WEBVTT 00:00:04.738 --> 00:00:11.046 - Hello and welcome to Cats Creek. I'm Annalise Poorman. At their meeting on November 12th, the Monroe 00:00:11.046 --> 00:00:17.603 - County Commissioners voted three to zero to hire an attorney for the county's lawsuit over Steinsville's 00:00:17.603 --> 00:00:24.348 - agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. On November 10th, the town of Steinsville ratified 00:00:24.348 --> 00:00:30.656 - a controversial agreement between the town police department and ICE, which states that local police 00:00:30.656 --> 00:00:34.590 - officers can carry out federal immigration enforcement duties. 00:00:34.690 --> 00:00:41.624 - County Attorney Jeff Cockrell said that the City Attorney Larry Allen will handle most of the work for 00:00:41.624 --> 00:00:48.356 - free. As a reaction to a resolution that the community commissioners approved regarding Steinsville 00:00:48.356 --> 00:00:55.088 - and the town marshal's ability to enter into contracts for town marshal for the town of Steinsville 00:00:55.088 --> 00:01:02.090 - without going through the board, the Indiana Attorney General issued an opinion that said that the town 00:01:02.090 --> 00:01:04.446 - marshal didn't have to and that if 00:01:05.282 --> 00:01:11.927 - And it had threats against the county for fines and things related to ICE and ICE immigration, 00:01:11.927 --> 00:01:19.061 - which is, I guess, the underlying cause of what brought this to our attention, where the issue is who 00:01:19.061 --> 00:01:26.055 - has the authority to enter into contracts for a political subdivision. And so the commissioner said 00:01:26.055 --> 00:01:32.350 - it's a town board. The attorney general said not in this case and then made threats about 00:01:32.738 --> 00:01:39.252 - fines because of some statutory language about dealing with ICE. And so this is an agreement with Larry 00:01:39.252 --> 00:01:45.577 - Allen, who is an attorney in town. He used to work for the city of Bloomington. The vast majority of 00:01:45.577 --> 00:01:51.966 - the work is going to be pro bono under this agreement. It's just in the event that there is a hearing 00:01:51.966 --> 00:01:58.229 - or something that he has to attend, then he is going to charge $250 an hour for those limited times 00:01:58.229 --> 00:02:00.734 - with the hearing. And so he is going to 00:02:01.122 --> 00:02:07.712 - take on the brunt of the work on this. Commissioner Julie Thomas said that the commissioners filed the 00:02:07.712 --> 00:02:14.111 - lawsuit in Monroe County Circuit Court challenging who has the authority to make a decision in this 00:02:14.111 --> 00:02:15.966 - case. The lawsuit challenges 00:02:16.194 --> 00:02:22.727 - In October 6, 2026, advisory opinion from Indiana Attorney General Todd Burkita asserting police chiefs 00:02:22.727 --> 00:02:29.260 - and town marshals may enter into Section 287G agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 00:02:29.260 --> 00:02:35.542 - ICE, without approval from their city or town's council. Commissioner Jody Madeira says the dispute 00:02:35.542 --> 00:02:41.950 - is also about public accountability when local police take on federal immigration enforcement duties. 00:02:42.306 --> 00:02:47.287 - When a local police department takes on federal enforcement powers, the people who live there deserve 00:02:47.287 --> 00:02:52.316 - to know about it and the officials the elected should go on the record. Our message to Steinsville has 00:02:52.316 --> 00:02:57.394 - always been consistent with September's. This was your decision, not ours and not an attorney general's 00:02:57.394 --> 00:03:02.619 - and not a U.S. senator's. Make it in public and according to Indian law so that an audit trail is created. 00:03:02.619 --> 00:03:07.795 - And that's what this is all about. The county is asking a judge to block the agreement from being carried 00:03:07.795 --> 00:03:12.190 - out. Commissioner Lee Jones described what they're hoping to achieve with the litigation. 00:03:12.898 --> 00:03:21.098 - The lawsuit also seeks court orders temporarily and permanently prohibiting Steinsville from carrying 00:03:21.098 --> 00:03:29.297 - out the agreement until it is lawfully authorized and applicable statutory requirements are satisfied 00:03:29.297 --> 00:03:37.497 - and preventing the attorney general from taking enforcement action against the Monroe County Board of 00:03:37.497 --> 00:03:38.622 - Commissioners 00:03:38.786 --> 00:03:46.958 - or the county based on the resolution or lawsuit. The Monroe County Board of Commissioners is not asking 00:03:46.958 --> 00:03:55.051 - the court to overturn the town's decision and the lawsuit does not seek relief against ICE or any other 00:03:55.051 --> 00:04:01.822 - federal authorities. The commissioners say a hearing on the lawsuit has yet to be set. 00:04:01.986 --> 00:04:07.735 - The board also heard an update from the Monroe County Health Department on the rise in measles cases 00:04:07.735 --> 00:04:13.655 - across the state of Indiana. Director of Public Health Preparedness Linnea Amy explained. First of all, 00:04:13.655 --> 00:04:19.518 - there are no suspected or confirmed measles cases in Monroe County at this time, just to reassure you. 00:04:19.586 --> 00:04:26.538 - However, statewide, as of November 10, so Tuesday, the number of measles cases reported by the Indiana 00:04:26.538 --> 00:04:33.557 - Department of Health has risen to 153 known cases. That's up from 117 cases this time last week. During 00:04:33.557 --> 00:04:40.913 - public comment, Christopher M.G. from the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce asked about cost estimates 00:04:40.913 --> 00:04:48.135 - for two projects related to food and beverage tax revenue. He walked through what he sees as the long-term 00:04:48.135 --> 00:04:49.552 - costs of maintaining 00:04:49.552 --> 00:05:11.217 - Corry in the Uplands and Huntington Nature Preserve. MG also applauded the County Council for rejecting 00:05:11.217 --> 00:05:19.550 - an increase in commissioners' salaries. 00:05:19.682 --> 00:05:26.325 - county employees received 2% raises. Voters earlier in the month made affordability a clear concern 00:05:26.325 --> 00:05:33.632 - this election, and we should reflect that in how county government approaches its own spending. Commissioners 00:05:33.632 --> 00:05:40.607 - also approved a policy for handling disaster reimbursements by a 3-0 vote. Emergency Management Director 00:05:40.607 --> 00:05:47.317 - Jamie Nebel said that the county has held onto some of that funding since the 2023 tornado and state 00:05:47.317 --> 00:05:48.446 - disaster relief. 00:05:48.930 --> 00:05:55.527 - So the dollar amount comes from the funding that we've obtained in the past. So the 2023 tornado, that's 00:05:55.527 --> 00:06:02.250 - the FEMA funding that we had received that hasn't been dispersed back to its original expenditure. There's 00:06:02.250 --> 00:06:09.098 - some state disaster relief funding that we received in 2024 that hasn't been expended to where it originally 00:06:09.098 --> 00:06:15.381 - came from. So that money's just being held. And once we get this policy passed, then it will be put 00:06:15.381 --> 00:06:16.638 - where it came from. 00:06:17.026 --> 00:06:21.950 - The commissioners will meet again for their next regular session on Thursday, November 19th. 00:06:22.818 --> 00:06:29.872 - On November 10th, the Bloomington Commission on Sustainability met to discuss protecting heritage trees 00:06:29.872 --> 00:06:37.333 - in the city, as well as superintelligent AI. City Council Member Dave Rallo started the meeting by discussing 00:06:37.333 --> 00:06:44.116 - the city's ordinance barring superintelligent AI from being distributed or used within Bloomington. 00:06:44.116 --> 00:06:51.306 - The ordinance defined superintelligence as AI that can outperform humans in mental tasks and autonomously 00:06:51.306 --> 00:06:52.798 - rewrite its own code. 00:06:53.410 --> 00:07:00.902 - This is a technology that's not available yet, but it's on the horizon. It's what companies that Frontier 00:07:00.902 --> 00:07:08.111 - Labs are aiming to do. It's known to be extremely hazardous. The reason is multi-fold, but one reason 00:07:08.111 --> 00:07:15.390 - is in order to get there, they're endowing these models with what's called recursive self-improvement, 00:07:15.390 --> 00:07:21.822 - which is where the models themselves design the models. Right now there's human oversight. 00:07:21.954 --> 00:07:28.486 - but they're giving ever more latitude for the AI to utilize that. So this has been warned about for 00:07:28.486 --> 00:07:35.017 - years that this could result in an iterative loop of improvement to super intelligence, which would 00:07:35.017 --> 00:07:41.549 - be impossible for us to control potentially. People say, why don't you unplug it? It resides on the 00:07:41.549 --> 00:07:47.166 - internet. So where do you unplug it? It could be in any server anywhere in the world. 00:07:47.298 --> 00:07:54.142 - The Bloomington Commission on Sustainability also discussed giving the Neighborhood Planting Project 00:07:54.142 --> 00:08:01.528 - roughly $4,000 to fill funding gaps for next year's tree giveaway. Christopher Miles, Bloomington Commission 00:08:01.528 --> 00:08:08.373 - on Sustainability Treasurer, described the grant. The event is basically a distribution of thousands 00:08:08.373 --> 00:08:12.574 - of what are called small whips. They're very small trees that 00:08:12.834 --> 00:08:18.338 - can be bought quite cheaply in bulk and then distributed. The number we have for this is 6,000 that 00:08:18.338 --> 00:08:23.842 - are gonna be given away in town, and that's what this funding is for. They actually coordinate with 00:08:23.842 --> 00:08:29.567 - other projects around the state, so there's like tens of thousands of trees that get distributed around 00:08:29.567 --> 00:08:35.181 - the state. But this money is strictly for Bloomington. The commission approved the grant unanimously. 00:08:35.181 --> 00:08:40.190 - The next Bloomington Commission on Sustainability meeting will take place on December 8th. 00:08:41.218 --> 00:08:47.503 - The Monroe County Council met on Tuesday, November 10th. During the meeting, Health Department Director 00:08:47.503 --> 00:08:53.788 - of Public Health Preparedness, Linnea Amy, reported on the increasing measles outbreak and said updates 00:08:53.788 --> 00:09:00.315 - are available on their department's website and Facebook page. We're going to start providing some slightly 00:09:00.315 --> 00:09:06.782 - more regular updates. Typically, we provide them every couple of months so people don't get alert fatigue. 00:09:07.106 --> 00:09:13.684 - but as it is becoming more pressing, and as you can see on your map, a little closer to home as well, 00:09:13.684 --> 00:09:20.456 - we'll be offering some more regular updates as well. The council amended the meeting's agenda to discuss 00:09:20.456 --> 00:09:27.292 - a proposed increase in board of commissioners' salaries. The proposal failed unanimously with opposition, 00:09:27.292 --> 00:09:34.064 - citing previous commissioner increases, comparisons with other counties, and concerns about compensation 00:09:34.064 --> 00:09:35.870 - for other county employees. 00:09:35.970 --> 00:09:45.445 - Councilmember Kate Wilts said the commissioner's positions are part-time and that she could not justify 00:09:45.445 --> 00:09:54.555 - a raise while other county employees received less. This is not meant to be a lucrative position by 00:09:54.555 --> 00:10:04.212 - any stretch. As it stands now, this is still considered a part-time position and by nearly any standards, 00:10:04.212 --> 00:10:05.214 - being paid 00:10:05.602 --> 00:10:14.436 - I mean, 69,000 plus is much closer to full-time salary already than it is part-time. It's more than 00:10:14.436 --> 00:10:23.447 - I get paid in my full-time job. So there you have it. I mean, I can't look at the employees of Monroe 00:10:23.447 --> 00:10:32.458 - County government and say, you know, we had to stop at 2% and put you all through the wringer, but we 00:10:32.458 --> 00:10:35.550 - can afford to dig into our pockets 00:10:37.602 --> 00:10:45.253 - amazing $12,000 plus increase for the commissioners. It just it doesn't work. Council President Jennifer 00:10:45.253 --> 00:10:52.685 - Crossley said that the commissioners had not sufficiently justified their request. I don't think that 00:10:52.685 --> 00:11:00.263 - I've seen Commissioner Thomas anything that is from your office or from you that says that here is what 00:11:00.263 --> 00:11:06.238 - we have. This is where we are comparable to other counties and things. And to see 00:11:07.266 --> 00:11:14.217 - where we are versus what we get paid. So again, I guess I ask, show me the car facts, show us where 00:11:14.217 --> 00:11:21.238 - it is. Because right now, again, as I think it was Councilor Wilts that said this, the outliers, the 00:11:21.238 --> 00:11:28.328 - true outliers is the 700 plus employees that come here every single day that are not elected, that do 00:11:28.328 --> 00:11:35.557 - their job under some crazy ass situations. And they don't complain or sometimes maybe they do, but they 00:11:35.557 --> 00:11:37.086 - deserve so much more. 00:11:37.378 --> 00:11:45.050 - And it behooves me to have politicians literally ask for what you are looking for when we really should 00:11:45.050 --> 00:11:52.648 - be taking care of those that serve the public and serve our greater community every single day. During 00:11:52.648 --> 00:11:59.582 - public comment, local resident Kaden Smith spoke against the proposal focusing on inequities. 00:11:59.682 --> 00:12:05.922 - The issue of additional pay for the commissioners is not a question of whether we agree or disagree 00:12:05.922 --> 00:12:12.286 - with their job and how they are fulfilling their duties, but it's really an issue of pay equity here. 00:12:12.286 --> 00:12:18.589 - If we're giving all county employees a 2% COLA, elected officials and non-elected officials, I don't 00:12:18.589 --> 00:12:25.203 - understand why the commissioners feel that they should get more when what we've seen, we've seen multiple 00:12:25.203 --> 00:12:28.510 - substantial increases within the last few years that 00:12:29.186 --> 00:12:35.345 - the commissioners have gotten. And I just don't think like, yes, we can find the funds. I understand 00:12:35.345 --> 00:12:41.564 - that argument, but also we could use the funds for so many other things that, you know, if we were to 00:12:41.564 --> 00:12:47.662 - have a public vote, you know, the public would want to send it to so many other issues. The council 00:12:47.662 --> 00:12:54.430 - then moved to approve a hiring freeze exemption request from Monroe County courts to hire a full-time bailiff. 00:12:54.498 --> 00:12:59.974 - Court Administrator Jama Chandler explained the need for the position. We recently had a bailiff position 00:12:59.974 --> 00:13:05.243 - open. One of our bailiffs moved to Johnson County and took a position there. So we're requesting that 00:13:05.243 --> 00:13:10.408 - we can get his job filled as soon as possible. As you know, they play critical roles in maintaining 00:13:10.408 --> 00:13:15.781 - security within the Monroe County Justice Facility. We've been here a couple times this year requesting 00:13:15.781 --> 00:13:18.622 - to have the same position filled. So we're back again. 00:13:18.978 --> 00:13:26.657 - The council then moved on to approve a $110,000 grant appropriation for the health department's sexually 00:13:26.657 --> 00:13:34.043 - transmitted infection prevention work. The department's financial manager, Eric Gauss, described the 00:13:34.043 --> 00:13:41.795 - services funded by the program. Services provided by our dedicated staff include STIH IV testing, partner 00:13:41.795 --> 00:13:46.110 - notification and linkage to care, case follow-up to ensure 00:13:46.242 --> 00:13:53.974 - proper treatment and prevention, retention or reinfection, prevent reinfection and education and outreach 00:13:53.974 --> 00:14:01.341 - to promote prevention and safe practices. Just to give you a few current items that staff are doing. 00:14:01.341 --> 00:14:09.438 - Staff have been offering walk-in testing on Thursdays from 3 to 6 p.m. and averaging between 4 to 10 walk-ins. 00:14:09.634 --> 00:14:16.664 - each Thursday. Staff has also been providing outreach testing at Shalom, Indiana Recovery Alliance in 00:14:16.664 --> 00:14:23.764 - the back door. Next, the council considered two aviation-related appropriations, including funding for 00:14:23.764 --> 00:14:30.794 - the tornado recovery insurance deductible and pavement repair. The council later voted unanimously to 00:14:30.794 --> 00:14:38.238 - resume PAC meetings to consider a countywide salary study. Council member Peter Iverson voiced his support. 00:14:38.850 --> 00:14:45.530 - The need for a salary study that impacts every single department in county government has never been 00:14:45.530 --> 00:14:52.343 - more clear as it has been tonight, where we have yet another department coming and asking for a raise. 00:14:52.343 --> 00:14:59.023 - So what I said in my statement, I think was pretty forceful, but I think it's true. We do have these 00:14:59.023 --> 00:15:00.478 - different categories. 00:15:00.610 --> 00:15:07.208 - of employees and some folks are at the bottom there and we need to be looking out for every single employee 00:15:07.208 --> 00:15:13.440 - here in county government and so a county-wide salary study I think is the way to go. This study will 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:18.878 - include employee compensation, staffing levels, labor hour use and department workloads. 00:15:19.042 --> 00:15:26.667 - The Council also extended the existing suspensions of the overtime budget and KSA through the year of 00:15:26.667 --> 00:15:33.022 - 2027. The next regular Monroe County Council meeting is scheduled for November 24th. 00:15:34.082 --> 00:15:40.882 - The Ellitsville Town Council met on November 9th. Council members started the meeting by thanking voters 00:15:40.882 --> 00:15:47.358 - for narrowly passing the merger with Richland Township. The referendum needed majority support from 00:15:47.358 --> 00:15:53.963 - both inside and outside Ellitsville. Council member William Ellis acknowledged the close vote, saying 00:15:53.963 --> 00:16:01.022 - the town has work to do to earn the trust of residents outside Ellitsville. I just want to thank the voters. 00:16:01.506 --> 00:16:07.484 - for trusting us with the vision of moving forward with Ellisville Reorganization. I know those and it 00:16:07.484 --> 00:16:13.403 - was a very close race in the township part and we are going to do every effort to win your trust and 00:16:13.403 --> 00:16:19.440 - win your belief that this is actually something that's gonna be good for the entire community and just 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:25.593 - we had record turnout and I just wanna thank you. Council President Scott Oldham said putting the merger 00:16:25.593 --> 00:16:31.454 - into practice will have its complications. However, he says he is looking positively to the future. 00:16:31.778 --> 00:16:37.372 - I look forward to making this thing happen. It's very complicated. There's a lot of people have been 00:16:37.372 --> 00:16:43.133 - putting a lot of time and effort into this and it shows. And I think in the years to come, you're going 00:16:43.133 --> 00:16:48.838 - to see where this is a absolute turning point in the development of this town. So again, thank you and 00:16:48.838 --> 00:16:54.654 - congratulations to everyone. The two town governments are set to become one entity starting January 1st. 00:16:55.458 --> 00:17:03.205 - During the meeting, the council voted four to zero to release about $601,000 in bonds for the prominence 00:17:03.205 --> 00:17:11.099 - fields subdivision. Town manager Mike Farmer says the development will help meet the need for more housing 00:17:11.099 --> 00:17:18.624 - in the area. I just really appreciate the builders and the developers we have in town right now. It's 00:17:18.624 --> 00:17:23.198 - one of the prime needs of our community, of the whole county. 00:17:23.426 --> 00:17:32.347 - if not the whole nation of affordable housing, housing that looks good and is well built and the subdivision 00:17:32.347 --> 00:17:40.941 - looks good. So I really appreciate it and it's part of the reorganization effort that we keep this going 00:17:40.941 --> 00:17:49.290 - on. People need a place to live. Everybody's friends, family, especially their kids and someday their 00:17:49.290 --> 00:17:52.318 - kids' kids will need places to live. 00:17:52.418 --> 00:17:58.953 - And so I think it's a big deal, so I really appreciate the efforts that our developers and builders 00:17:58.953 --> 00:18:05.488 - make in Ellitsville. The Ellitsville Town Council will meet again on November 23rd. And that is all 00:18:05.488 --> 00:18:10.846 - for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman. 00:23:02.530 --> 00:23:27.070 - is what it looks like and where I found it.