MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COMMON COUNCIL VALPARAISO, INDIANA

September 26, 2022

The Common Council of the City of Valparaiso, Indiana, met on Monday September 26, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. in City Hall. Mayor Murphy called the meeting to order. The Pledge of Allegiance was said. Present were Councilmembers Reed, Cotton, Schmidt, Pupillo, Anderson, Costas, and Peterson.

MINUTES

Councilmember Schmidt moved to adopt minutes of the September 12, 2022 meeting. Councilmember Reed seconded the motion. Upon voice vote the motion passed with a 7-0 vote.

Councilmember Cotton stated he feels under the Update section of the meeting would be a good place for Councilmembers to bring up any questions they may have. Councilmember Reed replied she would have no objection as long as it was a clear and concise discussion.

RESOLUTION NO. 15, 2022

ARESOLUTIONOFTHECOMMONCOUNCILOFTHECITYOFVALPARAISO,INDIANA, ADOPTING GUIDELINES FOR COMMON COUNCIL LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING

Councilmember Schmidt moved that Resolution No. 15, 2022 be read and considered for passage. Councilmember Reed seconded the motion. Clerk-Treasurer Taylor read Resolution No. 15, 2022.

Brian Bosma addressed the Council. This is his fourth cycle to go through redistricting with municipalities. Valparaiso’s current districting is 20% deviation. Resolution No. 15, 2022 does three things. Sets out Guidelines. It Appoints Co-Redistricting Coordinators. Charges Coordinators with preparing a plan to present to the Council that gets the population as near to equal as possible in the districts. There is no State requirement to have public input. However, most municipalities have it. If a city annexes or if a city changes class, it can redistrict. Other than that, this is the only opportunity to redistrict for 10 years. The City of Valparaiso will do public notice in the newspaper. Public access packets are available in the Clerk’s Office. There will be notice on the web page. Public comments will be heard at the October 10^th Council meeting. October 19^th is the deadline for submittal of plans. October 24^th is the Public Hearing of drafts presented. November 14^th is the final reading and adoption. This process has to be completed by December 31, 2022.

Councilmember Reed restated Valparaiso is at 20% deviation. She asked what is acceptable. Brian Bosma explained the goal is 5% deviation but under 10% is presumed ok. Councilmember Reed asked how many municipalities Brian Bosma has worked with. He replied 40-50. Councilmember Reed asked about pitfalls that should be avoided. Brian Bosma replied lack of public notice and if a plan is submitted with a lower deviation than the Council’s plan, it needs to be justified.

Councilmember Cotton said he is concerned about who is driving this process. He feels it has the perception of being partisan. In the County they control the lines. Can the Council petition the County to change a line.

Councilmember Cotton asked whose idea it was to not engage the entire Council in this process. He finds it to be suppressive to not be at the table. Brian Bosma replied an ordinance must be prepared and presented. To have all Councilmembers present a plan would be difficult. There is one Democrat and one Republican coordinator. The State Election Board has to approve the final plan. The County will probably not be very willing to go through the proceed of changing any lines.

Councilmember Anderson asked for the formula to get the 20% deviation. He also asked if State Code requires this has to be done. Brian Bosma replied yes.

MOTION: Councilmember Schmidt moved to adopt Resolution No. 15, 2022. Councilmember Reed seconded the motion. Upon roll call vote the motion to adopt Resolution No. 15, 2022 passed with a 7-0 vote.

ORDINANCE NO. 21, 2022 VALPARAISO COMMUNITY SCHOOLS 2023 BUDGET

Councilmember Schmidt moved that Ordinance No. 21, 2022 be read a first time and considered on first reading. Councilmember Reed seconded the motion. Clerk-Treasurer Taylor read Ordinance No. 21, 2022.

Jim Holifield, CFO for Valparaiso Community Schools, presented their 2023 budget. The presentation is posted on the VCS web page. The total budget request for 2023 is $92,900,521.

Mayor Murphy announced Ordinance No. 21, 2022 requires a Public Hearing and presented Proof of Publication that at tonight’s meeting the Council will hear comments on the VCS 2023 Budget.

Wayne Woodridge – 2104 Dunwoody. His concern is seniors living on fixed incomes. Taxes are going up but income is not.

Seeing no one else wishing to address the Council, Mayor Murphy declared the Public Hearing closed.

MOTION: Councilmember Schmidt moved that Ordinance No. 21, 2022 be carried to the October 10, 2022 meeting. Councilmember Reed seconded the motion. Upon voice vote the motion passed with a 7-0 vote.

ORDINANCE NO. 22, 2022

CITYOFVALPARAISO2023BUDGET

Councilmember Schmidt moved that Ordinance No. 22, 2022 be read a first time and considered on first reading. Councilmember Reed seconded the motion. Clerk-Treasurer Taylor read Ordinance No. 22, 2022.

Clerk-Treasurer Taylor did a presentation on details of the budget. She went over expenditures, taxes, revenues, tax rate and tax caps. A wage study has been prepared. The goal with the budget is to get everyone to the midpoint. Some employees received a 4% raise. Others who were closer to the midpoint received a $500 raise. Health insurance costs have gone up. They have increased that budget by $300,000.

Mike Jessen addressed the Council. The City got a Standard and Poor AA rating. Only five municipalities in the State are higher. The State Board of Accounts has done their audit of the City. They have no issues or findings with the City. It was a stellar review. This is a credit to Clerk-Treasurer Taylor and her staff. He acknowledged and expressed his appreciation to Sharon Swihart for putting the City on such a strong financial foundation. This budget includes a raise. Employees will be brought closer to the mid-range listed in the new wage study. Health insurance has had a substantial increase. The City has benefited from being part of a trust. The more people in the trust the better off the City will be. If the City had been on the open market, it would have had a 29.7% increase. If the Trust had not had guardrails in place for possible raising and lowering of rates, the City would have had a 15.2% increase.

Councilmember Reed asked if the Trust is looking for more members. Mike Jessen replied yes. The more people, the better buying power.

Councilmember Cotton pointed out that Human Resources is a single person department. She could use another support person.

Councilmember Cotton asked about the decrease longevity with the Fire Department and Police Department. Clerk-Treasurer Taylor explained employees of both Departments have retired or left. They are no longer receiving longevity so the amount went down. Mike Jessen stated they are doing a study on the HR department. There are HR people throughout the City. Councilmember Cotton asked about employees that have fulltime use of automobiles. Mike Jessen replied some are compensation. He has not heard concerns about this. He is not sure what the policy is, but he will look it up.

Councilmember Costas asked about the difference between the amount spent and the amount of income. Clerk Treasurer Taylor explained that is the cash balance.

Councilmember Pupillo asked about the seized assets fund. Clerk-Treasurer Taylor explained the Police Department uses those funds for community outreach projects.

Mayor Murphy announced Ordinance No. 22, 2022 requires a Public Hearing and presented Proof of Publication that at tonight’s meeting the Council will hear comments on the City of Valparaiso 2023 Budget.

Seeing no one wishing to address the Council, Mayor Murphy declared the Public Hearing closed.

MOTION: Councilmember Schmidt moved that Ordinance No. 22, 2022 be carried to the October 10, 2022 meeting. Councilmember Reed seconded the motion. Upon voice vote the motion passed with a 7-0 vote.

Community Update

Attorney Patrick Lyp reported that the City Code does not follow State Code regarding political signs. The City follows Indiana law. Within 60 days prior to an election and 6 days after an election political sign can be up.

Size and other items are subject to State code. Clerk Treasurer Taylor added the City no longer collects deposits for signs.

Council Liaison

Councilmember Reed reported the School Board met and approved matters relating to capital projects. Grants were accepted. Special recognition was given to six students for achievement. Central School got recognized for blue ribbon status. The next meeting is October 20^th.

Councilmember Cotton reported the water tower at Tower Park is being re-done.

Public Comment

Barbara Dolmer – 614 Yellowstone. She is a member of the League of Women Voters. She is on the League’s committee for re-districting. Tonight’s Resolution is welcome news. She wants to make sure the process is equitable. She asked if citizens will be given the same tools as the coordinators. The vote on this plan is the same day as public comment. She does not see how the comments will be incorporated.

Elizabeth Gingerich – 702 Indiana. She presented and read a resolution she has prepared regarding abortion.

Kathleen Watts – 2518 Eisenhower. The minutes are not being put on the web page. How was Brian Bosma picked. There should be a statistician on the panel.

Tom Davis – 56 Chicago. Hometown Jams was at Central Park. At his home he closed the doors and windows and still could not hear his television because the music was so loud.

Leo Van Lan – 1504 Boca Lago. As a teacher he had to teach all the children. If 57% were ready to move on he still had to teach those that were not. Politicians are supposed to serve the entire community.

Jessica Jepsen – 1259 Sherwood. Duneland has said they will withdraw from the co-op. She encourages Valpo to do so also and bring it all in house. If Duneland pulls out, they will have first dibs on the high quality teachers.

Leslie Nuss – 3161 Heavilin. Her son is a student at SELF. She does not feel the Valpo Schools should pull out of the co-op. Duneland is pulling out if they cannot get the salaries they want for their teachers.

The meeting adjourned at 7:34 p.m.

/s/ Holly Taylor, Clerk-Treasurer