03-23-09 Common Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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REGULAR MEETING MARCH 23, 2009 Bend? He replied that it is because we get so much snow and ice. Councilmember Rouse stated that the City can do better and must have a comprehensive plan, not just on major developments like the Douglas Road Project and Eddy Street Commons, but can do better on other areas of the city. He stated that tonight it was mentioned that Ft. Wayne is on the cutting edge, an outstanding city, and have put into place a program called Lean Six Sigma. He stated that Six Sigma for those who have worked out in the private sector and business environment are familiar with that term. Six Sigma came out of General Electric and Honeywell, those kinds of industries to reduce costs through ineffective processes. Today, it has been noted that this can work in government also. The Mayor of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, three years ago installed and instituted the program Lean Six Sigma in the City of Ft. Wayne, cutting millions of dollars out of the process and not reducing the work force. He stated that it is instituted by cutting the overload, waste, and then reduce the force through attrition. It can work in South Bend too. He stated that tomorrow, March 24, 2009, early in the morning, he and Councilmember Henry Davis, will drive down to Ft. Wayne and participate in a workshop in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He stated that they believe that it will improve the customer service and increase the effectiveness to the City of South Bend. He stated that the CED Committee has made a motion in committee that they will address the issue with the Redevelopment Commission and how they will actually disseminating and dispersing TIF Dollars, not so much as to say they know it all, but look forward to studying a program that was initiating by the highly esteemed Dr. William P. Hojnacki, in 2006 called Paying for Public Services in St. Joseph County: Benefit vs. Burden. The Committee has made a recommendation to the full Council that they would continue Bill No. 09-19 indefinitely, to look at additional and innovative ways that the City Council can address some of the things that they have been confronted with, not to the point fingers and say that the same system won’t work, but he believes that post 2009 or 2010 will require the Council to look at things in a new paradigm and a new mind set. COUNCILMEMBER KAREN L. WHITE – AT LARGE Councilmember White advised that she is an At-Large Councilmember for the City of South Bend. She thanked all volunteers who spend countless hours sharing their concerns and ideas to make the City of South Bend such a wonderful place to live, work and play. She also thanked the employees of the City of South Bend for their hard work behind the scenes who take such great pride in making those levels of services that they provide of such high quality for the citizens of the City of South Bend. She stated that it is truly a pleasure to work with each and every Councilmember. She stated that being an At-Large Councilmember, she has had the opportunity to work with each District Councilmember concerning their various district issues. As an At-Large Councilmember she believes that the three (3) At-Large have and must continue to facilitate a comprehensive holistic approach towards the issues, because what happens in each of the districts impacts the entire city. She stated that she believes that the citizens of South Bend do not expect their nine (9) elected members of the Council to always agree on everything, she noted that they don’t and won’t. She stated that the citizens do expect the Council to conduct public trust in an open and professional way. She stated that the Mission Statement of the Council is “To make certain that the government is always responsive to the needs of the citizens." In this spirit the Council has set a new and positive direction in 2009 based upon communication and transparency. Since elected in 2000, she has had the honor of serving the Citizens of the City of South Bend, now in the second year of fourth year term; her leadership roles have included that of serving as President, Vice-President and Chair of the Committee of the Whole. She stated that she th lives in the 5 District of the City of South Bend and continues to be pleased with the overall development of the south side of town. She is truly a westsider, she lived on the west side for many years, she stated that her son attended Kennedy Elementary School, LaSalle High School, so in her heart she truly is a westsider, but now lives on the south side of South Bend. She stated that she proudly serves on the following committees and appointed boards: Vice-Chair Personnel & Finance Committee; Vice-Chair of the Community Relations Committee; member of the Residential Neighborhood Committee; member of the Community & Economic Development Committee; Vice-Chair of the Urban Enterprise Zone Board; and Chairperson of the Health & Public Safety Committee. She stated that she is also involved as the sponsor of the South Bend 12