WEBVTT 00:00:04.706 --> 00:00:11.313 - Hello and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annalise Poorman. On October 6, Mayor Carrie Thompson had a traveling 00:00:11.313 --> 00:00:18.045 - town hall at Jackson Creek Middle School. Thompson began by discussing the city's response to homelessness, 00:00:18.045 --> 00:00:24.839 - saying they hope to tackle the root causes such as affordable housing and a lack of mental health treatment. 00:00:24.839 --> 00:00:31.134 - She said if there's any city that could successfully address homelessness, Bloomington is the place. 00:00:31.266 --> 00:00:40.478 - and my administration really committed to working on the root causes of homelessness. 00:00:40.610 --> 00:00:49.139 - a lack of affordable housing, so we're working hard on that. We also are looking to county, state, and 00:00:49.139 --> 00:00:58.166 - federal partners to help on the untreated mental illness. There is a real deficit in mental health treatment 00:00:58.166 --> 00:01:04.542 - in our community and across the nation, and if you have read the president's 00:01:05.282 --> 00:01:14.373 - executive order related to homelessness. You'll note that he orders mental health treatment. Unfortunately, 00:01:14.373 --> 00:01:23.128 - that order cannot be fulfilled at this point because there's no funding and service providers available 00:01:23.128 --> 00:01:31.715 - to fulfill that part of the mission. Otherwise, I agree, we need to increase mental health provision. 00:01:31.715 --> 00:01:35.166 - While this is not unique to Bloomington, 00:01:35.266 --> 00:01:43.212 - I am firm in my belief that if there is any city in this country that can solve homelessness, it is 00:01:43.212 --> 00:01:51.316 - Bloomington, Indiana. Our numbers are relatively low compared to many other cities. We only have just 00:01:51.316 --> 00:01:56.958 - over 300 people who are experiencing homelessness, and what that means 00:01:57.538 --> 00:02:05.825 - in a city as innovative and compassionate as Bloomington is that we really have an opportunity to create 00:02:05.825 --> 00:02:13.797 - solutions that others have not tried and try them and work on them together until we actually figure 00:02:13.797 --> 00:02:16.638 - out what is dissolving the problem. 00:02:16.738 --> 00:02:23.456 - During the town hall, Director of Housing and Neighborhood Development, Anna Killian Hanson, outlined 00:02:23.456 --> 00:02:30.174 - the city's housing ecosystem. She said the demand for housing has outpaced our growth and new housing 00:02:30.174 --> 00:02:37.024 - development. One thing is for certain in the housing world, housing is an ecosystem. Your housing needs 00:02:37.024 --> 00:02:43.611 - change over time. The first place that you live after leaving the nest is likely not the same place 00:02:43.611 --> 00:02:45.982 - that will fit your needs over time. 00:02:46.082 --> 00:02:54.287 - space needs change, what you can afford changes, physical needs change, how you live your life changes. 00:02:54.287 --> 00:03:02.176 - The progression of needs through different stages of life is often referred to as a housing ladder. 00:03:02.176 --> 00:03:09.829 - Unfortunately, right now, Bloomington is the most housing cost burdened metro area in the state. 00:03:09.829 --> 00:03:11.486 - High cost, low wage. 00:03:11.650 --> 00:03:20.007 - 60% of our households are cost burdened, spending more than 30% of their monthly income on housing costs. 00:03:20.007 --> 00:03:27.891 - The demand for our housing has outpaced our growth of housing development. And 72% of our workforce 00:03:27.891 --> 00:03:32.542 - do not live in Bloomington. A lot want to, but they can't. 00:03:33.954 --> 00:03:41.146 - I don't know if any of you have bought or sold a house since 2020 or experienced what the market was 00:03:41.146 --> 00:03:48.480 - like. But if you did, you likely understood that if you wanted to buy a house, you had to compete with 00:03:48.480 --> 00:03:55.957 - at least eight other buyers. You had to likely waive inspections. You had to bid well over asking price. 00:03:55.957 --> 00:04:03.006 - And oftentimes, you had to ask for an appraisal gap. At that time, interest rates were so low that 00:04:03.234 --> 00:04:11.031 - It really was tolerable. The payments were tolerable. But right now, we are experiencing something called 00:04:11.031 --> 00:04:18.386 - the golden handcuffs. Folks are restricted from moving or buying a new home due to the low interest 00:04:18.386 --> 00:04:20.446 - rate on a current mortgage. 00:04:20.642 --> 00:04:26.799 - The golden handcuff effect occurs because refinancing or selling to buy a new home with current higher 00:04:26.799 --> 00:04:32.897 - interest rates would significantly increase monthly payments, making it financially difficult to move 00:04:32.897 --> 00:04:38.934 - even if other opportunities arose. Killian Hansen explained the city's focus on revising the unified 00:04:38.934 --> 00:04:45.032 - development ordinance, adding affordable housing units in the Hopewell neighborhood, and implementing 00:04:45.032 --> 00:04:48.798 - multifaceted strategies to promote diverse attainable housing. 00:04:49.058 --> 00:04:56.457 - We need to make it easier to build more types of housing in more places for more people without compromising 00:04:56.457 --> 00:05:03.448 - unique neighborhood character. We want a UDO that supports a thriving, diverse housing market, not one 00:05:03.448 --> 00:05:10.304 - that inadvertently makes it affordability harder to reach. We're currently performing an analysis of 00:05:10.304 --> 00:05:18.110 - our permitting process to identify obstacles to faster and more efficient approvals, and we're evaluating the UDO. 00:05:19.042 --> 00:05:26.484 - Hopewell is the former hospital site. It's one of the few areas within city limits that could potentially 00:05:26.484 --> 00:05:33.505 - put a dent in our housing needs. We currently have a project going with the housing authority who's 00:05:33.505 --> 00:05:41.088 - working on an adaptive reuse of the former, the original hospital site, the core building. It's a limestone 00:05:41.088 --> 00:05:49.022 - facing Rogers, limestone building facing Rogers. If you've driven by lately, you'd see the construction ongoing. 00:05:49.250 --> 00:05:55.836 - But Hopewell is also an interesting case study where the city is now a passenger to what developers 00:05:55.836 --> 00:06:02.685 - go through as they try to navigate our own red tape. Our community has been incredibly vocal. Residents 00:06:02.685 --> 00:06:09.469 - have asked for real options for first-time homebuyers, working families, long-term neighbors, not just 00:06:09.469 --> 00:06:10.654 - more of the same. 00:06:11.362 --> 00:06:18.720 - In June, the Redevelopment Commission took a new approach that uses pre-approved home designs on platted 00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:26.218 - lots to save time and money, welcome local builders to the table, and supports a healthy mix of attainable 00:06:26.218 --> 00:06:33.295 - and market rate homes. This course correction reflects a more realistic, community-centered strategy 00:06:33.295 --> 00:06:35.678 - that gets us where we want to go. 00:06:36.418 --> 00:06:43.243 - This new path is geared towards providing a diverse mix of housing types at a range of price points, 00:06:43.243 --> 00:06:50.473 - creating options for first-time home buyers, the local workforce, and families, not just luxury apartments 00:06:50.473 --> 00:06:57.433 - or student rentals. This pilot will demonstrate innovative solutions. We are also piloting an interest 00:06:57.433 --> 00:07:02.974 - rate buy-down program to help incentivize folks to unlock those golden handcuffs. 00:07:03.170 --> 00:07:10.236 - and climb up or down in that housing ladder influencing the overall market. Our community needs attainable 00:07:10.236 --> 00:07:17.104 - housing for the residents that work here. This administration is prioritizing just that. The mayor said 00:07:17.104 --> 00:07:23.773 - that the city needs to rethink the geography of the housing market. She described her vision for the 00:07:23.773 --> 00:07:30.641 - future of College Mall and the east side of the city, including redeveloping the east side into a mixed 00:07:30.641 --> 00:07:32.094 - use area for housing. 00:07:32.514 --> 00:07:40.987 - One of my ultimate visions for Bloomington is that we stop thinking in this way of we only have one 00:07:40.987 --> 00:07:46.494 - downtown because Bloomington has a city center, but then we have 00:07:46.658 --> 00:07:55.699 - economic centers, commercial centers, both east and west, and we have a good little pod developing south, 00:07:55.699 --> 00:08:04.569 - and even some new interest north. And that's the way, as we grow population, grow wages, we really need 00:08:04.569 --> 00:08:13.184 - to think of ourselves that way, that you can go to many different places and have a great experience 00:08:13.184 --> 00:08:16.254 - in Bloomington, dining or shopping, 00:08:16.386 --> 00:08:25.054 - going to a hardware store, etc. So my ultimate vision for College Mall would be that it becomes vibrant 00:08:25.054 --> 00:08:32.222 - again, that that piece of real estate becomes vibrant again. I think we know that for 00:08:32.770 --> 00:08:41.189 - For many, a traditional mall is no longer how people want to spend their time. And so we've seen lots 00:08:41.189 --> 00:08:50.104 - of great redevelopment of mall properties in many different ways throughout the country. And so ultimately, 00:08:50.104 --> 00:08:58.110 - if we could activate that area, I think we'd have a lot more vibrancy throughout that east side. 00:08:58.818 --> 00:09:09.361 - I will say that I think the stores that are facing outward, that little section that faces College Mall 00:09:09.361 --> 00:09:14.430 - Road at the intersection of 3rd and College Mall, 00:09:14.530 --> 00:09:22.561 - That does pretty well, so that should tell us something. But we've seen malls get redeveloped into housing, 00:09:22.561 --> 00:09:30.145 - get redeveloped into mixed use, and really thrive. And so we have a real opportunity there should the 00:09:30.145 --> 00:09:37.729 - owners of College Mall want to do something really fun in Bloomington, which we would love it if they 00:09:37.729 --> 00:09:44.496 - did. Thompson closed the hour-long session by inviting residents to share input on housing 00:09:44.496 --> 00:09:50.477 - initiatives through the city's website and future town hall meetings. The Monroe County Board 00:09:50.477 --> 00:09:57.476 - of Commissioners met on October 9th. The meeting began with an update from Monroe County Health Administrator 00:09:57.476 --> 00:10:04.030 - Lori Kelly. The update included insight into emergency visits for COVID and wastewater concentrations. 00:10:04.386 --> 00:10:11.852 - According to the Indiana Department of Health dashboard, emergency department visits for COVID-like 00:10:11.852 --> 00:10:19.392 - illness have decreased and wastewater concentrations are decreasing as well. Flu activity across the 00:10:19.392 --> 00:10:26.857 - state is minimal. The CDC recommends an annual flu vaccine for all people six months and older. And 00:10:26.857 --> 00:10:32.606 - the community health clinic at 333 East Miller Drive has vaccines available. 00:10:32.930 --> 00:10:39.716 - You can call 812-353-3244 for more information or for an appointment. Then resident of Steinsville, 00:10:39.716 --> 00:10:46.502 - Molly Radecki thanked Commissioner Jody Madeira for helping with the sewage and stormwater issue in 00:10:46.502 --> 00:10:53.695 - her home. Radecki stated that thanks to Madeira's help, she has the tools to keep her home from flooding. 00:10:53.695 --> 00:11:01.092 - She also explained her efforts to reach out to certain groups for a developmental plan towards Steinsville's 00:11:01.092 --> 00:11:02.110 - sewage issues. 00:11:02.370 --> 00:11:09.585 - I just wanted to publicly thank Commissioner Maderas for helping me with my stormwater issue and sewage 00:11:09.585 --> 00:11:16.799 - issue. We've come to an agreement with South Central Sewage District in Binyamfanyam. We have the tools 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:23.806 - that will work now, which is a backflow device and a backflow valve that will keep me from flooding. 00:11:23.938 --> 00:11:31.143 - With that said, Steinsville has a unique infrastructure and needs help. And so I have reached out to 00:11:31.143 --> 00:11:38.561 - the Center for Rural Engagement. I did put in a grant. It's not a grant application, but an application 00:11:38.561 --> 00:11:39.774 - for partnership. 00:11:39.874 --> 00:11:46.721 - for the sustainable Hoosier communities. I don't know if we'll get it or not, but it's a step in the 00:11:46.721 --> 00:11:53.500 - right direction. They also have tremendous resources and one of the resources they recently gave me 00:11:53.500 --> 00:11:58.110 - was the Regional Development Authority and I will be writing them a 00:11:58.306 --> 00:12:04.159 - a letter of inquiry for a development plan and the person we really need to get involved in this is 00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:10.070 - Bruce Payton who works for Hanson Professional Services. It's a civil engineering service and I just 00:12:10.070 --> 00:12:16.040 - want to put that name in your head, Bruce Payton. He was born in Steinsville. He remembers when there 00:12:16.040 --> 00:12:22.127 - was a train coming through and he can give us the right plan for Steinsville. Commissioner Julie Thomas 00:12:22.127 --> 00:12:28.272 - responded saying she was glad things were resolved and agreed that Steinsville's sewage system is unique 00:12:28.272 --> 00:12:36.574 - I'm glad things worked out. I know we did it some ARPA funding related to the 00:12:37.858 --> 00:12:45.262 - to the sewage issue, septic issue, and I know it is unique. Then county assessor Judy Sharp presented 00:12:45.262 --> 00:12:52.594 - a request for funding for master services agreement to have three flights take new aerial imaging of 00:12:52.594 --> 00:13:00.216 - the county over a six year period. The total funding would be $450,000 and six cents. The imaging called 00:13:00.216 --> 00:13:07.838 - pictometry is aligned with Beacon GIS. Sharp outlined the request and her excitement for the new imaging 00:13:07.842 --> 00:13:14.280 - which will have one-inch pixels. What's happened, and since we started this, you know what's happened 00:13:14.280 --> 00:13:20.591 - in this county as well as I do. Look at the development. And this pictometry is another tool in our 00:13:20.591 --> 00:13:24.062 - toolbox and everybody else's that works in the county. 00:13:24.194 --> 00:13:30.736 - And the public, they use this tool like you cannot believe every appeal I have. They've used the tools 00:13:30.736 --> 00:13:37.214 - that we have, which is fine, that's why we do this. But I think this one inch is gonna be so exciting 00:13:37.214 --> 00:13:43.692 - when it finally comes in. Commissioner Thomas pointed out the lack of accurate property lines on GIS. 00:13:43.692 --> 00:13:50.234 - Sharp said the issue is a matter of cost and emphasized that the service is not perfect. So that's why 00:13:50.234 --> 00:13:53.918 - the taxpayers, the customers out there need to understand 00:13:54.146 --> 00:14:02.194 - This is a phenomenal tool, but it's not perfect. It's not a survey. And you and somebody that's on the 00:14:02.194 --> 00:14:10.164 - planning commission and all of that kind of stuff really understands that. The Monroe County Board of 00:14:10.164 --> 00:14:13.758 - Commissioners will meet again on October 3rd. 00:14:14.626 --> 00:14:21.905 - The Bloomington Board of Park Commissioners met on October 8. Operations and Development Division Director 00:14:21.905 --> 00:14:28.776 - Rebecca Swift opened the discussion by talking about the proposed milestone rail trail improvements. 00:14:28.776 --> 00:14:32.382 - The total is not to exceed $212,000 or $212,280,000. 00:14:32.642 --> 00:14:38.291 - Speak right now, sorry, words, numbers. Anyway, milestone provide all necessary material labor equipment 00:14:38.291 --> 00:14:43.887 - to complete the Bloomington ranch arrive to frosting. Mostly this is to realign the frosting to improve 00:14:43.887 --> 00:14:49.482 - pedestrian safety. We're going to be putting in a new street light as well as an rapid flashing beacon. 00:14:49.482 --> 00:14:51.742 - That's going to be pedestrian controlled. 00:14:52.098 --> 00:14:58.161 - We are planning to pave each side of the road a certain section of the rail trail, but just to clarify, 00:14:58.161 --> 00:15:03.991 - the rail trail will remain an unpaved trail for the most part. This is just to improve the apron on 00:15:03.991 --> 00:15:09.880 - each side of the Rockham Street. There was a little bit of grading needed and some site restoration, 00:15:09.880 --> 00:15:15.768 - but other than that, it's a pretty straightforward project. The motion to approve passed unanimously 00:15:15.768 --> 00:15:17.342 - and without any questions. 00:15:17.442 --> 00:15:23.266 - In order to move forward with the rail trail improvements, Swift also pushed for the approval of the 00:15:23.266 --> 00:15:29.031 - temporary closure of the rail trail. In order to do the project I just presented to you, we do need 00:15:29.031 --> 00:15:34.913 - to close temporarily, but full closure of the rail trail in this corridor. We're estimating less than 00:15:34.913 --> 00:15:40.736 - 30 days. I put in here an estimated start date of October 15th, knowing that we had a delay a little 00:15:40.736 --> 00:15:44.830 - bit for this special session, probably be more closer to October 20th. 00:15:44.962 --> 00:15:50.876 - The contractor is estimating 21 days. It will not require a full trail closure that entire time, but 00:15:50.876 --> 00:15:57.142 - it's better to assume the full construction schedule with. And there will be some temporary road closures, 00:15:57.142 --> 00:16:03.056 - but obviously that is outside of this application. I am just requesting park board's approval of the 00:16:03.056 --> 00:16:08.970 - temporary full trail closure of the rail trail. That motion also passed unanimously. The Bloomington 00:16:08.970 --> 00:16:12.542 - board of park commissioners will meet again on October 21st. 00:16:13.474 --> 00:16:20.603 - The Bloomington Utilities Service Board met on October 6. Environmental Division Manager Kelsey Thetonia 00:16:20.603 --> 00:16:27.800 - requested approval of an amendment to a service agreement with McAllister Machinery. This is an amendment 00:16:27.800 --> 00:16:34.590 - to an existing contract we have, and it is just to correct a small scrivener's error in the way the 00:16:34.590 --> 00:16:41.515 - contract was first written. It is meant to renew for two extra years after year one. We are currently 00:16:41.515 --> 00:16:42.398 - in year two. 00:16:42.562 --> 00:16:48.677 - and it is just to clarify the amounts that year two and three are not the same as year one and that 00:16:48.677 --> 00:16:54.853 - is due to the fact that the work in the contract, the inspection and maintenance on these generators 00:16:54.853 --> 00:17:01.152 - varies from year to year as outlined in the scope. The board approved the amendment unanimously. Next, 00:17:01.152 --> 00:17:07.695 - Assistant Director of Operations Hector Ortiz requested approval for an amendment to the service agreement 00:17:07.695 --> 00:17:10.814 - with Potomac Electrical Services. This is to amend 00:17:11.842 --> 00:17:18.046 - the contract, extending the expiration of the contract for three years instead of three months. 00:17:18.370 --> 00:17:25.992 - It was. Next, utilities director Catherine Zager presented another resolution which included settling 00:17:25.992 --> 00:17:33.839 - the 2026 salaries of appointed officers, non-union and AFSCME employees within the utilities department. 00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:41.909 - We are not proposing any new positions. However, we are proposing quite a few changes to current positions. 00:17:41.909 --> 00:17:48.336 - This is kind of added up after a couple of years as the new administration and new HR 00:17:48.336 --> 00:17:58.184 - department had made adjustments using the crow salary study. We wanted to wait until after that had 00:17:58.184 --> 00:18:08.230 - been implemented to propose our changes. So this is has, I suppose, piled up after a couple of years. 00:18:08.230 --> 00:18:16.798 - So we will be changing a total of I believe 10 positions for a total of nine requests. 00:18:17.410 --> 00:18:25.616 - to Council and we would like for your review and recommendation of these changes. The resolution was 00:18:25.616 --> 00:18:34.471 - approved and will move forward to the Bloomington City Council for final consideration. The next Bloomington 00:18:34.471 --> 00:18:39.102 - Utilities Board meeting will take place on October 20th. 00:18:40.098 --> 00:18:46.747 - The Bloomington City Council met on October 8th to discuss approval of the 2026 budget. This followed 00:18:46.747 --> 00:18:53.332 - weeks of scrutiny and growing tension between the council and Mayor Kerry Thompson's administration. 00:18:53.332 --> 00:18:59.981 - The 2026 budget for the City of Bloomington totals over $65 million, with a $9 million deficit in the 00:18:59.981 --> 00:19:06.630 - general fund. Councilmember Sydney Zulik walked through the three appropriation ordinances pertaining 00:19:06.630 --> 00:19:07.934 - to the city budget. 00:19:08.258 --> 00:19:14.866 - The committee of the whole considered the three budget ordinances appropriation ordinance 2025 dash 00:19:14.866 --> 00:19:21.606 - 11 appropriation ordinance 2025 dash 12 and appropriation ordinance 2025 dash 13 during the committee 00:19:21.606 --> 00:19:28.808 - of the whole meeting on September 24th 2025 and makes the following recommendations number one the committee 00:19:28.808 --> 00:19:35.614 - of the whole recommends to the council the adoption of appropriation ordinance 2025 dash 11 number two 00:19:36.162 --> 00:19:42.265 - The committee of the whole recommends to the council the adoption of appropriation ordinance 2025 12 00:19:42.265 --> 00:19:48.308 - and number three the committee of the whole recommends to the council the adoption of appropriation 00:19:48.308 --> 00:19:49.758 - ordinance 2025 dash 13. 00:19:50.146 --> 00:19:56.727 - City Controller Jessica McClellan told the council that the proposed budget would reduce the projected 00:19:56.727 --> 00:20:03.244 - deficit but would leave some cushion. McClellan said that the city would end up with an estimated $26 00:20:03.244 --> 00:20:09.761 - million cash balance and a $9 million planned deficit. This is just a little bit more information for 00:20:09.761 --> 00:20:11.742 - you about the deficit spending 00:20:12.386 --> 00:20:21.467 - for next year, which is about $9 million. And that is purely from the revenues that we're receiving 00:20:21.467 --> 00:20:30.548 - next year versus the spending that we have planned for next year. And I'm gonna update you one more 00:20:30.548 --> 00:20:39.902 - time about the planned, the planned cash balance on the general fund at the end of 2026 is 26,161,215. 00:20:41.058 --> 00:20:48.617 - So that $26 million is 40% of the operating budget. So we would have 40% reserves of our total operating 00:20:48.617 --> 00:20:55.960 - budget. During public comment, local resident Eric Ost called for stronger transparency when it comes 00:20:55.960 --> 00:21:03.231 - to the city's debt. Transparency, as the Thomson administration has said, is a value means more than 00:21:03.231 --> 00:21:08.990 - posting data. It means understandable, making it understandable and accessible. 00:21:10.018 --> 00:21:17.553 - The controller's goal to meet the public where they are is a great start. It's commendable. To truly 00:21:17.553 --> 00:21:25.087 - be co-creators, council and administration should actively invite public input on budget engagement, 00:21:25.087 --> 00:21:32.995 - making trade-offs visible and using modern tools such as Notebook LM to foster ongoing informed dialogue. 00:21:32.995 --> 00:21:38.814 - Perhaps we could formalize public participation by inviting residents to join 00:21:39.266 --> 00:21:46.128 - the fiscal committee or the budget task force. Leveraging community expertise will strengthen our shared 00:21:46.128 --> 00:21:52.860 - path towards fiscal health. Thank you for your service to our community and for all of your good work. 00:21:52.860 --> 00:21:59.526 - Also during public comment, retired financial auditor, Kevin Kehoe urged the council to delay passage 00:21:59.526 --> 00:22:06.846 - of the budget, citing unresolved accounting errors. I'm concerned that the administration still is not provided 00:22:07.106 --> 00:22:15.368 - a clear documented explanation for the so-called macro errors that reduce the projected budget deficit 00:22:15.368 --> 00:22:23.870 - by $2.3 million, a material and significant error. When errors of that size appear between the accounting 00:22:23.870 --> 00:22:31.892 - system and the budget document, the cause and impact should be fully reconciled and shared with the 00:22:31.892 --> 00:22:35.742 - public before this council votes. Anything less 00:22:35.874 --> 00:22:43.688 - leaves both the council and the community in the dark, whether the budget numbers are reliable. I understand 00:22:43.688 --> 00:22:51.287 - that mistakes can happen in data transfers or spreadsheets. What's troubling is the lack of transparency. 00:22:51.287 --> 00:22:58.814 - There has been no reconciliation, no errata sheet, and no technical explanation of how the macros failed 00:22:58.814 --> 00:23:04.190 - or which accounts were affected. From a professional auditing perspective, 00:23:04.738 --> 00:23:11.561 - I would urge the council not to approve the 2026 budget until those explanations can be made public 00:23:11.561 --> 00:23:18.452 - and the corrected figures verified. And I would also add, since I have some more time than I thought 00:23:18.452 --> 00:23:25.616 - I'd have, today's Herald Times, the front page. The mayor and city needs to cut spending. Thompson plans 00:23:25.616 --> 00:23:32.030 - to use, and this is the figure, today's paper, $11 million in reserves to balance the budget. 00:23:32.194 --> 00:23:37.687 - directly conflicts with what the controller said this evening. So anyway, I thank you for this opportunity 00:23:37.687 --> 00:23:43.078 - to provide public input. Council member Matt Flaherty said that he would not vote to approve the budget, 00:23:43.078 --> 00:23:48.469 - citing trust issues with the Thompson administration. I'm not going to be voting in favor of this year's 00:23:48.469 --> 00:23:53.654 - civil city budget because I don't feel like I can in good conscience. Not a decision I make lightly, 00:23:53.654 --> 00:23:59.198 - but it's a vote that's consistent with my values and what I think is right. And I'll do my best to explain. 00:23:59.198 --> 00:24:01.406 - I probably will be a little short on time. 00:24:02.178 --> 00:24:07.745 - It's also a bit about accountability for me, and I think the budget is a very poor accountability mechanism. 00:24:07.745 --> 00:24:13.107 - There are much better avenues through conversation and collaboration, negotiation and agreements, things 00:24:13.107 --> 00:24:18.214 - that have largely proven ineffective in my experience with this administration for 20 months. And I 00:24:18.214 --> 00:24:23.577 - think without real accountability, we won't see real change, and so that's really the motivating factor. 00:24:23.577 --> 00:24:29.195 - First, I think we are very much failing to meaningfully center our operationalized equity in city government, 00:24:29.195 --> 00:24:31.646 - which is central for me as an elected official. 00:24:31.810 --> 00:24:36.807 - Second, in ways that I think are harming our community, I believe this administration is failing to 00:24:36.807 --> 00:24:42.053 - prioritize and pursue the outcomes we've set through community-driven legislative processes. And, third, 00:24:42.053 --> 00:24:47.100 - quite sadly, really, I no longer consistently trust what this administration tells us based on their 00:24:47.100 --> 00:24:52.096 - past actions and a pattern of behavior exhibited throughout their time in office. Also not in favor 00:24:52.096 --> 00:24:57.393 - of the budget was Councilmember Kate Rosenberger, who says that she's lost trust with the mayor's office. 00:24:57.393 --> 00:24:58.142 - It's hard that 00:24:58.242 --> 00:25:06.304 - This is just one example of a place that like all honesty it just feels blown to pieces and I I do follow 00:25:06.304 --> 00:25:13.909 - councilmember Flaherty in that like the lack of trust is so extreme for me. I want to use a no vote 00:25:13.909 --> 00:25:14.974 - to show that. 00:25:15.330 --> 00:25:22.257 - Other council members, including Dave Rollo, Isabel Piedmont-Smith, and Andy Ruff supported the budget. 00:25:22.257 --> 00:25:29.184 - However, they urged fiscal caution amid state-imposed revenue limits. They praised the administration's 00:25:29.184 --> 00:25:36.111 - move to provide a 2.7% cost of living adjustment for city employees. The council passed the 2026 budget 00:25:36.111 --> 00:25:43.038 - with a vote of seven to two. The next Bloomington City Council meeting will take place on October 15th. 00:25:43.714 --> 00:25:51.454 - And that is all for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman.