South Bend Common Council

The South Bend Common Council voted 6-1 to eliminate its formal complaint process for council members, drawing opposition from residents and prompting a walkout.

The common council Monday appointed Sharon Banicki and George Jones to three-year terms. Current member Komonique Thomas was reappointed but to a different seat.

“I feel like we actually have a relationship now, that the city of South Bend is actually listening to the residents and we’re working together to build our neighborhood,” Stacey Odom told the council’s Community Investment Committee on Monday.

"The process is working fine," said council member Oliver Davis. "If people bring up a frivolous issue, it’s voted off and we move on."

South Bend residents can apply to serve as volunteer citizen members on Common Council committees. Applications are due Friday, Jan. 9.

The 13-year-old case pits the South Bend Common Council against the city administration, after the city blocked council attempts to hear recorded phone calls where officers allegedly said racist things about then-Police Chief Darryl Boykins, the city's first Black chief.

City zoning specialist Tim Staub told council members Monday that five single-family homes would be replaced by five residential buildings. “Over the years, we have seen a steady development on the properties around these parcels. . . . The current surrounding land uses are a mixture of townhomes, stacked flats and detached homes,” Staub said.

In addition to a public hearing on whether the city of South Bend is doing enough to help SNAP recipients during the shutdown, Common Council Member Oliver Davis says the council should appoint a task force to be ready in case the dysfunction in Washington causes more emergencies that affect city residents in the future.

"I would say, on the whole, South Bend does pretty well," Chief Innovation Officer Denise Riedl told the common council’s Information and Technology Committee. "We were one of the first small cities in the country to deploy any kind of policy or governance document for our city, and we were one of the first small cities to roll out Copilot."

"We’re going to have to find additional cuts, in order to fund cost of living increases and inflation costs,” Mayor James Mueller told common council members during Monday's budget hearing.