City of South Bend passes 2023 budget increasing spending for police, road improvements

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind.—The 2023 budget passed the South Bend Common Council Monday night, increasing city spending on public safety and road improvements.

“We’re happy that the council supported the budget, and look forward to implementing it in 2023,” said City Controller Dan Parker.

The common council voted to approve salaries for city workers and programs, including the historical investment into the three-year Rebuilding our Streets plan.

For the second year, the city relied on public input to influence the budget

“Hundreds and hundreds of people participated, provided input on how they want to see their city dollars funded,” Parker said. “It reflects in the budget. So, the top priority was rebuilding our streets.”

According to the resulting 2023 Budget Report, priorities include improving and maintaining roadways, violence intervention initiatives, expanding affordable housing, and utility maintenance.

“The biggest thing that stood out to me would be talking about the great resignation, and how we retain people that would commit themselves to work here for the city,” said Common Councilmember Sheila Niezgodski.

Another area of increased spending next year will be for competitive police wages.

“It’s very competitive out there right now,” Niezgodski said. “So, we’re competing with the county, Mishawaka, Chicago markets, I mean, all over.”  

Almost 900 south bend residents engaged with the city to build the budget. While this is higher engagement than the previous year, it is still only a fraction of the city’s over 103,000 residents.

To read the full budget report, click here.