Seeing that we have a quorum and at 630 I'm gonna go ahead and call to order this Session of the Bloomington
Common Council here on January 7th. Will the clerk please call the roll? Councilmember Flaherty rough
Rollo Piedmont Smith Stasburg here Haley here Zulik here
Rosenberger here. Sorry 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 the Perry Township for almost 40 years, which I think is pretty
amazing overseeing the operations and administering aid
from the township to thousands of residents. So if you could join me in a moment of silence in his memory,
that would be great. Thank you. Thank you so much. Condolences go out to his 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.
First from council members. We don't have a report from the mayor and city offices. We don't have a
report from council committees 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 After reports are done. We will
have election of officers every year at the organizational meeting the president vice president and
parliamentarian Potentially swap around and so we will do that after that
Council members might switch up seats according to the newly elected president's assignments then we
all have assignments to council committees if the new president is prepared to do so and then appointments
to various boards and commissions and
That councilmembers belong on after that. We do have some legislation for first reading this evening
We have ordinance 20 2601 amending title 20 the unified development ordinance with regard to affordable
housing incentives and payment in lieu provisions Then we will have ordinance 20 2602 also amending
title 20 the unified development ordinance with regard to qualifying standards for PUD subsections and
That also should change AMI numbers as well, I believe. And then Ordinance 20-26-03 to amend Ordinance
20-25-40, which fix the salaries of appointed officers, non-union, and AFSCME employees. There are changes
to the AFSCME employee salaries based on new negotiations that completed late last year.
And then we do have one resolution tonight that we will actually discuss resolution 20 2601 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 there are members of the public who
want to speak to items not on the agenda this evening. We will have any notes on council schedule and
then we will adjourn.
So going back to the beginning starting with councilmember reports I'll go ahead and start down here
on my right tonight with councilmember Flaherty Just want to say a thank you to council leadership that
is outgoing Councilmember Sasberg Piedmont Smith and daily. Thank you for your service in those roles
this past year I think you did a great job. I appreciate it. Thank you Councilmember rough Just want
to Repeat what?
Councilmember Flaherty said about thinking leadership Thank You councilmember Rallo Also like to note
the passing of Dan combs I first knew of him when I moved to Bloomington as a writer for the HT As carp
combs and I think it was the Bloomington Herald telephone back then Before they changed their name around
1989 He was a local sage had wit humor wisdom and
He was a great Lamentonian person of kindness, and he was an advocate always for those in need as Perry
Township trustee, a real public servant. Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember Piedmont-Smith. Yes,
thank you. I, too, am more in the passing of Carp Combs.
dedicated public servant and I still have on my desk the report from the All the things that the Bloomington
town Perry Township offices did in the wake of the tornadoes last year and I will follow up on that
in his honor But I wanted to state a few other things just reflecting on the direction of our country
Yesterday, of course was the fifth anniversary of a violent insurrection at the US Capitol and
just like December 7th, 1941, the date of January 6th, 2021, should live in infamy. Donald Trump incited
thousands of his followers to attack the seat of our government based on lies about the 2020 election,
which Joe Biden did win. Adults, please tell your children and tell future generations about the illegal
attack by this misguided, violent mob. Don't believe what WhiteHouse.gov tells you or what any
mega textbooks may try to make future generations believe. This was an attempted coup by Donald Trump.
As we start the new year, I again feel compelled to call out the second Trump administration for violations
of the US Constitution and of international law. Killing sailors in international waters due to a suspicion
that they are carrying illegal drugs, that's a violation of international law.
Killing, kidnapping a foreign leader to take over a foreign government, yep, that's a violation
of international law. Going to war against Venezuela and running Venezuela, well, that sounds like war
to me, which is a power that only Congress has, and of course, violation of international law.
What's next, Colombia, Greenland, where does it end?
And then there's ICE shooting a woman in the face when she's trying to turn around in her car, a clear
violation of human decency and a cause for outrage. We cannot let these events go past without expressing
our total disdain for what is happening to our country. I don't recognize the U.S. anymore. I mean,
I pledge to uphold
the Indiana Constitution, the U.S. Constitution, it's being trampled on every day. I will keep speaking
out and using whatever small leverage I might have to fight back. That's all I've got, thanks.
Thank you. Down to the other end with Councilmember Asari. Thank you, Councilmember Rosenberger.
Thank you, Councilmember Zulik.
Thank you. Thank you councilmember daily. I Also just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the passing
of my trustee Dan Combs I did not know him. Well, I had only just recently been getting to know him and I
kept saying to myself that he is somebody that I can learn a lot from and had a lot of wisdom and lived
experience to pass on and I kept telling myself I need to get to know him better and I really regret
that I didn't have that opportunity and that time. But I am in awe of his body of work and just all
of the outpouring of emotion and support for him and so my condolences go to his family of course and
everybody who loved him and admired him
and just thank you for the time that we had with him. Thanks. Thank you. And I just want to announce
at the end of last year, I mentioned I was gonna do constituent meetings a little bit differently this
year and I'm gonna do them by appointment. So I have started adding that to my public calendar. Right
now there is a Tuesday during lunchtime, one Tuesday a month from 1130 to one where people can sign
up and make 15 minute
Individual appointments with me and I'm also going to add a weekend Virtual option. I just haven't quite
decided on which time yet or which weekend of the month But you can access that on my my public calendar
from my council page So and if anybody has any problems with that, you can you can email me And I also
just want to thank councilmember Piedmont Smith for the words that she shared earlier
So that wraps up councilmember reports So now we're going to with no reports from the mayor and city
offices and no reports from council committees move on to reports from the public So if there are any
members of the public who would like to share anything with us about items not on the agenda You can
if you're in chambers make your way to the podium And then you'll have up to three minutes If you're
online, you can raise your hand using the reactions tab or you can send a chat message to the host Let's
go ahead and start here in chambers. If you haven't already signed in please do that
And state your name for the record and you'll have three minutes. Thanks Chamber of Commerce, I don't
know if it's our time away, but there is a new year sheen here to the council and its representation
I want to thank this body for its seriousness of what it brings to the role the deliberation and long
thinking of this council demonstrates matters to the business community each year the chamber develops
its legislative priorities, this would be 2026
Based on our long-term commitments and member survey feedback through our annual survey that consists
of Them telling us local poly decisions that have real day-to-day impacts on businesses and their employees
And there were some clear themes on the top of that First it's not going to surprise anybody but housing
availability and affordability Employers struggle to attract or retain talent when housing is limited
or unaffordable predictable zoning timing
permitting, and infrastructure matters as much as policy intent, both residential and commercial entities.
The Chamber supports continued collaboration on this increased supply while maintaining thoughtful planning
standards. The second is workforce participation and readiness. The barriers of workplace do affect
those who can show up. Access to childcare, transportation reliability, cost of living directly impact
that workforce participation. Employers in value partnership with the school
The city and service providers alike continued coordination is essential for long-term instabilities
as we do a less with less Third not just anybody surprises the community safety and public order. This
is one of the most consistent and complex Concerns our members always bring up dominated the qualitative
text businesses want compassionate responses paired with accountability and
There's a strong support for better coordination between public safety the courts and service provider
and the goal is progress We want fewer interactions and better outcomes for everyone but across all
of these areas our Members emphasize one principle that the city should take heed with its predictability
of their services and process Clear timeliness transparent expectations and responsive departments build
confidence encourage local investment that predictability benefits employers residents residents and
the city and
The chamber's role is to bring an aggregated business input and work collaboratively towards solutions
that strengthen Bloomington We view this council as a partner in that work. I want to thank you for
your service We look forward to continuing dialogue and partnership in the coming months and I leave
you with our 2026 priorities with the council staff. Thank you very much Thank you
I don't see anybody else in chambers who looks like they would like to make a comment. Has anybody raised
a hand on Zoom? OK, great. Seeing no other public commenters, we will wrap that up then with a reminder
that there is another section at the end of the agenda if anybody changes their mind and wants to comment.
That means that we are on to number four election of officers. So at this point I will take nominations
from council members either as a slate of officers or as individuals. And if we have more than one person
for each office then we'll vote individually. So does anybody have anybody want to nominate anybody?
Councilmember Ruff. Councilmember Asari for president of the council for 2026. Councilmember Zulek is
vice president and I'm really hoping that Courtney Daley, Councilmember Daley will continue as parliamentarian.
Thank you. We have a motion and a second for councilmember Asari as president Zulek as vice president
and daily as parliamentarian Are there any other nominations from the floor? All right seeing none That
is what we have do any council members have any questions for councilmember Asari councilmember Zulek
or councilmember daily about the positions councilmember Piedmont Smith
Love to hear from each of the nominees how they would serve the council in this coming year Councilmember
sorry, would you like to start? And thank you. Thank you for the question because I think the the way
that it's formulated gets at the exact Impetus
here, which is that the role of the council president is to serve the other members of the council to
make sure that we can do our jobs as best as possible, as smoothly as possible, that our meetings run
crisply, succinctly, that the views of the minority are respected and aired, that we have a respect
for order and all of those type of things. So I am obviously those things.
I will say that I think that we can do a lot to improve in terms of both our communication amongst ourselves,
and so I'm very keen to look at ways to
minimize barriers to us communicating as a council, keeping us also aware of what's going on in the
rest of the city, I think is a core function of the president. So to update other council members on
the decisions that the mayor is making or things that are coming down the pike in terms of legislation.
And generally, just maintaining a wonderful work environment, which also, I think, applies to our staff.
So just making sure that this is a place where you all want to come on a weekly basis for 17 hours,
you know? And hopefully less than that. But that's, broadly speaking, would be my goals. Thank you.
Councilmember Zulik? Thank you.
the role of the vice president is a little bit different in that it is Primarily in place to offer seconds
and support for the president when needed I am really looking forward to working with our staff my work
schedule got changed up a little bit so I will be
hopefully in the office a little bit more and being able to offer that support to our staff, which I
am very much looking forward to. And then just something that's really important to me is I want to
center our focus on how council can re-center the people of Bloomington at the center of our political
universe. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Daly. Thank you for the question.
Some of you may remember I was I had to be fairly strongly encouraged to take on this role last year.
I was hesitant. I didn't have the confidence in it But councilmember Stossberg, thank you for
Believing in me and asking me to step up, I'm very glad that I did. Because over the course of the year,
I've come to really enjoy the work. And I saw that as helping our meetings move smoothly, fairly, and
in accordance with our rules. And so as we head into another busy year, I think there might be some
benefit in keeping things consistent so that everyone here can focus on the work that we were elected
to do. So I'd like to continue to approach the role in a similar way, neutral,
prepared focused on supporting the council as a whole I'm hopeful that I can make more scheduling meetings
this year depending on you know, if They're they're going to change days and times so It might fit better
with my schedule this year fingers crossed and so I would just really appreciate support. Thank you
Thank you Are there other questions from council members for the three nominees? I
Seeing none. I think probably we can do a voice vote on this as long as there's As long as after the
vote it appears that there's an obvious conclusion so all of those in favor of Having the councilmember
Asari as president council members who look as vice president and councilmember Daley as parliamentarian,
please say aye Aye, are there any opposed? Are there any abstentions?
All right. Thank you very much. Congratulations and thank you the three of you for your service So at
this point in our meeting now now we shift so councilmember Asari You will take my seat and Do you Stossberg?
Yes, may I have a moment? sure I wanted to thank you for your leadership in this past year and
I think you are a very hands-on leader. You did a lot of work trying to facilitate communications. And
if that's my phone, I apologize. How rude. But I wanted to present you with this ceremonial gavel to
commemorate your service in 2025. Thank you very much.
Thank you. I forgot that this was a thing. So this was a surprise thing. Thanks for keeping the surprise
alive, y'all. Thank you. So going back to what I was saying, Council Member Asari will take my seat
and Council Member Zulek will take Council Member Piedmont-Smith's seat. Council Member Asari, do you
have plans for how we're all supposed to sit this year? Because that's up to you. Okay, great. Why don't
we just switch for now and then you can tell us all from the middle.
But I'd be happy if any of you have any objections to this we can entertain them but Starting from the
right to the left Councilmember Flaherty staying where you are then councilmember Stossberg and Piedmont
Smith then presumably councilmember Zulek and then Then councilmember to my left councilmember daily
Rallo rough Rosenberger any objections All right
seeing none. Might be easier.
Rallo rough. If you have an objection to being rough Rallo, I mean.
So Thank you all so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you At this time we're gonna move to item Five
which is assignment to council committees and I am prepared to do that But we should There are a handful
of these that we that we still need to I think that have run out give me one second
As you know, many of the committees serve full terms. There are sort of four-year terms. And so many
of those we don't need to motion to continue. But there are some of these committees that need to be
reappointed. And so beginning with the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation, I'd be happy to
entertain a motion.
because this is supposed to be done by council member motion. Am I correct, council attorney Lainer?
Are you referring to appointments to boards and commissions or to council committees? Yeah, I'm supposed
to do committees. I'm sorry, let's go to committees first. Sorry, smooth start here. Let's start with
committees. So council committees, I would like to first start with Jack Hopkins.
I'm keeping the appointments as they are, but changing who the chair is, so that'll be Councilmember
Daley, Councilmember Ruff, Councilmember Rallo, and then myself, and appointing Councilmember Daley
as chair. And we'll be talking later about the resident appointments, so we will hold on those. For
committee and council processes, I'd like to appoint Councilmember Piedmont-Smith,
Councilmember Stosberg, Councilmember Zulek, and Councilmember Daley, and Councilmember Stosberg as
Chair. For the Sidewalk Committee, I'd like to appoint Councilmember Rosenberger, Councilmember Ruff,
Councilmember Zulek, and Councilmember Daley. For the Fiscal Committee, oh, sorry, and Chair is Councilmember
Rosenberger. For the Fiscal Committee, I'd like to appoint Councilmember Piedmont-Smith,
Councilmember Flaherty, Councilmember Rallo, and Councilmember Stosberg, and keep Councilmember
Piedmont-Smith as Chair. Did I mention the Chair of Committee on Processes? Yes. Good, okay. And then
interview committees, keeping them the same. Interview Committee A, myself, Councilmember Rosenberger,
and Councilmember Stosberg, and I will
Appoint myself as chair for interview committee be Councilmember rough Piedmont Smith and Daley with
councilmember rough being chair interview committee see Councilmember Zulik Rallo and Flaherty with
councilmember Zulik being chair President sorry I'm having trouble remembering the exact details. My
recollection is when we
This is with respect to interview committees. When we were introducing the plan of each committee member,
it was all nine council members, having a handful of board's commissions to which they are directed
as a liaison, our goal was to align the committees to the maximum extent possible so that you are on
the committee that is interviewing for appointments to the commissions with which you liaise. And I
think I was supposed to switch to committee B
Which is different than what you just said, so that's that's my question Good point and happy to make
that change Okay, but does does anybody have any issues with with changing councilmember Flaherty on
to be? I forget who I was supposed to swap with The plan was for myself and councilmember Flaherty switch
sounds good So in which case we're going to make count interview committee B will be rough
Daily Flaherty and interview committee C is Zulik Rallo Pete Monsmith and Chairs of B is rough chair
of C is Zulik Any other Concerns Comments Please President sorry, could you repeat the
Fiscal committee. Mm-hmm membership for the fiscal committee. It's Councilmember Piedmont Smith councilmember
Flaherty councilmember Rallo councilmember Stasberg with you as chair. Thank you And my reasoning there
if you're if you're curious I have removed myself from it because I think the one of our goals for the
fiscal committee is to get as much participation as possible in the budget process and councilmember
Flaherty always has
brilliant insight into the budget process. I think I will be able to be involved anyways, meeting with
the mayor and deputy mayor frequently. So I think that sort of gives us a broader spread of input into
the budget. So that was my thinking there. Any other things? OK. Seeing none, I'm going to move on to
appointments to boards and commissions. I'll entertain.
Any motions? We should start with the BDC if that is okay with everyone. So to remind everyone here
for the appointments of boards and commissions, the BDC is a one-term office, so is Downtown Bloomington,
Inc. And so those two need to be reappointed. The term for Economic Development Commission was cut in
half, and so I
Councilmember Flaherty's term on that. So we also need to reappoint somebody to Economic Development
Commission. So starting with with those and then the other ones are for our four-year appointments,
but Starting with those are there any motions? Council president, sorry be appointed to the Bloomington
Economic Development Corporation board
Second and attorney later. Are we okay to do this in a batch or do we need to do each one? individually,
I Think that you could do them as a slate And I also move that Councilman council vice president Sidney
Zoellick may be appointed to the downtown Bloomington incorporated board I Might move this is okay with
you all and as the chair shouldn't be moving but it's okay I
I'd like I would suggest that all of these stay the same unless anybody has a has a concern with that
So that would be that would be me staying in at the BDC Sid Councilman Zulik on downtown Bloomington
incorporated I can remain on Economic Development Commission and both for the city in the county and
then Councilmember Rosenbarger for the be you EA
I move that all of the previous Suggested council appointments be solidified for 2026 We have a motion
and a second can I do please um for those that are four-year terms, oh You don't need to reappoint.
So it's just those three so strike the Rosenberger from the from the proposal so we
Economic Development Commission city and county it says also a four-year term. I thought they ended
in 2026, right? Oh, it's just the just the county one. Yeah the city so we have to do the city but not
the county so we're Appointing the motion to be clear. Sorry myself to BDC the city and and Zulik to
stay at DBI and
We had a motion and a second Can I can I call connect? Can I just do a voice vote on this or would you
like to do a roll call? Let's do a voice vote all those in favor. I Any opposed That passes any abstentions,
okay moving on to the next one we have appointments to
Commission, Metropolitan Planning Organization, and the Transportation Commission. The Plan Commission
is a four-year term, so there's no one to appoint there. The MPO is supposed to be the president, but
I would like to ask that Councilmember Stossberg continue to serve in that role as the delegate of Council,
and then I'll accept any motions for Transportation Commission.
to reappoint Councilmember Flaherty to the Transportation Commission. We have a motion and a second.
All those in favor of keeping Councilmember Flaherty on the Transportation Commission? Aye. Any opposed?
Any abstentions? All right, that also passes. So we have Stasberg, Stasberg, Flaherty on transportation
and planning. Moving, please.
To actually take a vote for the Metropolitan Planning Organization, I Don't think so. I think I think
I think that it is by assigned go ahead As in their bylaws is if the designated representative Is unable
to serve an alternate representative may be appointed by the same
Department board commission, etc And in such cases the regular designee shall not be required to submit
a proxy statement for each meeting Otherwise, I mean I think that councilmember sorry could just submit
a proxy for every meeting or if we vote then he doesn't need to do that Okay, so so whatever you all
whatever you think would be easier. I think Let's vote for then As Berg be reappointed to the
metropolitan planning organization We have a motion in a second all those in favor. I have any opposed
any abstentions excellent Moving on to CDBG appointments. These are also one-year terms. I'll entertain
any motions. I
Moved to appoint councilmember daily to citizens advisory committee for community block community development
block grants social services and to appoint councilmember Rosenbarger for physical improvements We have
a motion or their seconds second We have a motion in the second and all those in favor Anyone opposed
abstentions
That also passes to remain as is. Then we have appointments to the tax advisory boards, namely this
is the Food and Beverage Tax Advisory Commission and the PSLIT for which we need four council members.
I move that Council Member Zulek be reappointed to the Food and Beverage Tax Advisory Committee
Council members daily Piedmont Smith Rallo and rough be appointed to the PS lit committee Second we
have a motion and a second All those in favor aye Any opposed? All right Then we have the utility services
board which has no designated term length and so serves at the
of the council currently, Council Member Flaherty has been serving in that role. Are there any motions?
I move that the Common Council reaffirm its appointment of Council Member Flaherty. Second. We have
a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Yay. That solves that. Fantastic.
Does that solve, is that all of the appointments we have to do? What are we missing? Where is that?
Sustainability and environment. Okay, so we next have appointments to sustainability and environment.
This is project 46 advisory committee, the Bloomington commission on sustainability because waste reduction
district board of Monroe County and the environmental resources advisory council.
Councilmember for 30 This briefly, um, I I had given up my seat on the advisory committee near in q4
of Last year for the project 46 because I was not able to attend the meetings consistently there there
a bit lengthier often in person always during the workday and I just Missed like three in a row or something.
So I felt like I was not functioning in that role due to work constraints
And so I don't feel able to continue service in that particular seat in 2026. Also, just to note, I
don't know if it qualifies exactly as an appointment, but similar situation with the city's climate
action team, which is an internal body that meets bimonthly to support implementation of the climate
action plan. It's run by Assistant Director for Sustainability, Sean Mia.
I had been serving that role for the last couple of years and then with increasing responsibilities
at work have found myself in a similar situation where I've missed several meetings in a row, don't
feel like I'm doing a great job in that particular role and would be supportive of someone else taking
it on if they're able. Noting that, I'm also happy to take on something else that meets in the evenings
as a trade of sorts. I'm not trying to shirk responsibility, just practical reality. So that's all I
have, thanks.
That the appointment to the waste reduction district of Montero County is per councilmember term. So
we don't need to vote on that through that Council member Stasper I think that councilmember rough is
in the first year of a two-year term on the environmental resources advisory council So I don't think
that that one needs a vote either. Is that does that sound correct to other people? Doesn't specify
on the sheet. So I don't know that attorney Lainer. I
Do you know the, it may be a moot point after we vote. I don't know the answer to that. That's what
I had on my organization sheet last year when I was doing this. That's okay. Yeah. Okay. I don't know
where it came from. Okay. So, so then, so then we all, we, we need to, um, is anyone interested in being
on project 46 advisory committee? Self self nominations. Anyone please.
I'm willing to do it if nobody else wants to do it and I can probably also Meet with the internal climate
committee as well I'm gonna put my name in for the internal climate action team, but not project 46.
So Yeah, that would be that would totally be fine with me we have some self nominations comments or
other self nominations and
the environmental resources advisory council, you can always reaffirm Councilmember Ruff's appointment
for the following year. Councilmember Ruff, are you happy to continue to serve there? All right.
Any motions? I have a question. Oh, please. Councilmember Rallo, are you still willing to serve on the
on BCOS? Because I think that you're at the end of a two-year term, but you've been doing it for a really
long time.
someone else is compelled to be on it and That would be for a two-year a two-year appointment, right?
Okay, any motions we have a couple of I think everybody has said what they'd like to be on any motions
please counselor Pema Smith I move that councilmember Stossberg be appointed for the project 46 Advisory
Committee and
that Councilmember Rallo be re-appointed as ex officio member of Commission on Sustainability, that
Councilmember Ruff be appointed to the Environmental Resource Advisory Council, and that Councilmember
Piedmont-Smith be appointed to the city's internal climate action team. Second. We have a motion and
a second. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Abstentions? That also passes. Is that the end of the
list? Okay.
Are there any others that we're forgetting to appoint people to? Jobs we need to give people Okay, any
final comments on this before we move on All right, excellent So with that we'll move to a legislation
for first reading. Are there any motions? 20 26-01 be introduced and read by the clerk by title and
synopsis only
May the clerk please read. Oh, there's been a motion in the second. Are we okay to take a vote on this?
Yes. We are, yes. Okay, all those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Awesome, may the clerk please read. Ordinance
2026-01 to amend Title 20 of the Bloomington Municipal Code regarding response to Resolution 20.
25-12 related to amending the affordable housing incentives and payment in lieu provisions. The synopsis
is as follows, ordinance 2026-01 amends title 20, the unified development ordinance in the following
manner. It increases the maximum impervious surface coverage allowance for single family detached and
duplex residential lots in the R1, R2, R3, and R4 zoning districts for owner occupancy
Occupancy projects using the affordable housing incentives to it increases the maximum impervious surface
coverage Allowance and decreases the landscape area for projects that meet tier two affordability standards
and three increases the dollar amount of an eligibility for payments in lieu of providing housing I
Move that ordinance 2026-02 be introduced and read by the clerk by title and synopsis only
second.
Ordinance 2026-02 to amend Title 20 of the Bloomington Municipal Code regarding response to Resolution
2025-17 related to amending the eligibility subsection, the qualifying standards for plan unit development
subsection and defined term section of Title 20. The synopsis is as follows. This ordinance amends Title
20, the unified development ordinance in the following manner. One, it reduces the area median income
eligibility percentage requirements for incentives
20.04.110C2. Two, it revises the qualifying standards for plan unit developments in 20.02.050B3.
And three, it eliminates the definition of workforce housing from defined terms in 20.07.010 Title 20,
the Unified Development Ordinance. I move that
Ordinance 2026-03 be introduced and read by the clerk by title and synopsis only second There's a motion
and a second all those in favor. Aye Any opposed? May the clerk please read Ordinance 2026-03 to amend
ordinance 2025-40 to fix the salaries of appointed officers non-union and ask me employees for all the
departments of the city of Bloomington Monroe County, Indiana
for the year 2026. The synopsis is as follows, ordinance 2026-03 amends ordinance 2025-40, the 2026
appointed and AFSCME employee salary ordinance to align with the approved 2026 work agreement between
local 2487 CBME, AFSCME and the city of Bloomington and makes other amendments to formalize the salary
ordinance with city pay policy.
Thank you, that concludes legislation for first readings. We're now going to move to legislation for
second readings and resolutions, which we have one thing. I move that resolution 2026-01 be introduced
and read by the clerk by title and synopsis only. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor?
Aye. All those opposed? May the clerk please read. Oh, that's to be introduced.
Oh no, she moved that she read it. May the clerk please read. Sorry. Go ahead. Sorry. Resolution 2026-01
to update membership requirements and program funding conditions of the Jack Hopkins Social Services
Funding Committee of the Common Council. The synopsis is as follows. This resolution sponsored by council
member Stossberg updates membership requirements and program funding conditions of the Jack Hopkins
Social Service Program Committee.
Move that resolution 2026-01 be adopted All right councilmember Stasberg do you have a presentation
I Don't have very much to say besides what is in the memo but last year there
were some incidents that made us have to look up the Jack Hopkins documentation to get clarity about
various responsibilities. And we realized that the documentation was spread out in various
funding resolutions over a number of years. And so to just kind of make it cleaner and easier to document,
I decided that it would be easier to have it in one.
one place and in one resolution instead of scattered all over the place it does make one change and
that is about the appointment of resident members which prior to now had just been the responsibility
of the chair and that was actually the thing that kind of sparked this because our resident members
need to have experience in social services and so that
Sometimes often would necessitate a conflict of interest Paperwork to be signed and so last summer it
was like a wait who needs to sign that for council and let's go back to the documentation and figure
it out where all the responsibilities are and so The change in here is to have the chair Recommend
appointments to the whole council. So then the council as a body is
makes those decisions enabling the council president as representative of the body to sign that paperwork.
And so that is the change. And we kind of decided on that change, we talked about putting it into interview
committees, but it just takes longer to process through interview committees. So we figured we would
kind of meet that difference by having the recommendation come from the chair. And due to timing, I'm
hoping that the new chair for next year, council member Daley feels prepared with those recommendations.
hear from her about that part before we decide on this for sure. We did advertise residence appointments
that were needed and so there are several applications and onboard and I've looked at those. It seems
like there are several people who have some qualifications. So yeah, I guess that's it. Oh, and I guess
the other thing that it also clarifies the term date because accessibility requirements now
Require term dates on things and there weren't really term dates anywhere. It was just kind of assumed
so That's what it does. Thanks. Thank you so much. Does anyone have any questions for the sponsor? Seeing
none does anyone want to speak in favor of this Not yet Anyone want to speak against Great, we'll go
to public comment then are there any members of the public who'd like to comment on
Resolution twenty twenty six oh one if so, please make your way to the podium or if you're online you
can Raise your hand Has anyone done so online Is there anyone No one all right coming back to the council
again, there's any would like to make comment on this councilmember daily. Yes, I'll make comment because
councilmember Stossberg asked for my
Thoughts on it as chair Which I'm very excited to be chairing. Thank you. Appreciate the support. I
I think yeah, this makes perfect sense. I I know we have some good applications in onboard. I haven't
sat down to Make those decisions yet to fully evaluate. I'll have those ready for next week But yep,
I support this. So thanks for bringing that forward. It sounds very common sense Councilmember Zulek
Thank you. I'll just thank council member Stasberg and say that anything that streamlines where information
can be found is critical at this juncture in time. So thank you very much for doing that work. And I
look forward to, I don't know, affirming appointments when it comes to the full council. Any other comments?
All right. Seeing none, happy to entertain a motion.
Oh, we already have a motion. I'm sorry. Um, and do we need to do this by roll call or can we do this
by those? Okay. So, um, dear clerk, will you please, um, call roll, um, resolution 20, 20, 601. Yes.
Stasberg. Yes. Piedmont Smith. Yes. Zulek. Yes. Sorry. Yes. Daily. Yes.
Rollo? Yes. Ruff? Yes. Rosenberger? Yes. That passes 9-0. All right. We are now moving to an additional
period of public comment. We have a maximum of 25 minutes for this. You can comment on anything that
was not on the agenda. So is there anyone online who would like to comment? Raise your hand, and we
will recognize you. Yay. We have someone online.
Please state your name if you would like to and go ahead. You'll have three minutes My name is Kevin
Keough. I'm a Bloomington resident a retired accountant and Currently an IT auditor. I want to acknowledge
upfront that I've raised this issue before I understand understand it may sound repetitive I continue
to raise it because I hold this conviction strongly and because I believe it directly affects transparency
and good governance and
I'm speaking tonight about the timeliness of the city's annual comprehensive financial report, the ACFR.
From both a citizen's perspective and my professional experience, the ACFR for a prior year should be
completed before the next rudge of process begins. For the year ended just in December 31st, 2025, that
means before August 1st, 2026. At the November 19th, 2025 Fiscal Committee,
The former controller was asked whether there was any way the upcoming 2025 ACFR could be completed
earlier than September 30th, 2026. The response given was no. Separately, we were told the 2024 ACFR
would be completed and published by December 31st, 2025. As of today, that still has not occurred.
Why this matter is straightforward. The ACFR is the city's audited financial foundation. When budgets
are developed without finalized audit results, decisions are made without the best verified information,
and citizens are left waiting to understand how their tax dollars are actually being managed. I looked
at a peer community, the city of Fishers, Indiana. They completed and published their 1231-24 ACFR by
July 31, 2025.
That demonstrates that earlier completion is not impossible. It is achievable with the right processes
and expectations. I am not here to criticize individuals, including the former controller. I am respectfully
asking the council to treat the ACFR timeliness as a governance priority, not simply a staff deliverable.
My request is simple. Please set clear expectations.
So future ACFRs are completed before the budget cycle starts, consistent with best practices and peer
communities. Thank you for your time and service to the community, and I guess a memorable closing line.
Some issues are worth repeating, not because they are loud, but because they are foundational. Thank
you so much. Thank you, Mr. Keough. Is there anyone else online who would like to make a comment?
Anyone in council chambers? All right. Well, seeing none, we should talk about council schedule, but
I don't have it in front of me. We have a next meeting next week. Is that in any other updates to council
schedule meetings upcoming that should be mentioned, things you'd like your colleagues to know? Please,
Council Member Piedmasz-Meth. Well, I just wanted to remind the chairs of the interview committees that
we have a lot of work to do.
I expect we'll be hearing from them and work with Deputy Clerk Crossley to schedule some meetings.
Any others. All right. All right. So we will see you all next week. This meeting is adjourned.