My Sincere Apologies…

by Mayor Sean Denison

Over the course of the last week or so, I have heard from a considerable number of residents concerning the switch in waste haulers for the city. They were shocked to find out last minute that the city had contracted with a new waste hauler, and they felt as though the city had not done its part to clearly communicate the change.

I take full responsibility for not communicating the change. When we voted to change vendors, I should have made it part of our motion, to have the city send out mailers to every resident. I apologize that did not happen. It has taught me a valuable lesson that I can learn from.

Not to make excuses, but it is difficult to make such changes widely known throughout the community. Facebook can be very good at spreading the word in a small town, but it should not be relied on to convey important messages such as this. How can we do better? Should City Hall get a message center that can display important messages daily? Should we consider sending snippets to the Leader, Daily Star or South Bend Tribune? If you see me, or want to send me a note, please do so. Let me know how you think we can do better at communicating important information in a timely manner. I appreciate your input and look forward to hearing your suggestions.