Bloomington Common Council 2027 Budget Hearings, Final Evening – August 27, 2026

No agenda or minutes were provided with the transcript. The transcript's opening line says 'Wednesday, August 26th,' but the meeting metadata records the date as August 27, 2026; this summary follows the metadata date. The council heard final 2027 budget presentations from eight units, each allotted 10 minutes, with roll call, department questions, and public comment.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Monroe County Capital Improvement Board: Raisa Debble opposed giving $4.5 million of public funds to an organization she said would destroy affordable housing and replace it with for-profit activities. Paul Rousseau cited the 2026 Bloomington community survey showing affordable housing as respondents' greatest concern, said the CIB stated its intent to tear down about 30 units of naturally occurring affordable housing at Seminary Point, and argued that the hotel partner does not need or plan to buy that land, so the demolition is not directly related to the convention center; he questioned why the council would fund a 'rogue agency' that exceeds its mandate. Barry Herbers called the CIB 'fundamentally corrupt and anti-democratic,' said 29 units of super affordable housing and commercial spaces were given to the CIB, and listed displaced residents and the closures of Friendly Beast Cidery and Blue Tip Billiards; he said the CIB is unelected, has no public oversight, and should not receive another cent. C4th Breeze echoed concerns that the CIB acted counter to the public interest and asked whether roughly $2 million in CIB funds could be earmarked for affordable housing. Matthew Joseph described the situation as a classic gentrification story involving years of deferred maintenance and asked the council to consider removing demolition funding from the budget.
• Office of the Controller: Kevin Keogh, a Bloomington resident, retired CPA, and IT internal auditor, said PSAP and public safety local income tax revenues appeared to have been commingled, with PSAP activity tracked on a side ledger outside the city's financial system; he urged a current-state assessment, independent validation of fund balances before migration to a new system, and rigorous user acceptance testing. He also praised Controller McKim's presentation.
• No public comment was offered for the City Clerk, Common Council, Mayor, Legal/Risk, Human Resources, or ITS budgets.

Discussion Items

Monroe County Capital Improvement Board

• The CIB reported that the convention center expansion building envelope is complete, property transfers south of the current center occurred June 5, 2026, and a limestone art installation was selected with $400,000 committed from the 1% art appropriation and $100,000 reserved for local art.
• All six alternates for the existing building are now funded, including $1.6 million committed by the Convention and Visitors Commission for IT, kitchen, HVAC, outdoor air system, windows, and masonry work.
• CIB accepted day-to-day operations of the convention center in July; the new building target completion date was stated as January 8, followed by renovation of the current building.
• The final food-and-beverage fund construction budget includes no personnel costs, $1,000 in supplies, and large 'other' items including $60,000 commissioning, $400,000 communications/AV/IT, $100,000 security, $500,000 graphics/signage, $50,000 relocation, $400,000 furniture/fixtures/equipment, and a contingency of just over $2.6 million. Unspent contingency would revert to the city.
• The 2027 convention center operating budget estimates $316,000 in rental revenue, $1.574 million in service revenue, and $1.397 million in innkeepers tax revenue, for total estimated revenues of $3.288 million; expenses include $1.361 million in cost of sales and $922,000 in professional services contracts. The budget contains no city subsidy.
• Council questions covered the convention center management company contract, sales activity (70 proposals out and 29 signed events through 2032), and construction closeout. Councilmember P. Mont Smith said he would ask for a detailed revenue/expenditure spreadsheet.

Office of the City Clerk

• Clerk Nicole Bolden presented a roughly 5% budget increase, mostly from COLA increases, with no step increases included; other services includes about $4,000 in insurance premiums, and supplies remain flat.
• The office has five full-time staff. Priorities are boards and commissions support, records retention, and citation appeal data analysis.
• In response to questions, Clerk Bolden said the office is running at about 9.5 out of 10 on workload; the last wedding was a few months ago but is paused because council records are stored in the wedding space. If one position were underfunded, she said the city would see slower services, including parking ticket appeals slowing from a current median of three days to two or three weeks, and risk of losing council records; she noted that historically over 25% of council meetings lacked minutes or memos.

Office of the Common Council

• Interim Attorney Larry Allen presented a budget for three full-time staff positions (two attorneys and one legal assistant/researcher), currently vacant. The main budget change is salaries, including COLA and salary ranges needed to hire experienced candidates.
• Highlights included $500,000 in Jack Hopkins social service grants, a $500,000 pedestrian safety allocation from the prior year, and another $500,000 proposed for Jack Hopkins grants in 2027.
• Goals include improving public document accessibility, rethinking meeting participation, and enhancing external and internal communication.
• Councilmembers thanked Allen for holding the office together during a period with no staff and described the vacancies as an opportunity to redesign the office. Councilmember Rollo asked the administration to keep Jack Hopkins funding at least at inflation parity, noting that 3% would be $15,000 and 5% would be $25,000, roughly the size of one grant.

Office of the Mayor

• Deputy Mayor Gretchen Knapp said the office has eight full-time staff and one open position, nine total, the same staffing level as the 2023 office structure. The proposed budget is about a 6% increase.
• Priorities include increasing housing, reducing homelessness, supporting public safety, improving communications, and modernizing city operational systems.
• She highlighted the homelessness response coordinator, daily and weekly coordination meetings, reduced major encampments, and the 911 alternative-response analysis with LEAP.
• A part-time emergency management specialist position was moved to a contract role; $50,000 moved from personnel to other services, and $5,000 was added to support the winter shelter.
• Council questions focused on change management for a future HR information system and financial system; Deputy Mayor Knapp said staff input and training will be important and the current manual processes are not sustainable.

Office of the Controller

• Controller Jeff McKim said the office has 12 full-time employees. The city completed the 2024 ACFR/audit in late April and is on track to complete the 2025 GAAP reporting and audit by September 30, with an audit exit conference scheduled September 22.
• Goals include consistently meeting the GFOA June 30 timely reporting standard, producing a Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR), developing a capital improvement plan, replacing the aging New World ERP system, and creating a revenue stabilization account equal to two lease payments from the food and beverage tax fund.
• The budget moves $250,000 to the Surety Bond Proceeds Fund and includes a $500,000 transfer from that fund to the Fiber Connectivity Fund, completing a $1 million commitment with M Street Fiber to connect low-income households.
• McKim said outcome-based budgeting was suspended this year but could move forward through a project charter, a hands-on council-administration working group, and a pilot/phased approach; he later said he found cuts that would reduce his requested increase to $58,510.
• Councilmembers discussed whether the financial system is the real barrier to outcome-based budgeting; Councilmember Flaherty argued the barrier is the lack of shared outcomes and metrics, not the technology.

Legal and Risk Management

• Corporation Counsel Margie Rice said Legal has 10 staff (eight attorneys, one paralegal, one administrative) and Risk has three staff. The largest budget change is a $272,000 transfer from Legal's services line to Risk for possible vehicle telematics; no purchase has been made and union consultation is planned.
• Public records requests total 588 as of the day before the meeting, compared with 570 in 2024 and 580 in 2025; average turnaround time has fallen from 54 days in 2023 to 36 days in 2024, 9.71 days in 2025, and about 8 days in 2026.
• Contracts processed were 805 in 2022, 874 in 2023, 905 in 2024, 1,102 in 2025, and about 660 year-to-date.
• Annexation litigation spending in 2025 and 2026 combined is $407,840.88; the county remonstrance case is nearly over, and the waiver case is pending before the Indiana Supreme Court.
• Risk has received 31 tort claims year-to-date versus 60 in 2025; there have been 66 workers' compensation incidents, 43 resulting in treatment, with $192,791 spent to date against a $495,000 annual budget.
• The supply line is reduced 64% because the new AFSCME agreement provides union members a $640 shoe/clothing stipend.
• Councilmembers raised privacy and surveillance concerns about telematics; Rice said the purpose is safety and training, data storage will be reviewed, and no purchase is final.

Human Resources

• The HR director presented a 2027 budget with an overall 4% increase; personnel services increase 8% mainly from COLA, tenure, and reclassification of a position to talent acquisition specialist; supplies increase 54% (about $8,000, including $4,000 for laptops); other services decrease 7%.
• HR reported progress on the 'One HR' initiative: time to fill has dropped to 72 days compared with a 104-day peer average, and turnover is 6.38% year-to-date, down from 14% in 2023.
• 2027 priorities are workforce well-being and engagement, standardized HR policies and practices, and modernized HR systems including a new HRIS.
• Questions covered the 2.7% COLA (based on the December-to-December urban CPI) and the flexibility to reduce it, and the 'other services and charges' line, which includes consulting and education reimbursement.

Information and Technology Services

• Director Dietz said ITS has 21 full-time and one permanent part-time staff. The 2027 budget includes newly budgeted accessibility and cybersecurity tools, general inflation, and essentially budget-neutral transfers, including full funding of the fiber connectivity fund.
• 2026 highlights included an IGIC Excellence in GIS Award, enterprise VoIP deployment, deployment of infrastructure to the IU Data Center, new online applications, and accessibility training.
• 2027 priorities are cybersecurity, accessibility, further consolidation at the IU Data Center, the enterprise ERP/HRIS effort, and broadband/digital inclusion.
• In response to questions, Dietz said the city does not have a complete inventory of AI tools, and an AI policy is being reviewed with Legal. He said the initial estimate for the financial system component is $600,000 in ED Lit, while HRIS was previously budgeted around $300,000. He also explained that the telecommunications non-reverting revenue fund is declining and that local governments generally cannot tax streaming services.

Key Outcomes

• No votes were taken during the hearing; all budgets remain under council review.
• Councilmember P. Mont Smith said he would pursue a detailed CIB spreadsheet and would talk with CIB and colleagues about preserving some Seminary Point housing or directing some or all land-sale proceeds to low-income housing.
• Several councilmembers said they would follow up in writing on outcome-based budgeting, public records accessibility, and other budget questions.
• Controller McKim outlined the budget schedule: advertise around September 9 or 10, with a September 13 drop-dead date; public hearing on September 23 at 6:30 p.m.; final adoption hearing on October 7 at 6:30 p.m. After advertisement, the budget can be lowered but not increased, and amendments can move money within a fund.