OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Bloomington Common Council Organizational and Legislative Meeting - January 8, 2026

City Council — Thursday, January 8, 2026
BodyBloomington, Indiana
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, January 8, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 55:16

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Seeing that we have a quorum and it's 6 30.

0:02

I'm gonna go ahead and call to order this uh session of the Bloomington Common Council here on January 7th.

0:08

Will the clerk please call the roll?

0:16

Councilmember Flaherty.

0:18

Heref Rahlow?

0:21

Here.

0:22

Piedmont Smith.

0:24

Here.

0:24

Stasberg?

0:26

Here.

0:26

Daley.

0:27

Here.

0:28

Zulick?

0:29

Here.

0:30

Rosenberger?

0:31

Here.

0:32

Asari?

0:33

Here.

0:33

Thank you.

0:34

Thank you so much.

0:36

Before I do the agenda summation, I would like to start by paying tribute to longtime Perry Township trustee Dan Combs, who passed away this week.

0:46

He first took office in 1986, so he served uh the Perry Township for almost 40 years, which I think is pretty amazing.

0:54

Umseeing the operations and administering aid uh from the township to thousands of residents.

1:01

So if you could uh join me in a moment of silence in his uh memory, that would be great.

1:07

Thank you.

1:21

Thank you so much.

1:22

Condolences go out to his uh friends and family.

1:26

Um this evening we have just a few things on our agenda.

1:30

It is our organizational meeting, um, so we will be uh doing a whole bunch of um elections and assignments and appointments and things.

1:38

Uh but we'll start off with kind of the normal reports uh first from council members.

1:43

Uh we don't have a report from the mayor and city offices.

1:46

We don't have a report from council committees, uh, so then we will go straight to reports from the public.

1:51

That will be the first opportunity for the public to comment on items not on our agenda.

1:56

Uh after reports are done, we will have election of officers every year at the organizational meeting.

2:02

The president, vice president, and parliamentarian uh potentially swap around, and so we will do that.

2:08

Um after that uh council members might switch up seats according to the newly elected president's uh assignments.

2:17

Um then we'll have assignments to council committees if the uh new president is prepared to do so, and then appointments to various boards and commissions that council members uh belong on.

2:32

After that, we do have some legislation for first reading this evening.

2:35

We have ordinance 202601 amending title 20, the unified development ordinance with regard to affordable housing incentives and payment and lie provisions.

2:46

Then we will have ordinance 202602 also amending Title 20, the Unified Development Ordinance with regard to qualifying standards for uh PUD subsections, and that also should uh change um AMI numbers as well, I believe.

3:07

Uh, and then ordinance 202603 to uh amend ordinance 2025 40, which fix the salaries of appointed officers, non-union and afsme employees.

3:18

Uh there are changes to the AFSME uh employee salaries based on uh new negotiations that uh completed late last year.

3:27

And then we do have one resolution tonight that we will actually discuss resolution 202601 update updating membership requirements and program funding for the Jack Hopkins Social Service Funding Committee of the Council.

3:40

After that, we will have additional public comment if uh there are members of the public who want to speak to items not on the agenda this evening.

3:47

Um we will have any notes on council schedule and then we will adjourn.

3:51

So going back to the beginning, starting with councilmember uh reports.

3:56

Um I'll go ahead and start down here on my right tonight with Councilmember Flaherty.

4:01

Uh I just want to say a thank you to council leadership that is outgoing.

4:05

Um Councilmember Sasberg, Pete Montsmith, and Daly, uh, thank you for your service in those roles this past year.

4:10

I think you did a great job.

4:11

I appreciate it.

4:12

Thank you.

4:13

Thank you.

4:15

Uh Councilmember Ruff.

4:17

Yeah, just want to uh repeat what Councilmember Flaherty said about thanking the leadership.

4:24

Thank you.

4:25

Councilmember Rahlows, yeah.

4:27

I uh I also like to note the passing of Dan Combs.

4:31

Uh I first knew of him when I moved to Bloomington as a writer for the HT as Carp Combs, uh, and I think it was the Bloomington Herald telephone back then, uh, before they changed their name around 1989.

4:45

Uh he was a local sage, had wit, humor, wisdom.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████████████35%
Personnel Matters██████████████████████████26%
Public Engagement█████████████████████21%
Miscellaneous█████5%
Environmental Protection████4%
Affordable Housing████4%
Public Safety███3%
Zoning Regulations██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Bloomington Common Council Organizational and Legislative Meeting - January 8, 2026

The Bloomington Common Council held its annual organizational meeting on January 8, 2026 (the meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM on January 7, 2026 per the transcript). The agenda included election of officers, committee assignments, appointments to boards and commissions, first readings of three ordinances, and adoption of a resolution updating the Jack Hopkins Social Services Funding Committee. The meeting began with a tribute to the late Perry Township Trustee Dan Combs, who served for nearly 40 years.

Tribute to Dan Combs

  • Councilmembers shared memories and condolences for Dan Combs, who passed away that week. He served as Perry Township Trustee since 1986. A moment of silence was observed.

Councilmember Reports

  • Councilmember Flaherty thanked outgoing leadership (Stasberg, Piedmont Smith, Daly).
  • Councilmember Rahlow recalled his early interactions with Dan Combs as a reporter.
  • Councilmember Piedmont Smith delivered a lengthy statement marking the fifth anniversary of the January 6, 2021 insurrection, criticizing President Donald Trump and his administration for alleged violations of the U.S. Constitution and international law, including actions in Venezuela and by ICE.
  • Councilmember Daly announced she will hold constituent meetings by appointment via a public calendar.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Jeremy (Chamber of Commerce) presented the Chamber's 2026 legislative priorities: housing availability and affordability, workforce participation and readiness (child care, transportation, cost of living), community safety and public order, and predictability of city services and processes. He urged continued collaboration.
  • Kevin Keogh (Bloomington resident, retired accountant) spoke during the additional public comment period about the timeliness of the city's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR). He noted the 2024 ACFR had not been published by its December 31, 2025 deadline, and requested that future ACFRs be completed before the start of the budget cycle (by August 1). He cited the city of Fishers, Indiana as a peer completing its ACFR by July 31.

Election of Officers

  • Councilmember Stasberg nominated Councilmember Asari for President, Councilmember Zulik for Vice President, and Councilmember Daly for Parliamentarian. The nomination was seconded and approved by voice vote (no opposition or abstentions noted).
  • Each nominee briefly described their vision: Asari emphasized smooth meetings, minority views, and internal communication; Zulik focused on supporting the president and centering the people of Bloomington; Daly highlighted maintaining consistency and fairness after a year of experience.
  • Councilmember Stasberg presented a ceremonial gavel to outgoing President Asari.
  • Seating arrangements were adjusted per the new President's assignment.

Committee Assignments

  • President Asari announced committee assignments:
    • Jack Hopkins Social Services Funding Committee: Councilmembers Daly (Chair), Ruff, Rahlow, and Asari.
    • Committee on Council Processes: Councilmembers Piedmont Smith (Chair), Stasberg, Zulik, Daly.
    • Sidewalk Committee: Councilmembers Rosenbarger (Chair), Ruff, Zulik, Daly.
    • Fiscal Committee: Councilmembers Piedmont Smith (Chair), Flaherty, Rahlow, Stasberg.
    • Interview Committee A: Asari (Chair), Rosenbarger, Stasberg.
    • Interview Committee B: Ruff (Chair), Daly, Flaherty (after a substitution to align liaisons).
    • Interview Committee C: Zulik (Chair), Rahlow, Piedmont Smith.
  • All assignments were approved through a single voice vote.

Appointments to Boards and Commissions

  • The council approved a slate of appointments:
    • Bloomington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC): Councilmember Asari (one-year term).
    • Downtown Bloomington Inc.: Councilmember Zulik (one-year term).
    • Economic Development Commission (City): Councilmember Asari (four-year term).
    • Transportation Commission: Councilmember Flaherty reappointed.
    • Metropolitan Planning Organization: Councilmember Stasberg reappointed as delegate.
    • CDBG Advisory Committee: Councilmember Daly (social services) and Councilmember Rosenbarger (physical improvements).
    • Food and Beverage Tax Advisory Committee: Councilmember Zulik reappointed.
    • PS Lit Committee: Councilmembers Daly, Piedmont Smith, Rahlow, and Ruff appointed.
    • Utility Services Board: Councilmember Flaherty reappointed.
    • Project 46 Advisory Committee: Councilmember Stasberg appointed (after Flaherty stepped down due to scheduling conflicts).
    • Commission on Sustainability: Councilmember Rahlow reappointed.
    • Environmental Resources Advisory Council: Councilmember Ruff reappointed.
    • City's Internal Climate Action Team: Councilmember Piedmont Smith appointed (replacing Flaherty).
  • All appointments were approved by voice vote.

Discussion Items

  • First Readings of Ordinances: Three ordinances were introduced by title and synopsis only:

    1. Ordinance 2026-01: Amends Title 20 (Unified Development Ordinance) regarding affordable housing incentives and payment-in-lieu provisions. Increases maximum impervious surface coverage for owner-occupied projects using incentives, adjusts coverage for tier two affordability, and raises payment-in-lieu amounts.
    2. Ordinance 2026-02: Amends Title 20 to reduce area median income eligibility for incentives, revise PUD qualifying standards, and eliminate the definition of "workforce housing."
    3. Ordinance 2026-03: Amends Ordinance 2025-40 to align appointed officer and AFSCME employee salaries with the approved 2026 labor agreement.

  • All three ordinances were approved for first reading by voice vote and will proceed to second reading.

  • Resolution 2026-01 (Jack Hopkins Social Services Funding Committee): Sponsored by Councilmember Stasberg. This resolution consolidates scattered documentation about the committee's membership and funding conditions into one resolution. It changes the appointment of resident members from sole chair responsibility to council-wide approval, to better handle conflict-of-interest paperwork. It also clarifies term dates. Councilmember Daly, the incoming chair, expressed support and noted she would bring appointment recommendations to the full council next week. After discussion, the resolution passed unanimously (9-0 on roll call).

Key Outcomes

  • Council elected Asari as President, Zulik as Vice President, and Daly as Parliamentarian for 2026.
  • Committee assignments and appointments to boards/commissions were approved, including changes to adapt to member availability.
  • Three ordinances received first reading and will be considered at future meetings.
  • Resolution 2026-01 was adopted 9-0, updating the Jack Hopkins committee's membership and funding procedures.
  • The next regular meeting was noted for the following week; interview committees were reminded to schedule meetings for upcoming appointments.

The meeting was adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Seeing that we have a quorum and it's 6 30. I'm gonna go ahead and call to order this uh session of the Bloomington Common Council here on January 7th. Will the clerk please call the roll? Councilmember Flaherty. Heref Rahlow? Here. Piedmont Smith. Here. Stasberg? Here. Daley. Here. Zulick? Here. Rosenberger? Here. Asari? Here. Thank you. Thank you so much. Before I do the agenda summation, I would like to start by paying tribute to longtime Perry Township trustee Dan Combs, who passed away this week. He first took office in 1986, so he served uh the Perry Township for almost 40 years, which I think is pretty amazing. Umseeing the operations and administering aid uh from the township to thousands of residents. So if you could uh join me in a moment of silence in his uh memory, that would be great. Thank you. Thank you so much. Condolences go out to his uh friends and family. Um this evening we have just a few things on our agenda. It is our organizational meeting, um, so we will be uh doing a whole bunch of um elections and assignments and appointments and things. Uh but we'll start off with kind of the normal reports uh first from council members. Uh we don't have a report from the mayor and city offices. We don't have a report from council committees, uh, so then we will go straight to reports from the public. That will be the first opportunity for the public to comment on items not on our agenda. Uh after reports are done, we will have election of officers every year at the organizational meeting. The president, vice president, and parliamentarian uh potentially swap around, and so we will do that. Um after that uh council members might switch up seats according to the newly elected president's uh assignments. Um then we'll have assignments to council committees if the uh new president is prepared to do so, and then appointments to various boards and commissions that council members uh belong on. After that, we do have some legislation for first reading this evening. We have ordinance 202601 amending title 20, the unified development ordinance with regard to affordable housing incentives and payment and lie provisions. Then we will have ordinance 202602 also amending Title 20, the Unified Development Ordinance with regard to qualifying standards for uh PUD subsections, and that also should uh change um AMI numbers as well, I believe. Uh, and then ordinance 202603 to uh amend ordinance 2025 40, which fix the salaries of appointed officers, non-union and afsme employees. Uh there are changes to the AFSME uh employee salaries based on uh new negotiations that uh completed late last year. And then we do have one resolution tonight that we will actually discuss resolution 202601 update updating membership requirements and program funding for the Jack Hopkins Social Service Funding Committee of the Council. After that, we will have additional public comment if uh there are members of the public who want to speak to items not on the agenda this evening. Um we will have any notes on council schedule and then we will adjourn. So going back to the beginning, starting with councilmember uh reports. Um I'll go ahead and start down here on my right tonight with Councilmember Flaherty. Uh I just want to say a thank you to council leadership that is outgoing. Um Councilmember Sasberg, Pete Montsmith, and Daly, uh, thank you for your service in those roles this past year. I think you did a great job.

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