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Home My WebLink About09-15-2026 Budget Meeting Questions (Answered)CITY OF SOUTH BEND | DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY INVESTMENT 2027 Budget Hearing Follow-Up Responses | October 2026 Follow-Up Responses to Common Council Department of Community Investment Questions from Council Question 1 | Answered on floor Will the elimination of certain positions impact the department’s ability to perform their jobs and serve the public? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. Question 3 | Answered on floor Does the reference to code inspectors on “all shifts” indicate that there will be weekend staffing? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. Question 4 | Answered on floor What is the Neighborhood Program Specialist - RSVP position? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. Question 5 | Answered on floor Where is the Senior Code Inspector position reflected on the organizational chart? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. Question 6 | Answered on floor Why are you eliminating a code inspector when there is so much demand for those job functions? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. Question 7 | Answered on floor Since the Historic Preservation Specialist role has been vacant for six months, have any other staff CITY OF SOUTH BEND | DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY INVESTMENT 2027 Budget Hearing Follow-Up Responses | October 2026 members been cross-trained in that area? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. Question 8 | Answered on floor Are there other sources of funding that can be sought to support the Office of Sustainability? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. Question 9 | Answered on floor Where does the responsibility for grant applications land? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. Question 10 | Answered on floor Will the Vacant & Abandoned Demolition initiative be able to continue in 2027? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. Question 11 | Answered on floor What are the department’s main challenges for 2027? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. Question 12 | Answered on floor Who is responsible for marketing and social media? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. Question 14 | Answered on floor Are there any funds remaining from the previous lead-safe grant? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. CITY OF SOUTH BEND | DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY INVESTMENT 2027 Budget Hearing Follow-Up Responses | October 2026 Question 15 | Answered on floor How long will the new $7 million lead-safe grant sustain the program? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. Question 16 | Answered on floor When will the City’s Affordable Housing Fund start receiving PILOT dollars? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. Question 17 | Answered on floor Has all ARP funding for homelessness and housing support been utilized? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. Question 18 | Answered on floor What is the status of New Day Intake Center? Answered during the September 15, 2026 budget hearing. No supplemental written response was requested or provided. Question 2 | How many staff members does the department have, including full-time, part-time, and interns? DCI has 88 full-time employees. SBARC is the only division with part-time employees; the number fluctuates, and approximately $100,000 is budgeted for part-time staffing for the year. DCI currently has no interns. One enFocus Fellow is planned for Sustainability next year. Question 13 | How have you streamlined the Home Repair Program, and can we see a map showing where those resources have been deployed? • Eligible repairs were narrowed to critical components to reduce inspection timelines and help expand the contractor pool. • The application process now uses UAP enrollment to confirm income eligibility rather than requiring applicants to submit income documentation for a separate calculation. • Staff offered office hours at accessible locations to answer questions and help seniors complete applications. CITY OF SOUTH BEND | DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY INVESTMENT 2027 Budget Hearing Follow-Up Responses | October 2026 The current application round was open citywide to homeowners age 65 and older. The program map identifies applications in progress, including contracted work, completed program inspections, and projects ready for inspection. The map should be included as an exhibit with the final transmittal. Question 19 | How many people work in DCI by division? How many FTEs? • Building: 17 • Neighborhoods, including SBARC: 46 • Sustainability: 1, plus one Project Manager enFocus Fellow • Homelessness Coordinator: 1 • Department Leadership: 2 • G&O: 8 • EEE: 3 • Planning, Zoning and HPC: 10 The listed full-time employee counts total 88. The enFocus Fellow is identified separately. Question 20 | Pending How competitive are the wages and salaries for DCI employees? A verified wage competitiveness analysis was not included in the staff responses reviewed. A&F input is still needed before this question can be answered conclusively. Question 21 | How many unhoused people do we have in South Bend? The 2026 Point-in-Time count provided for Region 2a is countywide, not limited to South Bend. It reports 437 people in emergency shelter, 141 in transitional housing, and 18 unsheltered on the January count date. Because the figures are regional, they should not be presented as a precise South Bend-only total. Question 22 | How are eviction prevention dollars used to prevent homelessness? The City partnered with REAL Services to promote resources and provide eviction-prevention education. REAL Services completed three training sessions: two for service providers and one for providers and tenants. The partnership also convened a housing and utility roundtable to share information on programs and partnerships that help households remain housed. • Tenant Association Training: September 30, 2026 • Energy fair with Indiana Legal Services and an eviction-prevention information table: October 2026 • Eviction Sealing Clinic with the Volunteer Lawyer Network and Indiana Legal Services: November 2026 CITY OF SOUTH BEND | DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY INVESTMENT 2027 Budget Hearing Follow-Up Responses | October 2026 Question 23 | How is implementation of SEA 285 going? What has the department seen and heard? The implementation guidance was reviewed and approved by Legal and made available to the Police Department. As of the staff response, no written notices or arrests had been reported. Operationally, police have continued moving people from problematic public areas, and more private businesses have signed no-trespass authorizations. Staff reported that this has increased mobility among unsheltered residents and the need to keep belongings contained. The team is attempting to remain flexible where people sleep in parks or on benches, provided they move during the day. Question 24 | It was stated that South Bend is in the top 10% nationally for permitting. What are we doing differently, and what makes the process efficient? DCI’s planning and community resources team works from a “get to a yes” philosophy. Staff actively help homeowners and developers shape projects to comply with zoning, including assistance with site and architectural design when appropriate. The City also updates its zoning ordinance to reflect market trends, clarify requirements, and avoid undesirable outcomes. • A culture of urgency and commitment to moving projects efficiently. • A streamlined and understandable zoning code. • Direct staff engagement with applicants, including smaller developers and nonprofit organizations. • A by-right process for compliant single-family and multifamily projects that do not require rezoning or variances. Staff reported that by-right single-family housing is typically permitted in less than one week and sometimes in one to two days. The cited Pew report states that the fastest 10% of cities approve by-right single-family plans in approximately 0.5 months. Pew also reports that South Bend responds to applications using its preapproved plans within two business days. Source: The Pew Charitable Trusts, “Preapproved Building Plans Help Cities Improve Housing Affordability,” May 13, 2026. Question 25 | How many inspectors does the department have? What are their annual goals, and how is success defined? The department has 13 inspectors: one Chief Inspector, three RSVP inspectors, three Property inspectors, and six Environmental inspectors. One inspector in each focus area serves as a Senior Inspector. There is no single uniform production goal because the type and scope of inspections vary. Some violations require two visits, while others require additional visits, ticketing, or hearings. Inspectors also perform work outside the formal inspection process, such as checking conditions or posting signage. Performance should therefore be assessed with measures appropriate to each focus area rather than a single inspection count. Question 26 | Four inspector positions were recently open. What is the department doing to improve pay, staffing, CITY OF SOUTH BEND | DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY INVESTMENT 2027 Budget Hearing Follow-Up Responses | October 2026 recruitment, and retention? The department recently hired an RSVP inspector and an Environmental inspector. One Property inspector position remained posted at the time of the staff response. DCI also added a third Senior Inspector, providing one senior position for each focus area. Senior Inspectors assist with complex cases and staff questions, create an advancement opportunity, and provide additional support to the inspection team. The compensation and market-competitiveness portion of this response still requires A&F verification before final submission. Question 27 | There are millions of dollars in outstanding fines. What is the department doing to collect them? Neighborhoods uses the collections process for outstanding enforcement penalties, fees, and fines. NSE 2025: 2,773 invoices referred, totaling $686,366.50; $45,213.89 collected in 2025. NSE 2026: 2,285 invoices referred, totaling $403,012.50; $48,868.18 collected in 2026. RSVP, June 2025 to present: 17,929 invoices referred, totaling $4,404,687.50; $78,351.19 collected. Collections can be a lengthy legal process dependent on the courts. Judgment liens remain valid for 10 years, so payment may not be received immediately after a judgment is issued. Question 28 | What steps is the department taking to address chronic problem landlords? Indiana Code 32-31-1-20 limits municipal authority to regulate civil landlord-tenant relationships. The City therefore focuses on compliance with adopted ordinances rather than classifying landlords or tenants as “good” or “bad.” The RSVP ordinance focuses on unit habitability. When penalties and fees accrue, the City refers debts for collection. Question 29 | What is the department doing to prepare for the new short-term rental ordinances, including coordination, enforcement, and public communication? • Planning is underway for an online application, permit, payment process, dedicated email account, FAQ, and knowledge-base materials. • Licensing and zoning staff are developing application review, monitoring, and enforcement procedures. • A coordination meeting is planned with Legal, DCI, Police, and Neighborhoods. • Fire reported that there is no residential capacity limit it can enforce. • Licensing and Zoning do not currently plan weekend code-enforcement staffing. • DCI is exploring acquisition of STR location data from a third-party vendor. • Planned engagement includes outreach to Airbnb and Vrbo, letters to property owners identified through vendor data, quarterly engagement with the Neighborhood Associations Consortium, realtor-group follow- up, and a public press release. • The dedicated email address is shorttermrentals@southbendin.gov. CITY OF SOUTH BEND | DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY INVESTMENT 2027 Budget Hearing Follow-Up Responses | October 2026 The City is still evaluating best practices for sharing STR information internally and externally, including possible registry and GIS approaches. Questions from the Public Question Public 1 | Complete How much grant funding has the department secured this year, and what grants? • HUD Section 108 loan: $10,000,000 for infrastructure supporting the Western Avenue Transformation District. • Indiana FSSA Division of Mental Health opioid settlement dollar-for-dollar match: $195,700 for stable recovery housing. • Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail grant: $3,848,000 to explore returning passenger rail to downtown South Bend. • HUD Lead Paint grant: $7,000,000. • READI Arts & Culture: $3,000,000 for the Howard Park Bandshell and $4,000,000 for the State Theatre. • READI Blight: $4,000,000 for public infrastructure at the former YMCA Northside Boulevard site. Total reported funding secured: $32,043,700. Question Public 2 | Complete How much TIF funding went toward residents this year, including parks, roads, water, and neighborhood improvements? As of September 22, 2026, $32,390,000 in 2026 TIF appropriations was identified for community benefits such as parks, roads, and neighborhood improvements. An additional $17,145,000 was appropriated for development projects. The staff response provided high-level totals but did not include a project-by-project exhibit. A detailed project list may be added if Council requests additional specificity. Question Public 3 | Complete How many animals has SBARC euthanized this year? From January 1 through September 15, 2026, SBARC reported 646 total euthanasias, including 128 performed at an owner’s request because the animal was old, sick, or injured. Data were drawn from PetPoint. Question Public 4 | Complete How many animals has SBARC microchipped this year? From January 1 through September 15, 2026, SBARC reported approximately 354 microchips, averaging about 39 per month. This includes 157 first-time return-to-owner microchips and approximately 197 associated with adoptions. The adoption figure is approximate because some animals arrive already microchipped and the service is included in the adoption fee rather than measured separately in PetPoint. CITY OF SOUTH BEND | DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY INVESTMENT 2027 Budget Hearing Follow-Up Responses | October 2026