2025 01-15 Board of Public Safety Meeting Minutes

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JANUARY 15, 2025 15 FIRE MERIT COMMISSIONERS ELECTION DATE AND PROCEDURES Pursuant to I.C. 36-8-3.5-8, the South Bend Board of Public Safety is required to set the meeting and establish applicable procedures for the election of Fire Department Merit Commissioners by the active members of the Fire Department. The following date, time, location, and procedures have been set by the South Bend Board of Public Safety: 1. A meeting of the members of the South Bend Fire Department is set for February 6, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers on the 4th floor of the County- City Building, 227 W. Jefferson Boulevard, South Bend, IN 46601 for the purposes of electing two (2) members to the newly established Fire Merit Board. 2. In accordance with I.C. 36-8-3.5-8, the election meeting shall be closed to the public and may only be attended by active sworn members of the South Bend Fire Department (“SBFD”). 3. Individuals interested in being considered as a candidate for elected Commissioner must apply to be considered for vote by the members on a website managed by the City of South Bend, namely the following website: https://southbendin.gov/meritboard. 4. The deadline to submit merit board commissioner applications shall be 4:00 p.m. EST on February 4, 2025. 5. The City Legal Department will screen applications initially to determine whether each application is complete and whether each satisfies the minimum requirements of eligibility required under IC 36-8-3.5, namely: a. Legal residency in the City of South Bend for at least three (3) consecutive years immediately preceding the application submission; b. At least twenty-one (21) years of age; c. Not an active member of a fire department or police department or agency; d. Not receiving remuneration as salary from the City of South Bend; e. Candidate is a person of good moral character; f. Political affiliation is provided through voters’ registration records of the three (3) most recent primary elections (note: IC 36-8-3.5 requires the two (2) elected Commissioners be of different political parties); and g. Whether they are a past member of a fire department or police department or agency (note: IC 36-8-3.5 imposes a limitation of two (2) total Commissioners out of five (5) that may be past members of a fire or police department). 6. The members of the SBFD will be provided with access to the information submitted by the eligible applicants. 7. The members of the SBFD may schedule their own separate meeting(s) in advance of the election meeting to discuss, or hear from, any prospective candidates, or to agree to other procedures for the meeting that do not otherwise conflict with these procedures. 8. The City of South Bend will provide access to an online portal for voting on eligible applicants on February 6, 2025 from the hours of 8:00 a.m. through 3:00 p.m. 9. The City Clerk or their designee will be the only authorized party that can access the voting results to determine the election results, and will prepare a certified report of the results, including the vote count for each candidate, in a sealed envelope. 10. At the meeting, a member of the Local 362 executive board will open the meeting and a chair (the “Chair”) will be selected as determined by the membership physically present in attendance.