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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Office of the Mayor <br /> <br />NEWS RELEASE <br />March 25, 2009 <br />3 p.m. <br /> <br />Luecke plan will seek ‘Priority Outcomes’ for 2010 <br /> <br />Contact: <br />Mikki Dobski, Director of Communications & Special Projects, 235-5855 or 876-1564 <br /> <br />Mayor Stephen J. Luecke today announced “Priority Outcomes,” a multifaceted initiative <br />to seek public input on the City of South Bend’s budget priorities for 2010. <br /> <br />Speaking at Memorial Hospital’s Innovation Café, where community and civic officials <br />were meeting for hands-on sessions to apply best practices to the City’s Public Works <br />budget, Luecke described the process leading to the adoption of the City’s 2010 budget. <br /> <br />The City of South Bend is working to reduce its 2010 budget by 27 percent because it <br />will face revenue shortfalls exceeding $18 million resulting from state-mandated property <br />tax caps. As part of that process, the Mayor announced three parallel efforts to help City <br />leadership respond to the unprecedented revenue loss and the impact on City services. <br /> <br /> Public input <br />1. – South Bend residents will have direct input into city priorities through <br />a scientific, random-sample telephone survey, a web-based response form that <br />enables all interested parties to respond and two Town Hall meetings this spring. <br /> Public meetings <br />2. – The City administration and the Common Council will undertake <br />an in-depth review of options for reduced spending and service elimination. <br /> Public-private task force <br />3. – The Public Works department already is participating in <br />a pilot Government Enhancement Task Force, in which private partners are reviewing <br />the delivery of existing services, seeking improved financial performance as well as <br />creative and innovative alternatives. <br /> <br />Flanked by South Bend Common Council members and community leaders, Luecke cited <br />the necessity of broad, informed community participation in the decision-making process. <br /> <br />“The tax dollars received by the City of South Bend are the people’s resources. Local <br />government is the steward of those resources, providing the services residents and <br />businesses deem essential to our common life together. We want to hear the Priority <br /> <br />