Responding to opposition from Mayor James Mueller, the South Bend Common Council on Monday tabled a bill that would bar city staff from entering confidential agreements.
Council members Oliver Davis and Sherry Bolden-Simpson sponsored the bill after learning that members of Mueller’s team signed non-disclosure agreements with Amazon in 2023 regarding its data center plans.
It was headed for a vote Monday night but a council committee tabled it after members received a memo from Mueller’s chief of staff, former council member Troy Warner, stating Mueller’s opposition.
Mueller issued an executive order in September, shortly after they introduced the bill, banning NDA’s about data center projects specifically.
But generally Warner said city employees handle information daily that’s required to be confidential. He said Mueller believes the bill is too broad.
Davis said he and Bolden-Simpson plan to meet with council attorney Bob Palmer and discuss how to respond to the administration’s concerns.
“From the last conversation I had with Bob, he said it looks like we still can move forward," Davis told WVPE after the meeting. "I know other townships and other cities are starting to put that in place. I know that we would be one of the first ones in Indiana to have to put this together but that’s OK.”
