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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Bloomington City Council 2026 Budget Hearing - Second Night (August 21, 2025)

City Council — Thursday, August 21, 2025

BodyBloomington, Indiana

SessionCity Council

DateThursday, August 21, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 2:30:53

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

I'd like to call this meeting to order.

0:03

It is Wednesday, August 20th, 5 31 p.m.

0:06

Uh, it is our second night of budget hearings uh for the 2026 budget.

0:11

Could the clerk please call the roll?

0:14

Certainly.

0:15

Councilmember Stasberg.

0:17

Here.

0:18

Ruff.

0:20

Rahlo?

0:21

Here.

0:22

Piedmont Smith.

0:23

Here.

0:25

Flaherty?

0:26

Here.

0:27

Daily?

0:28

Here.

0:29

Zulik?

0:30

Here.

0:31

Rosenbarger?

0:32

Here.

0:33

Nasari.

0:35

Thank you.

0:37

Thank you.

0:38

So as I mentioned, this is our second night of four for budget hearings spread over two weeks for the city's proposed 2026 budget.

0:46

For folks following along, you can go to Bloomington.in.gov/slash city slash slash budget to find information and links to the budget book or proposed budget.

0:59

Also the city council's webpage, Bloomington.in.gov slash council has links to our meeting packets of information, which should include uh slide decks and presentations as those come to us along with uh the meeting schedule.

1:14

Tonight we are hearing uh presentations from four departments and a board, along with I think probably brief introductions or presentations for three priority areas uh that are the framing device uh the administration has used this year for its budget proposal.

1:33

So the order of that will be uh a priority at priority area introduction on affordable housing and homelessness with five minutes, then housing and neighborhood development uh departments presentation at 20 minutes, priority area introduction for economic development allotted for five minutes, then a presentation from the Monero County Capital Improvement Board, five minutes, the economic and sustainable development department at 20 minutes, then a priority area introduction for public safety at five minutes, the fire department at 15 minutes, and finally we will close with the police department slash dispatch at 20 minutes.

2:10

Uh the other thing I would like to remind council members and the public is that we took a motion um at the first budget hearing uh on Monday this week to structure debate for the duration of the um uh budget hearings.

2:23

Uh that debate limited council member question and answer periods following each presentation to a maximum of three minutes per council member.

2:31

Uh it also limited council member comment period to three minutes per council member per presentation and limited public comment to two minutes per speaker per comment period.

2:41

I believe also we have a council member interested in making a motion to amend that um structure for debate, and I would entertain that now.

2:51

Uh Councilmember Piedmont Smith.

2:54

Yes, um I move that the following two points be added to how we conduct the remaining budget hearings.

3:00

Number one, after public comment on each budget presentation during the council member comment period, council members may use their three-minute time allotment to redirect questions made during the public comment period to staff.

3:13

The three minutes would still include the question, the answer, and if any time remains, any final comment from that council member.

3:20

And number two, each three-minute period of council member questions and council member comments is limited to one turn for each council member to allow for accurate timekeeping.

3:31

Second.

3:33

Okay, we have a motion and a second.

3:35

Any questions or comments on the motion.

3:39

Seeing none, um we can just take a voice vote.

3:43

Uh all in favor?

3:44

Aye.

3:45

Aye.

3:46

All opposed.

3:48

Any abstentions?

3:49

Okay.

3:50

That motion passes, so we will have those additional points to structure our debate uh for the duration of the budget hearings.

3:56

Uh with that, uh we can kick off with our priority area introduction for affordable housing and homelessness.

4:02

And who from the administration do we have to present that priority area?

4:05

I see Deputy Mayor Knapp raising her hand.

4:07

Please uh step up to the Bayes, uh, introduce yourself in position and uh welcome.

4:14

Good evening, everyone.

4:15

Deputy Mayor Gretchen Knapp, I'll try to keep this short.

4:19

Uh so this is one of our um, I think a category that many of us in in many of the public and all of us in the administration.

4:27

I know all of you on council are deeply concerned about.

4:30

Um I want to talk a little bit about what we included in this in this budget book in the priority list, but uh just know, of course, as a reminder to everyone that we're very early in the process of defining what programs are, what they look like, how we cluster them.

4:46

So this is all just for our understanding of what was in here this year and to help inform what we do in future years and how we improve and refine how we talk about these things.

4:56

Uh let's see.

5:00

So, what's included in these allocations is departments whose mission is largely centered in in this work, and of course, that is housing and neighborhood development, which we call hand here at the city.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Safety█████████████████████████████29%

Economic Development█████████████████17%

Affordable Housing████████████12%

Budget Equity Analysis███████████11%

Public Engagement████████8%

Public Transportation█████5%

Procedural████4%

Sustainable Development███3%

Public Health██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Bloomington City Council 2026 Budget Hearing - Second Night (August 21, 2025)

The Bloomington City Council held the second of four budget hearings for the proposed 2026 city budget on August 21, 2025, starting at 5:31 p.m. The meeting featured presentations from multiple departments and priority area introductions, along with a procedural motion to adjust debate rules. Council members questioned department heads on staffing, program effectiveness, and funding shifts.

Public Comments & Testimony

Only one public comment was made, by Kevin Keo, who expressed concerns about cybersecurity and cybercrime risks to the police department, citing the Monroe County government intrusion and the Bloomingfoods credit card skimming incident. He called for greater attention to cybercrime statistics and data protection.

Discussion Items

Procedural Motion

Councilmember Piedmont Smith moved to add two points to the debate structure: (1) after public comment, council members may use their three-minute comment time to redirect questions from public comment to staff; (2) each three-minute period is limited to one turn per council member. The motion passed unanimously.

Priority Area: Affordable Housing & Homelessness

Deputy Mayor Gretchen Knapp introduced the priority area, noting that the budget includes allocations from the Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND) department, the Mayor's Office homelessness response coordinator, and police funds for reunification. She outlined key questions about moving from priorities-based to outcomes-based budgeting and measuring effectiveness of pass-through dollars.

Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND) Department

Director Anna Killian Hansen presented HAND's diverse programs, including affordable housing, homelessness prevention, rental inspection, community engagement, and federal grant administration. She highlighted the use of over $6 million in ARPA funding for housing and homelessness projects. Key statistics: 60% of households in city limits are renters. The rental inspection program is limited to long-term rentals (leases over 30 days). The department faces challenges filling a grant compliance manager position. Council questions covered the housing development fund's health, outreach for programs, and vacancies.

Priority Area: Economic Development

Deputy Mayor Knapp introduced the economic development priority, including departments like Economic and Sustainable Development (ESD) and the Capital Improvement Board (CIB). She noted that planning's impact on economic development is not yet included in this category.

Monroe County Capital Improvement Board (CIB)

Jeff McKim presented the CIB budget, which excludes construction costs (funded by a $52 million bond) and architectural fees. The budget includes legal fees, owner's representative services, insurance, and soft costs such as testing, relocation, and contingency. The convention center expansion is on track: new building completion target January 1, 2027, renovation of existing building by July 1, 2027. Council questions addressed the budget schedule and public art benefits.

Economic and Sustainable Development (ESD) Department

Director Jane Cooper Smith presented ESD's 2026 budget, emphasizing the critical moment for the local economy due to population decline and aging. Key goals: grow workforce population, grow wages, reinforce economic base. She highlighted the Trades District development, including the Mill leasing 68% of space in the Forge, and a planned hotel. The Arts Incubator partnership with IU and Seagerly Canadian. 49.5% of IU students would like to stay in Bloomington post-graduation, but 91.5% feel it's not possible due to lack of jobs and housing. Budget reductions include cuts to Stay Cool, Bloomington, SEAL funding, and sustainability grants. The TDM strategy (Go Bloomington website) funding is reduced. Council member questions focused on the shift of ESD personnel costs into the ED Lit fund, and the difficulty of comparing budgets year-to-year.

Priority Area: Public Safety

Deputy Mayor Knapp introduced the public safety priority, covering police and fire departments, and noting that ARPA dollars are used for some public safety expenses. She raised questions about categorizing prevention programs and alternative response.

Fire Department

Chief Roger Kerr presented the fire department budget, which is essentially flat except for the collective bargaining agreement. 911 calls increased 8.2% from 2023 to 2024 (5,961 to 6,449). The department is about to be fully staffed for the first time in years, thanks to a competitive collective bargaining agreement that attracted 272 applicants (up from 87 in 2024). The MIH (Mobile Integrated Health) division is growing. Capital projects: Station 3 on IU campus near completion, new operations and training center south of town under construction. A joint recruit academy with Monroe Fire Protection District was a success. Council questions covered response times, the Tapp Road fire station for the Summit development, and overtime budget.

Police Department and Dispatch

Chief Mike Deakoff presented the police budget. Calls for service in 2024: 75,951 (2.4% increase from 2023). Violent crime decreased 24%, community engagement increased 40%. The department hired 11 officers in a recent process, with six certified and five starting the academy. The dispatch center is critically short: 14 of 18 telecommunicator positions vacant, 3 of 6 supervisor positions vacant. A new reunification fund is proposed for 2026 to help people return to their home communities. The new police headquarters at 714 South Rogers is in early planning stages. Council questions covered traffic enforcement, the "quiet nights" program, and the shift of some expenses to PS Lit fund.

Key Outcomes

The council approved a motion to adjust debate rules for the remaining budget hearings.
No final votes on budget items were taken; the hearings are for discussion and questions.
Council members will submit written questions, and responses will be made public.
The next budget hearing is scheduled for August 25, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to call this meeting to order. It is Wednesday, August 20th, 5 31 p.m. Uh, it is our second night of budget hearings uh for the 2026 budget. Could the clerk please call the roll? Certainly. Councilmember Stasberg. Here. Ruff. Rahlo? Here. Piedmont Smith. Here. Flaherty? Here. Daily? Here. Zulik? Here. Rosenbarger? Here. Nasari. Thank you. Thank you. So as I mentioned, this is our second night of four for budget hearings spread over two weeks for the city's proposed 2026 budget. For folks following along, you can go to Bloomington.in.gov/slash city slash slash budget to find information and links to the budget book or proposed budget. Also the city council's webpage, Bloomington.in.gov slash council has links to our meeting packets of information, which should include uh slide decks and presentations as those come to us along with uh the meeting schedule. Tonight we are hearing uh presentations from four departments and a board, along with I think probably brief introductions or presentations for three priority areas uh that are the framing device uh the administration has used this year for its budget proposal. So the order of that will be uh a priority at priority area introduction on affordable housing and homelessness with five minutes, then housing and neighborhood development uh departments presentation at 20 minutes, priority area introduction for economic development allotted for five minutes, then a presentation from the Monero County Capital Improvement Board, five minutes, the economic and sustainable development department at 20 minutes, then a priority area introduction for public safety at five minutes, the fire department at 15 minutes, and finally we will close with the police department slash dispatch at 20 minutes. Uh the other thing I would like to remind council members and the public is that we took a motion um at the first budget hearing uh on Monday this week to structure debate for the duration of the um uh budget hearings. Uh that debate limited council member question and answer periods following each presentation to a maximum of three minutes per council member. Uh it also limited council member comment period to three minutes per council member per presentation and limited public comment to two minutes per speaker per comment period. I believe also we have a council member interested in making a motion to amend that um structure for debate, and I would entertain that now. Uh Councilmember Piedmont Smith. Yes, um I move that the following two points be added to how we conduct the remaining budget hearings. Number one, after public comment on each budget presentation during the council member comment period, council members may use their three-minute time allotment to redirect questions made during the public comment period to staff. The three minutes would still include the question, the answer, and if any time remains, any final comment from that council member. And number two, each three-minute period of council member questions and council member comments is limited to one turn for each council member to allow for accurate timekeeping. Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second. Any questions or comments on the motion. Seeing none, um we can just take a voice vote. Uh all in favor? Aye. Aye. All opposed. Any abstentions? Okay. That motion passes, so we will have those additional points to structure our debate uh for the duration of the budget hearings. Uh with that, uh we can kick off with our priority area introduction for affordable housing and homelessness. And who from the administration do we have to present that priority area?

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