The South Bend Common Council is the City of South Bend's

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

branch. It consists of nine council members, six representing a district of the city, and additional more

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

councilpersons.

History and Present Day

The Common Council was initiated by the incorporation of the City of South Bend on May 22, 1865. The first members were elected to the council on June 5 that same year. The council currently meets in the County-City Building, a fifteen-story building in the heart of downtown. The building houses

City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

offices. For the much past several decades, the Democrats have had a majority on the council. This is partially due to South Bend's diverse and urbanized population which has traditionally favored modern

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

Procedure

Per

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

state law, the council may pass resolutions and ordinances. Resolutions relate to internal council procedures, while ordinances address municipal codes.South Bend City Council
South Bend City Council
." Retrieved on October 23, 2008. If a

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

is approved, it is sent to the mayor ( James Mueller) to be signed into law. They mayor can

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

, but a six-vote majority can override this action.

Current Council

The Common Council currently has a 8-1 Democratic majority. There is also, as of 2021, a 5-4 female preponderance. Councilpersons serve four-year terms. Karen White, a member of the council since 1999, serves as its president.

Committees

The council has multiple committees including; *Community Investment *Community Relations *Council Rules *Health and Public Safety *Information and Technology *PARC (Parks, Recreation, Cultural Arts, & Entertainment) *Personnel Finance *Public Works and Property Vacation *Residential Neighborhoods *Utilities *Zoning and Annexation

Upcoming Elections

None of the current council members have publicly announced plans to resign and most are in preparation for their next election. Republican Eli Wax, who represents the city's most rural and southernmost district is the only councilperson to face a Democratic challenger.

2021 Investigations

In early 2021, the St. Joseph County Democratic Party Chairman at the time, Steve Wruble, requested that Mayor James Mueller investigate two council members (Shelia Niezgodski and Canneth Lee) for non-city related income. His March 1 letter to the mayor asked the city to probe Niezgodski and Lee for alleged violation of city law. The letter (which was publicly released on March 5) also cited voter mistrust within the local Democratic Party, of which all the aforementioned

politicians A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

are affiliated with. Wruble wrote: “even a perceived conflict of interest can leave serious political fallout and lead to voter mistrust.” Mueller, a critic of Wruble, delivered a message that highlighted the fact that the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

jobs of Lee and Niezgodski were well known before the two were elected, and that city attorneys had previously reviewed those jobs for any ethics violations.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Common Council
Government of South Bend, Indiana Indiana city councils