WEBVTT 00:00:07.522 --> 00:00:15.209 - Hello and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annalise Poorman. The Monroe County Board of Health met for a special 00:00:15.209 --> 00:00:22.968 - session on October 12th. The board voted in favor of holding a hearing on whether to remove Health Officer 00:00:22.968 --> 00:00:30.365 - Sarah Ryderband. Board Chair Lisa Hanner Robinson says the vote is not a verdict. The board has voted 00:00:30.365 --> 00:00:33.918 - to hold a hearing under Indiana Code 16-20-1-28. 00:00:34.210 --> 00:00:42.110 - to consider whether cause exists to remove the health officer. I want to be clear that this bill reflects 00:00:42.110 --> 00:00:49.562 - no conclusion about the cause. The board has made no decision and none will be made until after the 00:00:49.562 --> 00:00:57.461 - hearing in open session once Dr. Ryderbrand has got full opportunity to respond. Hannah Robinson outlined 00:00:57.461 --> 00:01:04.094 - that the board has the authority to end the health officer's contract without a hearing. 00:01:04.770 --> 00:01:18.990 - We as a board decide to proceed with our contractual agreement that says that the health officer is 00:01:18.990 --> 00:01:34.206 - an at-will employee. We would honor giving the health officer an opportunity to discuss her case publicly. 00:01:34.978 --> 00:01:41.856 - County Attorney David Schilling said evidence for the hearing is allowed in any form, meaning it does 00:01:41.856 --> 00:01:48.600 - not have to be in writing. If there's oral testimony or statements regarding a factual situation or 00:01:48.600 --> 00:01:55.546 - a belief, that's fine to put into the record. It doesn't have to be in writing. The record, the record 00:01:55.546 --> 00:02:02.357 - or the meeting or the hearing will be recorded. And so anything that's said can be transcribed later 00:02:02.357 --> 00:02:03.166 - anyway. So. 00:02:03.810 --> 00:02:10.267 - No specific allegations were mentioned during the course of the meeting. The board voted five to zero 00:02:10.267 --> 00:02:17.231 - to schedule a hearing on the health officer's removal, which will take place on October 22nd. The Bloomington 00:02:17.231 --> 00:02:23.689 - City Council met on October 14th. Mayor Carrie Thompson gave the mayor's office report. She explained 00:02:23.689 --> 00:02:30.146 - that recently enacted snap cuts were affecting local residents and service agencies. She also updated 00:02:30.146 --> 00:02:33.438 - the council on the proposed police department site. 00:02:33.762 --> 00:02:41.711 - We disagreed with the idea that enforcement of pay-by-plate multi-space meters should be done through 00:02:41.711 --> 00:02:49.583 - license plate recognition technology. Those of you who are familiar with the flock debate know that, 00:02:49.583 --> 00:02:57.532 - well, we disagreed with it. We agree that the city does not have a data policy. And if this data were 00:02:57.532 --> 00:03:02.910 - collected, it would beg the question of how that data would be used. 00:03:03.042 --> 00:03:10.143 - So that's why we did not support this this endorsement after the mayor's report the transportation commission 00:03:10.143 --> 00:03:16.598 - presented its review of a parking study by walker consultants The commission supported eight of the 00:03:16.598 --> 00:03:23.118 - reports 12 recommendations including changes to parking rates better performance data updated garage 00:03:23.118 --> 00:03:29.767 - equipment and clear public information It disagreed with other recommendations including using license 00:03:29.767 --> 00:03:32.478 - plate recognition for parking enforcement 00:03:32.834 --> 00:03:40.691 - Parking Commission Chair Steve Volin explained. People have been warning about this for years and meanwhile 00:03:40.691 --> 00:03:48.111 - the industries themselves are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to prevent that regulation. So 00:03:48.111 --> 00:03:55.822 - are we helpless? I don't think so. I think that cities, municipalities at the local level can take action 00:03:55.822 --> 00:04:02.078 - to ban this dangerous technology. We wouldn't allow people to develop nuclear weapons 00:04:02.850 --> 00:04:09.378 - But we have laws against that. Federal government would act on that. But here there's a void. And so 00:04:09.378 --> 00:04:15.907 - this ordinance seeks to fill that void. And with it comes liability for these companies because they 00:04:15.907 --> 00:04:22.823 - cannot be producing something that would be illegal. Council member Dave Rollo then presented his proposed 00:04:22.823 --> 00:04:28.382 - ordinance to prohibit the deployment of artificial super intelligence in Bloomington. 00:04:28.994 --> 00:04:34.208 - We were given documentation on what we needed to do to bring the building up to compliance. We were 00:04:34.208 --> 00:04:39.423 - under the impression we were good to go. Once we took possession of the building in April and filed 00:04:39.423 --> 00:04:45.002 - for permits it started a chain reaction that ended up delaying us getting our permit for over five months. 00:04:45.002 --> 00:04:50.477 - All related to where bushes plants and trees were going as well as sidewalk modifications. This included 00:04:50.477 --> 00:04:55.743 - ripping out landscaping that was already in place that just needed a little freshing up and removing 00:04:55.743 --> 00:04:56.734 - most of the grass. 00:04:57.122 --> 00:05:03.137 - This delay caused us not to be able to build out inside until outside was resolved. With the five-month 00:05:03.137 --> 00:05:09.210 - delay, and after speaking with other companies in the building with us, we were able to directly account 00:05:09.210 --> 00:05:14.473 - for over $350,000 in additional costs and unexpected outside improvements, lease payments, 00:05:14.473 --> 00:05:19.678 - and lost revenue. The recommended changes were voted to move forward to a second reading. 00:05:20.482 --> 00:05:28.098 - The meeting then turned to Ordinance 2026-22, which would prohibit city use of automated license plate 00:05:28.098 --> 00:05:35.493 - readers and certain surveillance camera systems. Sponsors said that the measure responds to privacy 00:05:35.493 --> 00:05:43.035 - concerns and the reported misuse of surveillance data. Councilmember Isabel Piedmont-Smith began with 00:05:43.035 --> 00:05:49.246 - the general concerns around the ALPR technology. ALPR and surveillance camera data. 00:05:49.570 --> 00:05:57.238 - creates comprehensive databases that allow tracking and surveillance of all residents, regardless of 00:05:57.238 --> 00:06:05.437 - whether they are suspects of any crime. We affirm our commitment to freedom of speech, freedom of movement, 00:06:05.437 --> 00:06:11.966 - and assembly, which is threatened by the use of these cameras. We have ample evidence 00:06:12.258 --> 00:06:18.851 - that gives us reason to distrust the corporate vendors who have repeatedly violated local contracts 00:06:18.851 --> 00:06:25.775 - in regard to ALPRs and surveillance cameras. We also have no trust in the federal government authorities 00:06:25.775 --> 00:06:32.368 - that have accessed such data and repeatedly violated the civil rights of residents of this country. 00:06:32.368 --> 00:06:39.357 - Before voting, Council President Isa Kasari expressed support for the ordinance as a means of maintaining 00:06:39.357 --> 00:06:40.478 - checks on power. 00:06:40.866 --> 00:06:46.140 - because surveillance, as we know, as we've seen, has also been argued, can help us respond to violence, 00:06:46.140 --> 00:06:51.261 - sure, can help us respond and find those in danger, sure, but it can also create structures of power 00:06:51.261 --> 00:06:55.166 - that fundamentally alter the relationship between the citizen and the state. 00:06:55.298 --> 00:07:02.037 - And so a safe society must protect people from all forms of violence, and a free society must also protect 00:07:02.037 --> 00:07:08.461 - people from the unchecked power of the very institutions that are established to protect them. I just 00:07:08.461 --> 00:07:15.011 - wanted to make sure that I said that, because I think that it's critical that we're also thinking about 00:07:15.011 --> 00:07:21.246 - ourselves here in this legislation. So I'm done. The ordinance passed unanimously. Passes, hooray. 00:07:34.434 --> 00:07:41.756 - Thank you. The next Bloomington City Council meeting will be held on October 26th. On October 14th, 00:07:41.756 --> 00:07:49.298 - the Bloomington Arts Commission met to discuss removing the parade mural on the Bee Line Trail and the 00:07:49.298 --> 00:07:56.621 - impact of budget cuts from Senate Enrolled Act 1. Special Projects Manager Christina Elam described 00:07:56.621 --> 00:08:03.870 - the disrepair of the parade mural. The parade was a piece that was commissioned over 10 years ago. 00:08:04.194 --> 00:08:11.796 - with the Boys and Girls Club, and it was basically a picture of a parade connecting both locations. 00:08:11.796 --> 00:08:19.703 - So that's what it's about. And so we took a condition report in August, and then there was a you report 00:08:19.703 --> 00:08:27.533 - submitted to Parks about basically the damage that's been done to this piece. Outside of it, you know, 00:08:27.533 --> 00:08:31.486 - kind of falling over. Essentially, because it's so, 00:08:31.682 --> 00:08:38.630 - you know, over 10 years old, like it's fading, has some graffiti on it, there's no signage. And so, 00:08:38.630 --> 00:08:45.647 - you know, we're wanting to move to just remove it. We did contact the artist, Sam Bartlett, and they 00:08:45.647 --> 00:08:52.664 - also are okay with this removal and they also would want some of the panels for just repurposing it. 00:08:52.664 --> 00:08:55.582 - The commission voted to remove the mural. 00:08:55.810 --> 00:09:02.739 - Paige Sharp, Assistant Director for the Arts, encouraged the commission to reflect on their work over 00:09:02.739 --> 00:09:09.533 - the past year. And before we head into next year's work, I just wanted to take a step back and look 00:09:09.533 --> 00:09:16.463 - at it together, especially with the council asking all departments to really show our impact, telling 00:09:16.463 --> 00:09:23.256 - it impact-based budgeting. I think it's kind of important to just remember that our budget is never 00:09:23.256 --> 00:09:25.566 - guaranteed. And in lieu of SEA 1, 00:09:25.794 --> 00:09:33.879 - communities across the entire state have been financially hit pretty hard to make some difficult financial 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:41.511 - choices to reduce their overall budget. So I think one of the things to continue to remember is like 00:09:41.511 --> 00:09:49.445 - what is the impact that the VA is making and how we can really start to deepen the thinking around that. 00:09:49.445 --> 00:09:54.206 - The next Bloomington Arts Commission will be on November 11th. 00:09:55.362 --> 00:10:01.334 - The Monroe County Election Board held a special meeting on Wednesday, October 14. The board started 00:10:01.334 --> 00:10:07.426 - with the Hoosier Hall Pass Workers Resolution that needed to be ratified from the last meeting. Clerk 00:10:07.426 --> 00:10:14.174 - Nicole Brown spoke about recruitment efforts at Bloomington High School North and Bloomington High School South. 00:10:14.658 --> 00:10:22.759 - Mr. Chair, Kylie, myself and the recruiters were at Bloomington High School North last week, and it 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:31.589 - turned into a little competition between North and South, but we were successfully able to get a significant 00:10:31.589 --> 00:10:39.772 - number of high 16 and 17 year olds willing to serve on election day, incredible young people. And so 00:10:39.772 --> 00:10:42.526 - I will happily make the motion to 00:10:42.658 --> 00:10:50.196 - adopt the Hoosier Hall pass workers resolution today. The ratification of the resolution passed unanimously. 00:10:50.196 --> 00:10:57.595 - Next, Republican board member Danny Shields asked whether the use of sheriffs on election day and election 00:10:57.595 --> 00:11:04.580 - day workers resolutions need to be voted on. County Attorney Jeff Cockerill explained that the board 00:11:04.580 --> 00:11:10.942 - needed to approve an updated list of election workers submitted after its previous meeting. 00:11:11.394 --> 00:11:18.339 - Ferris said that the list included inspectors, judges, clerks, sheriffs, and Hoosier Hall Pass students. 00:11:18.339 --> 00:11:25.020 - The resolutions passed unanimously. Clerk Nicole Brown then started a discussion on enhanced voting, 00:11:25.020 --> 00:11:31.700 - an electronic ballot system used for military and overseas voters, as well as voters with vision and 00:11:31.700 --> 00:11:38.579 - print disabilities. Brown said concerns had been raised about problems with the system and asked Ferris 00:11:38.579 --> 00:11:40.894 - how many voters had been affected. 00:11:41.538 --> 00:11:51.650 - Yes, so the correct number of individuals who are eligible to use this is 601 as of today. Is it correct 00:11:51.650 --> 00:12:01.569 - that of that 1% 12 people had issues? It's right around that number. It's a estimate of 12 individuals 00:12:01.569 --> 00:12:10.910 - who had an issue and that that only amounts to 2% of that 1%. Yes, ma'am. And we would have that 00:12:11.266 --> 00:12:18.102 - With regular absentee by mail, election day voting, there's always, there's nothing you touch that doesn't 00:12:18.102 --> 00:12:24.491 - have like a 1% error rate, correct? Yes, ma'am. Farrah said approximately 12 voters had experienced 00:12:24.491 --> 00:12:31.072 - problems with enhanced voting, including missing signatures. Brown then asked whether those issues had 00:12:31.072 --> 00:12:32.030 - been resolved. 00:12:32.610 --> 00:12:38.885 - Yeah, so our absentee staff has been working digitally as well as myself on ensuring that those are 00:12:38.885 --> 00:12:45.160 - getting corrected. I've been back and forth in communication with enhanced at the beginning when we 00:12:45.160 --> 00:12:51.436 - were really seeing some larger issues that were resolved very quickly. I would say, if anything, we 00:12:51.436 --> 00:12:52.126 - were aided 00:12:52.386 --> 00:12:58.368 - 12 hours at most for something to be updated and it was because they were going back to their developmental 00:12:58.368 --> 00:13:03.907 - team and getting answers and making sure that they had a full answer for us before they returned to 00:13:03.907 --> 00:13:09.446 - us. And in addition to that, anything that did come back as having an error, our absentee staff has 00:13:09.446 --> 00:13:14.985 - reached out to them directly through an email to ensure that those issues were resolved so that the 00:13:14.985 --> 00:13:16.702 - voters votes would be counted. 00:13:17.218 --> 00:13:23.679 - Brown said she had reached out to other county clerks and the Indiana Secretary of State's office about 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:30.077 - her concerns. She also said most reported problems appeared to be user error rather than problems with 00:13:30.077 --> 00:13:36.414 - the system itself. Democratic board member Penny Githins raised questions about the training election 00:13:36.414 --> 00:13:42.812 - workers had received on enhanced voting and whether issues involving missing voter signatures had been 00:13:42.812 --> 00:13:43.806 - fully resolved. 00:13:44.386 --> 00:13:50.337 - Githans also asked whether missing signatures could invalidate ballots and expressed concerns about 00:13:50.337 --> 00:13:56.763 - ballots that had been returned through the mail. Ferris explained the process for those particular ballots. 00:13:56.763 --> 00:14:02.952 - We've asked enhanced about that. That was an option that the Secretary of State's office chose to leave 00:14:02.952 --> 00:14:09.319 - as an option for them to have that ability to print it and send it back to us. It doesn't change anything. 00:14:09.319 --> 00:14:13.246 - We still process it the same way. So those ballots that are being 00:14:13.538 --> 00:14:20.179 - done inside of enhanced ballot have to be remade with a official ballot by a bipartisan team for election 00:14:20.179 --> 00:14:26.569 - day for it to be scanned through our system through heart so it's not going to change the system that 00:14:26.569 --> 00:14:33.084 - we're using currently it just comes back goes into an envelope for us to keep it secure it's a separate 00:14:33.084 --> 00:14:35.966 - envelope than what they're mailing it back in 00:14:36.066 --> 00:14:42.657 - and we put it into an envelope in our office that's being used for all military and overseas and BPD 00:14:42.657 --> 00:14:49.574 - ballots and then they will be remade on election day. Giffins asked if this process was used for military 00:14:49.574 --> 00:14:56.425 - and overseas ballots in the primary and Ferris confirmed that it was not. Giffins went on to ask whether 00:14:56.425 --> 00:14:59.166 - the board needed to approve this process. 00:14:59.842 --> 00:15:05.558 - She said the board had not been made aware of the systems before problems arose and asked if 00:15:05.558 --> 00:15:11.766 - its implementation should have required a vote. Attorney Jeff Cockrell responded. This is an option. 00:15:11.766 --> 00:15:18.158 - I mean, it's not the it's not the required. So I would assume that there would be a decision point with 00:15:18.158 --> 00:15:24.427 - the election board on utilizing this or not. And again, I don't know if it went through a meeting and 00:15:24.427 --> 00:15:27.070 - it got approved or or not. I do think that 00:15:28.738 --> 00:15:34.980 - It's clearly a state program and the state has some confidence in it and went through a nice robust 00:15:34.980 --> 00:15:41.347 - process to choose it. I'm just saying that this election board was not made aware of this until there 00:15:41.347 --> 00:15:47.652 - was a problem and I feel that it's our responsibility to actually approve anything like this. Ferris 00:15:47.652 --> 00:15:52.958 - added that she did not think Monroe County had an option not to use enhanced voting. 00:15:53.250 --> 00:16:00.361 - I also want to add that at the state conference and December, they the way that it was printed presented 00:16:00.361 --> 00:16:07.270 - for the enhanced ballot was that this is what we're using and it wasn't necessarily brought across as 00:16:07.270 --> 00:16:14.110 - an option while at that conference, because I had stopped and talked to both Angie and Matthew about 00:16:14.338 --> 00:16:20.157 - enhanced because we had used we hadn't used it yet because it was the primary was coming up that would 00:16:20.157 --> 00:16:25.976 - have been the first time that we used it and I asked them some questions at that time and the way that 00:16:25.976 --> 00:16:31.738 - it was presented to me was definitely more so of a this is what we're using and less of a you have an 00:16:31.738 --> 00:16:37.613 - option to use this so that's why I wouldn't have thought that it would have came across to the election 00:16:37.613 --> 00:16:41.342 - board as a vote but then again I I'm just the election supervisor 00:16:41.602 --> 00:16:48.159 - When I actually read the contract between the secretary of state's office and enhanced voting LLC, it 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:54.780 - said that it would be made available. It did not. The contract did not say that this is something that 00:16:54.780 --> 00:17:01.208 - would be used statewide. Republican board member Danny Shields asked if Monroe County was paying to 00:17:01.208 --> 00:17:07.957 - use the system. Cockrell said that the state was covering the cost, making the service free to counties. 00:17:07.957 --> 00:17:09.950 - So we get this from the state. 00:17:11.330 --> 00:17:18.091 - Are we paying them for this? My understanding is that it is provided to all the counties free of charge 00:17:18.091 --> 00:17:24.591 - is being paid for by the state. We chose to use something else from somebody else. Would we have to 00:17:24.591 --> 00:17:29.662 - pay for that? Assuming there's a cost associated with it. Alright, thank you. 00:17:29.922 --> 00:17:37.408 - The election board approved January 7th at 1.30 p.m. for its first regular meeting of 2027 with additional 00:17:37.408 --> 00:17:44.754 - election related meetings and proceedings expected before then. The Monroe County Council met on October 00:17:44.754 --> 00:17:51.890 - 13th and approved new hiring exemptions. Discussion among council members pointed to a broader debate 00:17:51.890 --> 00:17:56.158 - about whether the county's hiring freeze is still necessary. 00:17:56.706 --> 00:18:03.765 - The council adopted the hiring freeze as a budgetary measure requiring departments to seek approval 00:18:03.765 --> 00:18:11.178 - before filling vacant positions. Councilmember Marty Hawk called on counselors to end the hiring freeze, 00:18:11.178 --> 00:18:16.190 - saying it has placed an unnecessary burden on county department heads. 00:18:16.450 --> 00:18:23.355 - Realistically, we know we don't have a hiring freeze. All we're doing is requesting the department heads 00:18:23.355 --> 00:18:30.063 - to come visit with us every time they turn around as if they have nothing else to do. Now, if we have 00:18:30.063 --> 00:18:36.837 - it in their budget and we don't intend to say no to anybody, let's just get rid of this hiring freeze. 00:18:36.837 --> 00:18:43.545 - Let the department heads run their departments. I wanted to do a pause before months ago to see where 00:18:43.545 --> 00:18:44.926 - we were going to be. 00:18:45.634 --> 00:18:52.824 - But we didn't, only thing we paused was making the meetings realistic because we say yes to everybody. 00:18:52.824 --> 00:18:59.874 - I mean, and I'm happy to say yes, you know, that's fine. But I just think we just need to get rid of 00:18:59.874 --> 00:19:06.993 - this ridiculous hiring first that we don't intend to freeze. Councilor Kate Wilts emphasized that the 00:19:06.993 --> 00:19:14.113 - departments must continue following the policy until the council decides otherwise. I don't disagree, 00:19:14.113 --> 00:19:15.230 - Councilor Hock. 00:19:15.426 --> 00:19:24.275 - and I look forward to having the conversation. But regarding the amendment, and this is not directed 00:19:24.275 --> 00:19:33.124 - at you at all, but I do want to put out there that this is specific to the cascade that happens from 00:19:33.124 --> 00:19:42.060 - just this position. While we are still in the hiring freeze, again, not directed specifically at you, 00:19:42.060 --> 00:19:45.214 - but it is not carte blanche to fill 00:19:45.698 --> 00:19:52.521 - open positions in your department. The discussion occurred as the council considered a request from 00:19:52.521 --> 00:19:59.412 - highway director Lisa Ridge to replace an assistant superintendent retiring at the end of this year. 00:19:59.412 --> 00:20:06.576 - Council members approved the hiring request by a unanimous vote, including permission to fill additional 00:20:06.576 --> 00:20:13.945 - vacancies created by internal promotions stemming from that position. Council member Trent Deckard defended 00:20:13.945 --> 00:20:15.582 - the council's approach. 00:20:15.810 --> 00:20:22.984 - piecemeal. I think that's what we do until that resolution is either sustained or stricken as we do 00:20:22.984 --> 00:20:30.230 - this. And I think we have a department head very clearly telling us the options here that this would 00:20:30.230 --> 00:20:37.907 - do for that while also being open to a public hire if that comes forward. But she also knows her processes 00:20:37.907 --> 00:20:39.198 - and I trust that. 00:20:39.938 --> 00:20:47.715 - The Monroe County Council will meet for its 2027 budget adoption on October 20th. And that is all for 00:20:47.715 --> 00:20:53.662 - Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman.