08-28-72 Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 28, 1972 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING (CONTINUED) RADIO DEPARTMENT - Mr. Nemeth said the Council proposes cutting W213 Traveling Expense to $250, W251 Repair of Building & Structures to $100, W331 Household Laundry and Cleaning to 0, W333 Other Institutional and Medical to 0, W55 Subscriptions and Dues to $50 and W725 Other Equipment to $500. Mr. John Hunt, Director of Communications, said that the Traveling Expense Account is necessary because the new radio system requires some instruction for the men. Some trips to Chicago to FAA and FCC meetings are necessary. He said he does appreciate that the Council did not cut parts. SANITATION DEPARTMENT - Mr. Nemeth said the Council is proposing that XX43 Repair Parts be cut to $1000. Mrs. Wlodarski said that the Fair Tax Association recommends elimination of this department next year and that their function be assumed by private haulers. Mr. Richardson said that the repair parts account for the Sanitation Department is not included in the Municipal Services Facility parts budget and that he is concerned about cutting this much. HUMAN RESOURCES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - NO CHANGES IN PROPOSAL. Miss Virginia Guthrie said that this department was one of the cabinet departments created this year and we don't know how much the Director is going to have to do. The Mayor has requested that MACOG give South Bend a comprehensive planning grant of $150,000 to provide four new positions - a citizen parti- cipation coordinator, a housing specialist, a grantsman in federal funds and a mayor's assistant in charge of implementing the cabinet form of government. She asked when there will be some limit on this. SUB - STANDARD BUILDING COMMISSION - Mr. Nemeth said the Council proposes cutting the number of inspectors from 4 to 3, SS213 Traveling Expenses to $100, SS252 Repair to Equipment to 0 and SS55 Subscription & Dues to 0. Mr. Isaiah Steed, Director of the Sub - Standard Buildings Commis- sion, said that the request for a 4th inspector is to fill a vacancy that existed in the Depart- ment. Under the Workable Program for Community Improvement, recertification is dependent upon having 4 inspectors. The traveling expense is so that staff members can attend meetings of organizations such as BOCA and the Indiana Building Officials Association and also various workshops. Councilman Miller asked Mr. Steed if HUD has mandated the city to have a certain number of inspectors. Mr. Steed said yes and that before recertification every dwelling unit in the city must be inspected. Councilman Kopczynski asked Mr. Steed how long the department has operated with three inspectors and Mr. Steed said for over a year. Mrs Wlodarski asked Mr. Steed how many sub - standard units there are within the City of South Bend. Mr. Steed said that the last census indicated 35/ of the units were sub - standard. MOTOR VEHICLE HIGHWAY - Mr. Richardson answered questions of the Councilmen regarding the amount budgeted for tires and tubes and for materials. Mr. Donald Decker, Street Commissioner, said that the Department has used $90,000 of the salt account this year. Mrs. Washington asked about the item Other Materials in the budget which has no "number. Mr. Richardson said this item included lumber for barricades, cloth, nails, bolts, etc. Mr. Charles Watkins, Deputy City Controller, said that this account should be numbered MVH44. PARK DEPARTMENT - Mr. Nemeth said that the Council is proposing that the Labor item under Service; Personal should be cut to $734,631, Overtime to $95,000, 251 Repair of Buildings and Structures to $8,500, Other Contractual Services to $71,815, 321 Gasoline to $15,000, 322 Oil to $1,700, 323 Tires and Tubes to $1,000, 324 Other Garage & Motor Supplies to $4,000, 371 Chemicals, Spray Materials and Fertilizer to $17,500, 374 Other Supplies to $7,250, 41 Building to $12,000, 43 Repair Parts to $12,750, 442 General Park Materials to $21,000, 711 Buildings, Structures & Improvements to $1,500. 712 Other Structures to $1,500 and 726 Other Equipment to $22,430. Mrs. Wlodarski recommended that the budget for the Park Department be reduced a minimum of 1$500,000. She suggested elimination of the General Park Supervisor, Recreation Steno II and Assistant Director of LaSalle and Linden Centers and of the item for traveling expenses. Mr. James Seitz, Park Superintendent, said that the General Park Supervisor has jurisdiction over the entire maintenance crew of the Park Department. He said he feels the positions of Assistant Director of LaSalle and Linden are necessary. Mrs. Wlodarski asked Mr. Seitz why a new floor is needed at the LaSalle Center. Mr. Seitz said that this is a concrete gym floor and the center is used most for basketball and roller skating. This has caused a considerable amount of flaking and dust. They have tried sealers, paint, etc. but feel they will have to put in a new floor to correct this problem. Mr. Seitz said that some of the accounts in this year's budget are at a lower figure than the present budget. He said they have eliminated the Kelly Playfield and that the people in that area have not been improving their homes because they expect the Park Department to buy the homes and demolish them for the park project. Councilman Kopczynski said that there is open and unused land that would provide a better park than the Kelly Field site and spoke of land on North Niles Avenue. He also said he feels the problem with the floor at LaSalle Center will not be corrected unless they change the usage of the building. Mrs. Washington said that the condition of the floor at LaSalle Center is the fault of the contractor and the material used in the original construction. Councilman Nemeth moved for a short recess, seconded by Councilman Horvath. The motion carried and the meeting recessed at 1:30 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 2:05 a.m. POLICE PENSION FUND - Councilman Nemeth questioned why items such as postage and traveling expense and also Records, Stationery and Printing are higher in the Police Pension Fund budget than in the Fire Pension Fund budget. Chief Seals said that Division Chief Urban, who is Secretary of the Pension Fund, is out of the city and would be the one who could answer these questions. Chief Seals said that he thought the traveling expense was to allow attendance at seminars. Councilman Kopczynski asked the Chief if he felt it was necessary that someone attend these seminars and the Chief said in his opinion it was. Deputy City Controller Charles Watkins said the difference in postage accounts was because of the number of pensioners checks which need to be mailed out. DEPARTMENT OF REDEVELOPMENT - Mr. Nemeth said the Council is proposing cutting 212 Postage to $150, 213 Traveling Expense to 0, 214 Telephone and Telegraph to $600, 321 Gasoline to $400, 324 Other Garage and Motor Supplies to $200, 363 Other Office Supplies to $250 and 722 Motor Equipment to 0. Councilman Nemeth asked Mr. Glen Barbe, of the Redevelopment Department, what kind of in -kind credit the city gets for setting up this budget. Mr. Barbe said there is no credit. Mr. Nemeth asked the reason for the big increase in the telephone and telegraph account. Mr..Barbe said there are two new pepartments and calls must be made to relatives out of the city in many relocation matters. Councilman Miller asked what automobiles the Department is trading in and Mr. Barbe said they are two 1968 Fords with high maintenance costs. Miss Guthrie asked the mileage on the two cars. Mr. Barbe said he did not know but that repair bills were starting to come in and they felt it would be cheaper to trade them in. Mr. Barbe said there are 13