26-02-2025
South Bend Mayor Mueller has March 1 deadline to appoint two to police fire merit boards
SOUTH BEND — Mayor James Mueller is working to appoint two qualified volunteers to serve on the city's police and merit boards, though he has declined to describe the process for identifying candidates.
Five commissioners will serve on each board: two appointed by Mueller, two appointed by the local police and fire members and one appointed by the South Bend Common Council.
'The mayor will seek to have as much continuity with the Board of Public Safety as possible,' a city spokesperson told The Tribune Feb. 24.
The transition to a merit board is due to the passage in 2023 of state House Bill 1016, which grants a city four options to create separate police and fire merit boards or to reject forming a board. Indiana Code 36.8.3.5, allows merit boards to oversee the hiring and firing, discipline, promotion, and demotions at the police and fire departments, a role currently held by the Board of Public Safety.
'The mayor believed in the good work of the Board of Public Safety, and the state mandated the formation of these new merit boards,' a city spokesperson said by email.
Police and fire members, as well as the common council, held an online open application process to narrow down their candidates. When asked what process Mueller used to determine candidates, his office did not disclose his vetting process. A city spokesperson responded saying the mayor is working to make the appointments by the March 1 deadline and will make it known when the appointments are finalized. Mueller's two appointments per board must be of different political affiliations.
The Common Council conducted interviews to choose its single appointee to the merit boards.
Police members were set to vote in two commissioners on Feb. 7, but voting was delayed because a candidate's name was missing, police said. A vote is rescheduled for March 14 and 17, the amended police resolution says, and the election results will be read at the March 17 closed members meeting.
Fire members, who chose to follow the state model which requires two commissioners of different political parties, voted in Democrat Dan Jones, who currently serves as president of the Board of Public Safety, on Feb. 6. The fire board has yet to find a Republican candidate, they said on Feb. 19. As of Feb. 24, the fire merit board ordinance has not been amended to include an upcoming voting date. If fire members aren't able to fill their single spot by March 1, the fire board could function if it reaches a quorum, Adam Taylor, attorney for the fire department, told the Board of Public Safety at the Feb. 19 meeting.
Merit boards will likely meet once a month between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., but the schedule is yet to be determined, the Tribune previously reported.
Email Tribune staff writer Camille Sarabia at csarabia@
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Mayor to appoint two members for police fire merit boards
