Hello and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annalise Poorman. The Monroe County Board of Health met for a special
session on October 12th. The board voted in favor of holding a hearing on whether to remove Health Officer
Sarah Ryderband. Board Chair Lisa Hanner Robinson says the vote is not a verdict. The board has voted
to hold a hearing under Indiana Code 16-20-1-28.
to consider whether cause exists to remove the health officer. I want to be clear that this bill reflects
no conclusion about the cause. The board has made no decision and none will be made until after the
hearing in open session once Dr. Ryderbrand has got full opportunity to respond. Hannah Robinson outlined
that the board has the authority to end the health officer's contract without a hearing.
We as a board decide to proceed with our contractual agreement that says that the health officer is
an at-will employee. We would honor giving the health officer an opportunity to discuss her case publicly.
County Attorney David Schilling said evidence for the hearing is allowed in any form, meaning it does
not have to be in writing. If there's oral testimony or statements regarding a factual situation or
a belief, that's fine to put into the record. It doesn't have to be in writing. The record, the record
or the meeting or the hearing will be recorded. And so anything that's said can be transcribed later
anyway. So.
No specific allegations were mentioned during the course of the meeting. The board voted five to zero
to schedule a hearing on the health officer's removal, which will take place on October 22nd. The Bloomington
City Council met on October 14th. Mayor Carrie Thompson gave the mayor's office report. She explained
that recently enacted snap cuts were affecting local residents and service agencies. She also updated
the council on the proposed police department site.
We disagreed with the idea that enforcement of pay-by-plate multi-space meters should be done through
license plate recognition technology. Those of you who are familiar with the flock debate know that,
well, we disagreed with it. We agree that the city does not have a data policy. And if this data were
collected, it would beg the question of how that data would be used.
So that's why we did not support this this endorsement after the mayor's report the transportation commission
presented its review of a parking study by walker consultants The commission supported eight of the
reports 12 recommendations including changes to parking rates better performance data updated garage
equipment and clear public information It disagreed with other recommendations including using license
plate recognition for parking enforcement
Parking Commission Chair Steve Volin explained. People have been warning about this for years and meanwhile
the industries themselves are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to prevent that regulation. So
are we helpless? I don't think so. I think that cities, municipalities at the local level can take action
to ban this dangerous technology. We wouldn't allow people to develop nuclear weapons
But we have laws against that. Federal government would act on that. But here there's a void. And so
this ordinance seeks to fill that void. And with it comes liability for these companies because they
cannot be producing something that would be illegal. Council member Dave Rollo then presented his proposed
ordinance to prohibit the deployment of artificial super intelligence in Bloomington.
We were given documentation on what we needed to do to bring the building up to compliance. We were
under the impression we were good to go. Once we took possession of the building in April and filed
for permits it started a chain reaction that ended up delaying us getting our permit for over five months.
All related to where bushes plants and trees were going as well as sidewalk modifications. This included
ripping out landscaping that was already in place that just needed a little freshing up and removing
most of the grass.
This delay caused us not to be able to build out inside until outside was resolved. With the five-month
delay, and after speaking with other companies in the building with us, we were able to directly account
for over $350,000 in additional costs and unexpected outside improvements, lease payments,
and lost revenue. The recommended changes were voted to move forward to a second reading.
The meeting then turned to Ordinance 2026-22, which would prohibit city use of automated license plate
readers and certain surveillance camera systems. Sponsors said that the measure responds to privacy
concerns and the reported misuse of surveillance data. Councilmember Isabel Piedmont-Smith began with
the general concerns around the ALPR technology. ALPR and surveillance camera data.
creates comprehensive databases that allow tracking and surveillance of all residents, regardless of
whether they are suspects of any crime. We affirm our commitment to freedom of speech, freedom of movement,
and assembly, which is threatened by the use of these cameras. We have ample evidence
that gives us reason to distrust the corporate vendors who have repeatedly violated local contracts
in regard to ALPRs and surveillance cameras. We also have no trust in the federal government authorities
that have accessed such data and repeatedly violated the civil rights of residents of this country.
Before voting, Council President Isa Kasari expressed support for the ordinance as a means of maintaining
checks on power.
because surveillance, as we know, as we've seen, has also been argued, can help us respond to violence,
sure, can help us respond and find those in danger, sure, but it can also create structures of power
that fundamentally alter the relationship between the citizen and the state.
And so a safe society must protect people from all forms of violence, and a free society must also protect
people from the unchecked power of the very institutions that are established to protect them. I just
wanted to make sure that I said that, because I think that it's critical that we're also thinking about
ourselves here in this legislation. So I'm done. The ordinance passed unanimously. Passes, hooray.
Thank you. The next Bloomington City Council meeting will be held on October 26th. On October 14th,
the Bloomington Arts Commission met to discuss removing the parade mural on the Bee Line Trail and the
impact of budget cuts from Senate Enrolled Act 1. Special Projects Manager Christina Elam described
the disrepair of the parade mural. The parade was a piece that was commissioned over 10 years ago.
with the Boys and Girls Club, and it was basically a picture of a parade connecting both locations.
So that's what it's about. And so we took a condition report in August, and then there was a you report
submitted to Parks about basically the damage that's been done to this piece. Outside of it, you know,
kind of falling over. Essentially, because it's so,
you know, over 10 years old, like it's fading, has some graffiti on it, there's no signage. And so,
you know, we're wanting to move to just remove it. We did contact the artist, Sam Bartlett, and they
also are okay with this removal and they also would want some of the panels for just repurposing it.
The commission voted to remove the mural.
Paige Sharp, Assistant Director for the Arts, encouraged the commission to reflect on their work over
the past year. And before we head into next year's work, I just wanted to take a step back and look
at it together, especially with the council asking all departments to really show our impact, telling
it impact-based budgeting. I think it's kind of important to just remember that our budget is never
guaranteed. And in lieu of SEA 1,
communities across the entire state have been financially hit pretty hard to make some difficult financial
choices to reduce their overall budget. So I think one of the things to continue to remember is like
what is the impact that the VA is making and how we can really start to deepen the thinking around that.
The next Bloomington Arts Commission will be on November 11th.
The Monroe County Election Board held a special meeting on Wednesday, October 14. The board started
with the Hoosier Hall Pass Workers Resolution that needed to be ratified from the last meeting. Clerk
Nicole Brown spoke about recruitment efforts at Bloomington High School North and Bloomington High School South.
Mr. Chair, Kylie, myself and the recruiters were at Bloomington High School North last week, and it
turned into a little competition between North and South, but we were successfully able to get a significant
number of high 16 and 17 year olds willing to serve on election day, incredible young people. And so
I will happily make the motion to
adopt the Hoosier Hall pass workers resolution today. The ratification of the resolution passed unanimously.
Next, Republican board member Danny Shields asked whether the use of sheriffs on election day and election
day workers resolutions need to be voted on. County Attorney Jeff Cockerill explained that the board
needed to approve an updated list of election workers submitted after its previous meeting.
Ferris said that the list included inspectors, judges, clerks, sheriffs, and Hoosier Hall Pass students.
The resolutions passed unanimously. Clerk Nicole Brown then started a discussion on enhanced voting,
an electronic ballot system used for military and overseas voters, as well as voters with vision and
print disabilities. Brown said concerns had been raised about problems with the system and asked Ferris
how many voters had been affected.
Yes, so the correct number of individuals who are eligible to use this is 601 as of today. Is it correct
that of that 1% 12 people had issues? It's right around that number. It's a estimate of 12 individuals
who had an issue and that that only amounts to 2% of that 1%. Yes, ma'am. And we would have that
With regular absentee by mail, election day voting, there's always, there's nothing you touch that doesn't
have like a 1% error rate, correct? Yes, ma'am. Farrah said approximately 12 voters had experienced
problems with enhanced voting, including missing signatures. Brown then asked whether those issues had
been resolved.
Yeah, so our absentee staff has been working digitally as well as myself on ensuring that those are
getting corrected. I've been back and forth in communication with enhanced at the beginning when we
were really seeing some larger issues that were resolved very quickly. I would say, if anything, we
were aided
12 hours at most for something to be updated and it was because they were going back to their developmental
team and getting answers and making sure that they had a full answer for us before they returned to
us. And in addition to that, anything that did come back as having an error, our absentee staff has
reached out to them directly through an email to ensure that those issues were resolved so that the
voters votes would be counted.
Brown said she had reached out to other county clerks and the Indiana Secretary of State's office about
her concerns. She also said most reported problems appeared to be user error rather than problems with
the system itself. Democratic board member Penny Githins raised questions about the training election
workers had received on enhanced voting and whether issues involving missing voter signatures had been
fully resolved.
Githans also asked whether missing signatures could invalidate ballots and expressed concerns about
ballots that had been returned through the mail. Ferris explained the process for those particular ballots.
We've asked enhanced about that. That was an option that the Secretary of State's office chose to leave
as an option for them to have that ability to print it and send it back to us. It doesn't change anything.
We still process it the same way. So those ballots that are being
done inside of enhanced ballot have to be remade with a official ballot by a bipartisan team for election
day for it to be scanned through our system through heart so it's not going to change the system that
we're using currently it just comes back goes into an envelope for us to keep it secure it's a separate
envelope than what they're mailing it back in
and we put it into an envelope in our office that's being used for all military and overseas and BPD
ballots and then they will be remade on election day. Giffins asked if this process was used for military
and overseas ballots in the primary and Ferris confirmed that it was not. Giffins went on to ask whether
the board needed to approve this process.
She said the board had not been made aware of the systems before problems arose and asked if
its implementation should have required a vote. Attorney Jeff Cockrell responded. This is an option.
I mean, it's not the it's not the required. So I would assume that there would be a decision point with
the election board on utilizing this or not. And again, I don't know if it went through a meeting and
it got approved or or not. I do think that
It's clearly a state program and the state has some confidence in it and went through a nice robust
process to choose it. I'm just saying that this election board was not made aware of this until there
was a problem and I feel that it's our responsibility to actually approve anything like this. Ferris
added that she did not think Monroe County had an option not to use enhanced voting.
I also want to add that at the state conference and December, they the way that it was printed presented
for the enhanced ballot was that this is what we're using and it wasn't necessarily brought across as
an option while at that conference, because I had stopped and talked to both Angie and Matthew about
enhanced because we had used we hadn't used it yet because it was the primary was coming up that would
have been the first time that we used it and I asked them some questions at that time and the way that
it was presented to me was definitely more so of a this is what we're using and less of a you have an
option to use this so that's why I wouldn't have thought that it would have came across to the election
board as a vote but then again I I'm just the election supervisor
When I actually read the contract between the secretary of state's office and enhanced voting LLC, it
said that it would be made available. It did not. The contract did not say that this is something that
would be used statewide. Republican board member Danny Shields asked if Monroe County was paying to
use the system. Cockrell said that the state was covering the cost, making the service free to counties.
So we get this from the state.
Are we paying them for this? My understanding is that it is provided to all the counties free of charge
is being paid for by the state. We chose to use something else from somebody else. Would we have to
pay for that? Assuming there's a cost associated with it. Alright, thank you.
The election board approved January 7th at 1.30 p.m. for its first regular meeting of 2027 with additional
election related meetings and proceedings expected before then. The Monroe County Council met on October
13th and approved new hiring exemptions. Discussion among council members pointed to a broader debate
about whether the county's hiring freeze is still necessary.
The council adopted the hiring freeze as a budgetary measure requiring departments to seek approval
before filling vacant positions. Councilmember Marty Hawk called on counselors to end the hiring freeze,
saying it has placed an unnecessary burden on county department heads.
Realistically, we know we don't have a hiring freeze. All we're doing is requesting the department heads
to come visit with us every time they turn around as if they have nothing else to do. Now, if we have
it in their budget and we don't intend to say no to anybody, let's just get rid of this hiring freeze.
Let the department heads run their departments. I wanted to do a pause before months ago to see where
we were going to be.
But we didn't, only thing we paused was making the meetings realistic because we say yes to everybody.
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
this ridiculous hiring first that we don't intend to freeze. Councilor Kate Wilts emphasized that the
departments must continue following the policy until the council decides otherwise. I don't disagree,
Councilor Hock.
and I look forward to having the conversation. But regarding the amendment, and this is not directed
at you at all, but I do want to put out there that this is specific to the cascade that happens from
just this position. While we are still in the hiring freeze, again, not directed specifically at you,
but it is not carte blanche to fill
open positions in your department. The discussion occurred as the council considered a request from
highway director Lisa Ridge to replace an assistant superintendent retiring at the end of this year.
Council members approved the hiring request by a unanimous vote, including permission to fill additional
vacancies created by internal promotions stemming from that position. Council member Trent Deckard defended
the council's approach.
piecemeal. I think that's what we do until that resolution is either sustained or stricken as we do
this. And I think we have a department head very clearly telling us the options here that this would
do for that while also being open to a public hire if that comes forward. But she also knows her processes
and I trust that.
The Monroe County Council will meet for its 2027 budget adoption on October 20th. And that is all for
Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman.