 Costas, author of the city's first Ethics Ordinance when he was on City Council, backed an even stronger ethics ordinance and significantly revamped the city's sleepy Ethics Committee into a proactive group to deliver ethics training to city employees.He appointed a Neighborhood Advocate, started a "Fit City" program, began a city bus service called the V-Line and the Chicago Dash, reached agreement from restaurant and bar owners on a smoking ban, saved $200K by consolidating the city's 911 dispatch with the County's, and created several environmental initiatives such as reducing the city's energy use and increasing recycling to 70% of the city's solid waste (from 49%).The editorial boards of local newspapers soon began taking note of Costas's new style, with the Times claiming that other cities should "follow Valparaiso's lead" in both content and process