annual financial report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010. This was the twenty first consecutive year that the City has achieved this prestigious award. In order to be awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, a government unit must publish an easily readable and efficiently organized comprehensive annual financial report. This report must satisfy both generally accepted accounting principles and applicable legal requirements. 12