WEBVTT 00:00:04.770 --> 00:00:15.812 - In the town council of Eltsville, Indiana Monroe County is a joint board looking toward the agenda this 00:00:15.812 --> 00:00:26.854 - evening which deals with consolidation First we'll do roll call the members. So we'll start to one edge 00:00:26.854 --> 00:00:33.118 - I guess Shipboard David Willoughby Richland Township board 00:00:33.698 --> 00:00:41.312 - Don Durnall, Richland Township Board. Scott Oldham, Town of Ellitsville. William Ellis, Town of Ellitsville. 00:00:41.312 --> 00:00:48.716 - Traverse Mayor, Town of Ellitsville. I will now certify that there is a quorum present from both councils 00:00:48.716 --> 00:00:55.980 - so we can move forward with that. We'll now begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. Stand please. I pledge 00:00:55.980 --> 00:01:02.686 - allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, 00:01:03.010 --> 00:01:13.714 - One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Do a new prayer. Thank you for 00:01:13.714 --> 00:01:24.417 - this day, and we thank you for the time you have allotted for us to come together like this and try 00:01:24.417 --> 00:01:32.766 - to view what it is you have to do with our community. May all these receiving 00:01:33.474 --> 00:01:50.587 - Move to the Baker Tilly slide presentation on proposed reorganization and fiscal impact analysis between 00:01:50.587 --> 00:01:55.966 - Richland Township and Towneville 00:02:15.938 --> 00:02:23.207 - Hello, I'm Brandon Scribes with Baker Tilly. I'm gonna go through the same presentation that we went 00:02:23.207 --> 00:02:30.404 - through last time. Please interrupt me if you have any questions at all. Happy to answer them as we 00:02:30.404 --> 00:02:37.745 - go rather than waiting till the end. Can you all hear me okay if I step back? Okay. So the purpose of 00:02:37.745 --> 00:02:44.222 - the reorganization, as all of you know, is to improve efficiencies, enhance the services, 00:02:44.482 --> 00:02:51.607 - We want to be the town to be more flexible, improve the planning, and support future growth. Really, 00:02:51.607 --> 00:02:58.943 - this is a forward-looking approach that's supposed to make things easier and more collaborative. What's 00:02:58.943 --> 00:03:06.280 - being proposed is that Richland Township and the town of Ellitsville join to be one unified government. 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:13.334 - And if this becomes effective through voter approval in November, then it would begin as of January 00:03:13.334 --> 00:03:14.110 - 1 of 2027. 00:03:15.842 --> 00:03:22.604 - So as of today, right now there's two separate units, there's Ellisville Town and there's Richland Township. 00:03:22.604 --> 00:03:28.808 - These two units have separate budgets, separate administrations. They provide separate services for 00:03:28.808 --> 00:03:35.260 - the most part. What would be under the proposed structure is the Richland Township and Ellisville would 00:03:35.260 --> 00:03:41.588 - join as one government and they would have one budget and one governing body and limit administrative 00:03:41.588 --> 00:03:45.310 - duplication. So getting more into the governance structure, 00:03:45.666 --> 00:03:52.888 - If past this new reorganized town would become a seven member town council rather than the current five, 00:03:52.888 --> 00:04:00.385 - the township government would be dissolved as we know it today. And representation would still be maintained 00:04:00.385 --> 00:04:07.539 - for both what is currently Ellisville and what is currently Richland Township. And we were calling them 00:04:07.539 --> 00:04:12.766 - in the reorganized structure, we're calling them the urban and rural areas. 00:04:15.010 --> 00:04:22.103 - The services provided would be the same overall services. You've got your public safety, roads, parks, 00:04:22.103 --> 00:04:29.128 - planning and zoning, and then township assistance that is at the Richland Township level would now be 00:04:29.128 --> 00:04:36.221 - called public assistance, but it'd be providing the same services as are provided now by the township. 00:04:36.221 --> 00:04:43.934 - Under the two service areas, again, we're calling them urban and rural. Urban is Ellitsville, and then rural is 00:04:44.130 --> 00:04:52.074 - outside of Elitsville or Richland Township. The urban district is current town boundaries and they would 00:04:52.074 --> 00:04:59.640 - get full municipal delivery. Rural district is the former township and the services are tailored to 00:04:59.640 --> 00:05:06.676 - lower density rural areas. But we'll get more into the details of that here in a few slides. 00:05:06.676 --> 00:05:13.182 - Or this slide. So this slide is touching on the tax base that is used to come up with 00:05:14.242 --> 00:05:20.872 - property taxes this isn't necessarily how the services will work so the first services are police debt 00:05:20.872 --> 00:05:27.502 - service and cumulative that's over just the current town boundaries debt services that way because the 00:05:27.502 --> 00:05:33.939 - township taxpayers are not going to be paying for debt that currently exists under the town and the 00:05:33.939 --> 00:05:41.470 - cumulative funds will be based off of that as well police will be taxed over the current town of Ellitsville however 00:05:41.698 --> 00:05:49.131 - the entire reorganized area would be receiving the police service in this case. Same with fire, well, 00:05:49.131 --> 00:05:56.782 - fire parks in the general administration, that's taxed over the entire consolidated area, and the entire 00:05:56.782 --> 00:06:04.506 - area would receive those services. And public assistance is then broken out. That, again, is the township 00:06:04.506 --> 00:06:09.534 - assistance. Everyone would receive that, but it's broken out because 00:06:09.666 --> 00:06:17.030 - Bean Blossom, there's a portion of Ellisville that's Bean Blossom, they would get township assistance 00:06:17.030 --> 00:06:24.249 - from Bean Blossom Township. So why do we do two districts? This is to match taxes with the level of 00:06:24.249 --> 00:06:31.685 - service being provided, and it allows phased-in growth and expansion, it preserves the rural character 00:06:31.685 --> 00:06:38.110 - that the township currently has, and it also supports long-term infrastructure planning. 00:06:40.930 --> 00:06:47.664 - So some of the updates to the services for public safety. The plan is to increase police staffing and 00:06:47.664 --> 00:06:54.465 - fire staffing to allow for better response time and also to just maintain the good response times that 00:06:54.465 --> 00:07:01.200 - there are now and also to address the growing service demand. As you can imagine, you're adding in an 00:07:01.200 --> 00:07:07.934 - entire township to the town. There's gonna be a growing service demands for planning and development. 00:07:08.706 --> 00:07:16.233 - It is to unify the planning and zoning authority and to have consistent land use policies for the entire 00:07:16.233 --> 00:07:23.688 - reorganized area. Also would allow for an updated comprehensive plan and unified development ordinance. 00:07:23.688 --> 00:07:31.000 - And it just supports coordinated growth throughout the entire area with with the one reorganized unit 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:33.150 - for roads and infrastructure. 00:07:33.826 --> 00:07:40.318 - Obviously, there would be expanded responsibility of the town, because now they have all the township 00:07:40.318 --> 00:07:46.747 - roads to care for. They would be using town crews and potentially contracted services until they can 00:07:46.747 --> 00:07:53.303 - build up to where they will be able to cover it all on their own. And this would be funded by revenues 00:07:53.303 --> 00:08:00.050 - like MBH, gas taxes, and wheel taxes. On to the other two services. Township services, which is referring 00:08:00.050 --> 00:08:03.742 - to, again, that township assistance or public assistance, 00:08:04.994 --> 00:08:11.442 - That department within the newly organized town would provide the township financial assistance, cemetery 00:08:11.442 --> 00:08:17.707 - maintenance, as well as community services. And it is anticipated that the staff at the township level 00:08:17.707 --> 00:08:24.216 - would transition into the town. Lastly is utilities and stormwater. There's no immediate changes expected. 00:08:24.216 --> 00:08:31.454 - The existing providers are gonna remain the same, but there's gonna be a focus on coordination and long-term planning. 00:08:34.274 --> 00:08:40.903 - Here's a summary of the expected staffing changes based off of the proposed reorganization. As you can 00:08:40.903 --> 00:08:47.726 - see, the biggest increases to staffing are to fire and police, and that is because the demand for service 00:08:47.726 --> 00:08:54.355 - is going to increase. There's also a few other departments that are seeing positions added, and that's 00:08:54.355 --> 00:09:00.920 - just because with the higher population, the larger amount of streets to cover, there's just gonna be 00:09:00.920 --> 00:09:01.950 - a little bit of 00:09:02.786 --> 00:09:10.562 - additional responsibility, which results in the need for additional staff. Excuse me. So the summary 00:09:10.562 --> 00:09:18.954 - of the financial impact. This, we're on slide 15 for anybody following along on paper. This is the breakdown 00:09:18.954 --> 00:09:26.807 - of property tax levies and property tax rates for both the town of Ellitsville and Richland Township. 00:09:26.807 --> 00:09:29.502 - You can see that Ellitsville has a 00:09:29.826 --> 00:09:40.618 - current levy of three point three million dollars approximately three point three and The township of 00:09:40.618 --> 00:09:51.939 - Richland has one point two million dollar levy that accounts to about a sixteen cent tax rate for Richland 00:09:51.939 --> 00:09:59.134 - and a sixty one sixty two cent tax rate for Ellisville And the town 00:09:59.714 --> 00:10:06.565 - Does have some data like I mentioned earlier The township taxpayers will not be responsible for paying 00:10:06.565 --> 00:10:13.548 - the debt and liabilities so that property tax Is not going to be taxed over the taxpayers in the current 00:10:13.548 --> 00:10:20.532 - Richland Township, which will then be the rural area of Ellsville And just to repeat myself the existing 00:10:20.532 --> 00:10:27.582 - town debt will not be transferred to Township residents. That's that's an important factor in our opinion 00:10:29.890 --> 00:10:37.438 - So financial overview, currently the total budgeted operating expenses for both the township and the 00:10:37.438 --> 00:10:45.062 - town is about $8.4 million. Based on some changes, which the changes are some cost reductions because 00:10:45.062 --> 00:10:52.984 - you're unifying one government. There's also on the other side the additions because you have more demand 00:10:52.984 --> 00:10:59.710 - for services. The total estimated budget for the reorganized town would be $11.3 million. 00:11:00.226 --> 00:11:08.037 - And again, the focus is reducing administrative duplication and to invest in public safety and roads 00:11:08.037 --> 00:11:15.925 - and infrastructure. This is just to show future years if the town were to reorganize. This is showing 00:11:15.925 --> 00:11:23.736 - that based off of what's being proposed with expected revenues and expected budgets that it could be 00:11:23.736 --> 00:11:29.150 - funded. The very bottom line is the estimated change in fund balance. 00:11:29.410 --> 00:11:38.105 - which shows that each year the the new proposed reorganized town is able to function healthily. So post 00:11:38.105 --> 00:11:47.134 - reorganization this is the numbers behind what I said earlier when it comes to the services being provided. 00:11:47.134 --> 00:11:55.745 - So the total property tax levy estimated property tax levy for the reorganized town is about six point 00:11:55.745 --> 00:11:59.006 - one million dollars. The tax rates for 00:11:59.490 --> 00:12:05.637 - What is over the urban area in the rural area is different. And that is because again you're kind of 00:12:05.637 --> 00:12:11.967 - matching the tax rates with the service levels. You'll see that in the rural area there's no debt being 00:12:11.967 --> 00:12:18.114 - taxed on the rural area and that's because that's town debt. And then the police is just being taxed 00:12:18.114 --> 00:12:24.565 - on the urban area. However I want to reiterate that all of the reorganized town would be receiving police 00:12:24.565 --> 00:12:26.878 - services from the town of Ellisville. 00:12:29.666 --> 00:12:37.640 - So how, what a property tax payer probably wants to know is how this is gonna impact your property tax 00:12:37.640 --> 00:12:45.382 - bill. That's a great question. This is the initial estimated impact. So Richland Township would see 00:12:45.382 --> 00:12:53.279 - almost a 7% increase, while Ellitsville is about a 4%. Now I say that with the caveat being that some 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:57.150 - properties are gonna be at the property tax caps, 00:12:57.538 --> 00:13:04.297 - If you're already at the property tax caps or if the increase gets you to the property tax cap, then 00:13:04.297 --> 00:13:11.257 - you're not gonna see that full increase in your property tax bill. And if that's confusing, we're gonna 00:13:11.257 --> 00:13:17.949 - get into that more detail so you can kinda better understand how that works. So what does this mean 00:13:17.949 --> 00:13:24.641 - for taxpayers? These are just some examples and they're based on a range. So a residential property 00:13:24.641 --> 00:13:26.046 - in Richland Township 00:13:26.274 --> 00:13:32.485 - Assuming the residential property property is between one hundred and fifty and three hundred thousand 00:13:32.485 --> 00:13:38.576 - dollars they would see a five to twelve dollar increase on a monthly basis while Ellitsville town is 00:13:38.576 --> 00:13:45.028 - about three to five dollars. Again that's depending on the property tax caps for properties in Ellitsville 00:13:45.028 --> 00:13:51.299 - properties residential properties over two hundred eighty five thousand dollars are already at the caps 00:13:51.299 --> 00:13:53.470 - so they wouldn't see that increase. 00:13:54.818 --> 00:14:02.968 - for 2% property or farmland and residential rentals. If the range was between $500,000 and a million, 00:14:02.968 --> 00:14:11.037 - Aboriginal Township would see $18 to $89 in an increase per month, while Ellsville Town would see $6 00:14:11.037 --> 00:14:19.107 - to $29. And then commercial or 3% property would be anywhere between $47 and $94 a month and $36 and 00:14:19.107 --> 00:14:22.782 - $72 a month. The reason 3% increases are more 00:14:23.042 --> 00:14:30.386 - is because the cap is higher for those and they're less likely to hit the caps. So how can you as an 00:14:30.386 --> 00:14:38.020 - individual taxpayer estimate the impact on your property tax bill? The first step is to get your current 00:14:38.020 --> 00:14:45.364 - property tax bill in hand. If you don't have that, you can find it on the Monroe County property tax 00:14:45.364 --> 00:14:50.526 - portal. After you have your tax bill, you can see what area you're in. 00:14:50.882 --> 00:14:57.451 - If you're in Richland Township, you're going to apply a 6.9% increase. If you're in one of 00:14:57.451 --> 00:15:04.887 - the two Ellitsville areas, it's 3.5% to 4%. So based off of that, let's say that you lived in Richland 00:15:04.887 --> 00:15:12.250 - Township and your current annual property tax bill was $1,800. You would take the 6.9% increase times 00:15:12.250 --> 00:15:19.902 - that $1,800 property tax bill, and that comes out to about $124 annually with about a $10 a month impact. 00:15:21.058 --> 00:15:29.537 - That being said that calculation could be impacted by property tax caps and we're going to get into 00:15:29.537 --> 00:15:38.185 - that a little more. So property tax caps are what limit a property owners amount they pay in property 00:15:38.185 --> 00:15:46.833 - taxes for 1% properties. You take 1% times the gross assessed value and something that's important to 00:15:46.833 --> 00:15:48.190 - know is the cap 00:15:48.930 --> 00:15:55.637 - If we're using 1% the cap is based off of gross assessed value while your property tax bill is based 00:15:55.637 --> 00:16:02.411 - off of net assessed value which means deductions are taken out before applying the tax rate. And then 00:16:02.411 --> 00:16:09.184 - residential rental and farmland is 2% cap and then commercial and business property is 3% cap. That's 00:16:09.184 --> 00:16:16.091 - why I mentioned that some of those commercial properties probably aren't at the caps. It's because it's 00:16:16.091 --> 00:16:17.950 - 3% instead of the lower 1%. 00:16:20.738 --> 00:16:27.976 - So what exactly do these property tax credits mean for taxpayers and for the local government for taxpayers? 00:16:27.976 --> 00:16:34.616 - It means the tax bill is limited to the tax cap So you may only see a small increase or no increase 00:16:34.616 --> 00:16:41.588 - at all based off of the proposed reorganization And for the local government it means that they whatever 00:16:41.588 --> 00:16:47.166 - those credits are it means that they don't receive that in property tax revenue and 00:16:47.522 --> 00:16:57.284 - And this could also impact other units in the district, like the school, library, county, et cetera. 00:16:57.284 --> 00:17:07.529 - This chart is showing the estimated impact to other units within the taxing district. So the first column 00:17:07.529 --> 00:17:15.358 - is the 2026 certified circuit breaker or property tax credits. The second one is 00:17:15.586 --> 00:17:24.130 - estimated for 2027 without reorganization. And the orange column is estimated 2027 with reorganization. 00:17:24.130 --> 00:17:32.345 - So you'll see here that the biggest impacted unit is Ellisville town expected to see about $145,000 00:17:32.345 --> 00:17:40.888 - increase in property tax credits. Richlands would actually decrease because Richland is no longer going 00:17:40.888 --> 00:17:42.942 - to have any property tax 00:17:43.842 --> 00:17:51.440 - And then some of the other units are also impacted. Any property tax? Yeah. Richland will no longer 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:59.342 - be in existence because it will be a unified government. Yeah. Yeah. So obviously their circuit breaker 00:17:59.342 --> 00:18:07.167 - is going to go down because they don't exist anymore. Here is the estimated change to those same units 00:18:07.167 --> 00:18:12.030 - going forward. The changes from year to year are going to vary. 00:18:12.226 --> 00:18:19.098 - depending on the different changes at the state level. These changes include the estimated impacts of 00:18:19.098 --> 00:18:25.971 - SCA one, which was legislation at the state level. So those are gonna kind of vary from year to year. 00:18:25.971 --> 00:18:32.910 - Some years they go up, some years they go down, it just depends. And this also assumes that the town's 00:18:32.910 --> 00:18:38.974 - property tax levy goes up in order to fund the extra demand for services. So what's next? 00:18:41.602 --> 00:18:48.307 - The next meeting is on June 22nd. There will be a joint public meeting to consider the final approval. 00:18:48.307 --> 00:18:55.143 - And then going forward, there will be a plan submitted to the DLGF and deadline for the public to submit 00:18:55.143 --> 00:19:01.783 - questions to Monroe County. The DLGF will provide comments on the plan that is submitted to them. And 00:19:01.783 --> 00:19:08.618 - then if it gets to that point, the public vote would be in November. And if approved by the public vote, 00:19:08.618 --> 00:19:09.790 - this would become 00:19:10.018 --> 00:19:18.651 - Effective the beginning of next year It's important to note with the vote that it must be approved by 00:19:18.651 --> 00:19:27.285 - both town voters and township voters The majority approval is both for the both of them separately So 00:19:27.285 --> 00:19:35.326 - key take key takeaways again, this is to create a coordinated local government one unified and 00:19:36.290 --> 00:19:44.489 - trying to get rid of duplication of services, improve public safety and road maintenance services, and 00:19:44.489 --> 00:19:52.131 - just position the community for infrastructure investments and future growth. That's all I got. 00:19:52.131 --> 00:20:00.171 - Thank you. Thank you. So this board takes us down to number seven on the agenda, which is discussion 00:20:00.171 --> 00:20:05.982 - of the reorganization plan for Richland Township and Town of Ellesville. 00:20:08.226 --> 00:20:14.617 - Is that correct? Those two were combined, three and four, or five and six. I'm happy to give a synopsis 00:20:14.617 --> 00:20:20.824 - of the plan. As you stated at the beginning of the meeting, this is the first of two public meetings 00:20:20.824 --> 00:20:27.154 - with regard to the proposed plan of reorganization. And this evening is a public hearing on that plan. 00:20:27.154 --> 00:20:33.361 - And as I think the boards and hopefully everyone in the audience knows, this is a project that quite 00:20:33.361 --> 00:20:36.126 - a few people have worked on since last fall. 00:20:36.226 --> 00:20:43.062 - The reorganization committee passed a draft plan on April 8th. And so that plan is up for discussion 00:20:43.062 --> 00:20:49.831 - this evening. And as Mr. Scruggs pointed out, if the reorganization plan is approved, it will go to 00:20:49.831 --> 00:20:57.006 - the voters in November. The reorganized town of Ellisville will include the entirety of Richland Township 00:20:57.006 --> 00:21:03.842 - with the exception of that small corner in the southeast corner of the township, which is annexed by 00:21:03.842 --> 00:21:05.534 - the city of Bloomington. 00:21:05.826 --> 00:21:11.335 - The reorganization would be effective January 1st, 2027. The reorganized town would have the duties 00:21:11.335 --> 00:21:17.009 - and authority of both the town and also the township. You will have all of the normal players that you 00:21:17.009 --> 00:21:22.683 - would expect to find in a town government. So you're gonna have the council members, you're gonna have 00:21:22.683 --> 00:21:28.412 - a clerk, you're going to have a town manager. The township government will be dissolved. As Mr. Scruggs 00:21:28.412 --> 00:21:34.031 - pointed out, the debt incurred by the town will stay with the town residents. It does not get shifted 00:21:34.031 --> 00:21:35.518 - to the township residents. 00:21:35.682 --> 00:21:41.853 - Your new town council will be expanded to seven members as of the effective date. That includes five 00:21:41.853 --> 00:21:48.147 - current board members plus the two township board members who get the most votes in the next election. 00:21:48.147 --> 00:21:54.379 - They will fill the at large seats. So what you'll have is five districts, which is what you have now. 00:21:54.379 --> 00:22:00.672 - And you will also have two at large seats and the council members will be elected by the voters of the 00:22:00.672 --> 00:22:05.438 - entire town. You will have an advisory board, which consists of five members. 00:22:05.698 --> 00:22:11.753 - which will all be township residents. All laws currently in effect for the town of Ellisville will remain 00:22:11.753 --> 00:22:17.694 - in effect. The town will provide the services, the planning and zoning, the parks, the fire and police, 00:22:17.694 --> 00:22:23.578 - the township assistance. You'll have the two service districts, which are taxing districts, not zoning 00:22:23.578 --> 00:22:29.405 - districts, that's the urban and the rural. And as the rural areas start to become more urban, there's 00:22:29.405 --> 00:22:34.718 - a process whereby the town council can pass an ordinance shifting those urban areas that are 00:22:34.818 --> 00:22:40.743 - sorry, rural areas that are becoming urbanized, you can shift those. The plan is also to update the 00:22:40.743 --> 00:22:46.845 - UDO and the comp plan as soon as possible to account for the properties in Richland Township. You will 00:22:46.845 --> 00:22:52.770 - still have a seven member plan commission and a five member Board of Zoning Appeals. The park board 00:22:52.770 --> 00:22:58.932 - will remain the same. And with regard to township assistance, as I stated, the former township trustees 00:22:58.932 --> 00:23:01.598 - duties, which includes cemetery maintenance, 00:23:02.114 --> 00:23:09.167 - burial assistance, the food pantry, those types of things will be shifted to the town, and you will 00:23:09.167 --> 00:23:16.361 - have a new position created within the town for that person will take on the duties that the township 00:23:16.361 --> 00:23:23.414 - trustee formerly had. So that's just a real short synopsis of the plan, but I'm happy to answer any 00:23:23.414 --> 00:23:24.190 - questions. 00:23:25.506 --> 00:23:30.911 - Quick question just for clarity and then we'll turn it over questions from the board You mentioned there's 00:23:30.911 --> 00:23:36.012 - a small section in Richland Township of that is currently managed by the city of Bloomington Just so 00:23:36.012 --> 00:23:41.265 - everyone understands should this go through? The city Bloomington will retain that portion that they've 00:23:41.265 --> 00:23:46.519 - already annexed but they cannot anytime in the future Annex into the new Ellsville because they're both 00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:51.772 - municipalities so it's not like where Bloomington can annex in or Ellsville can annex out at this point 00:23:51.772 --> 00:23:55.358 - time should this consolidation take effect that prohibits the city and 00:23:55.586 --> 00:24:02.489 - from annexing anything in the newly formed town slash city as it were, correct? Yes. Okay. Questions 00:24:02.489 --> 00:24:09.460 - from the board and then we'll open it up to the public. I actually have one for the attorneys. On the 00:24:09.460 --> 00:24:16.499 - agenda and in the plan, they were saying that we would be voting tonight. My understanding was tonight 00:24:16.499 --> 00:24:23.470 - is just a public hearing where there would be no votes. I just wanted to make that clarification, so. 00:24:23.470 --> 00:24:24.222 - Thank you. 00:24:24.578 --> 00:24:32.857 - on the agenda, the resolutions is because technically this meeting is the first reading of both of those 00:24:32.857 --> 00:24:40.977 - resolutions. So that's why it's listed on the agenda. But yes, there is no vote. I reassure the public 00:24:40.977 --> 00:24:48.941 - we had no intention of voting tonight. I had a thought here a week or so ago and actually I ran into 00:24:48.941 --> 00:24:54.302 - William at the restaurant and I asked him about it. He answered it. 00:24:54.402 --> 00:25:03.347 - I think it's something that should be brought up. Obviously, the state would like to take all the townships 00:25:03.347 --> 00:25:11.960 - over, period. And that probably will happen someday, maybe five, 10 years from now. But there also have 00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:20.491 - been a lot of talk about merging some of the townships that don't have so much money. Like, let's say, 00:25:20.491 --> 00:25:23.390 - I'll use an example, Bean Blossom. 00:25:24.290 --> 00:25:33.497 - And it's my understanding that they would merge with an adjoining township if they can. So I asked him 00:25:33.497 --> 00:25:42.257 - about that. And then also Washington township, I said, well, where would that go? And he told me, 00:25:42.257 --> 00:25:51.196 - he said, it could go to Bean Blossom, Richland township would be three or Washington township could 00:25:51.196 --> 00:25:52.894 - go to Bloomington. 00:25:54.114 --> 00:26:01.312 - So I wondered how that would affect everything. And maybe I'll let William explain it. Basically, 00:26:01.312 --> 00:26:08.951 - he said, if it happens, nothing would change immediately, but am I telling it right? So that would kind 00:26:08.951 --> 00:26:16.369 - of, really would depend on what the state structure of that would do. I mean, but what we're talking 00:26:16.369 --> 00:26:22.686 - about for the reorganization here, it would not impact what we're talking about here. 00:26:22.978 --> 00:26:30.093 - but there will be state statutes, again, correct me if I'm wrong, that will guide on how that would 00:26:30.093 --> 00:26:37.421 - have to be on how they come in. But the one thing I do know is that usually, if that happens, I've not 00:26:37.421 --> 00:26:44.535 - seen any talk of it being a public vote like this is. It would have to be something that, you know, 00:26:44.535 --> 00:26:50.654 - it's from the state level, they're dissolved, but if you wanna, am I correct on that? 00:26:54.178 --> 00:27:05.980 - Okay. So the way that House Bill 1370 ended up passing is that the each township has to have four points 00:27:05.980 --> 00:27:17.445 - or more showing that they cannot maintain what they have and they need to merge with another township 00:27:17.445 --> 00:27:20.030 - or municipality. So if 00:27:20.162 --> 00:27:26.384 - the reorganization does not go through and Bean Blossom does not have, you know, they have their four 00:27:26.384 --> 00:27:32.728 - points or more, then they will have to merge with Richland Township. And at that point, then Washington 00:27:32.728 --> 00:27:38.890 - could either go with Bloomington or they could go to Richland. If reorganization does go through and 00:27:38.890 --> 00:27:45.600 - Bean Blossom has those four points, they will not have an option except to join into the town of Ellitsville. 00:27:45.600 --> 00:27:48.894 - That will be what they are forced to do by the state. 00:27:49.154 --> 00:27:55.405 - they not join with another township that they touch? They cannot, they cannot adjoin, they can't join 00:27:55.405 --> 00:28:01.656 - with Washington. Washington is probably going to have four points. And so you can't, two smaller ones 00:28:01.656 --> 00:28:08.030 - cannot go together. They have to go with a larger one. Do they go to Van Buren, do they touch? No. Then 00:28:08.030 --> 00:28:14.464 - question, and again, anybody that knows better than this, please chime in. One, it would not be a public 00:28:14.464 --> 00:28:17.406 - vote. No, it's the state says that's how it is. 00:28:17.890 --> 00:28:25.613 - They would just assume whatever tax rate that municipality has. It's my understanding. So how is the 00:28:25.613 --> 00:28:33.336 - question? Would we have an option at that point or is that's that's that question. I do not know the 00:28:33.336 --> 00:28:41.135 - answer to the ability for either this current town or the consolidated town to say no. I can speak to 00:28:41.135 --> 00:28:42.206 - part of that. 00:28:42.434 --> 00:28:48.277 - Everything that's been said is correct. It is a scoring system. Laws can and do change. And so, 00:28:48.277 --> 00:28:54.485 - over time, I can't sit here today and tell you what that statute may or may not look like a year from 00:28:54.485 --> 00:29:00.632 - now. And the legislature can always amend it, and that situation might be one of those examples. But 00:29:00.632 --> 00:29:06.719 - I don't think it implicates the decision before you hear in this process, but I think it's smart to 00:29:06.719 --> 00:29:09.214 - look ahead and look at all the what-ifs. 00:29:11.266 --> 00:29:18.960 - Does that answer your question? Yeah, I just thought it should be brought up because, you know, I thought 00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:26.436 - about it and I'm sure it's going to happen. And this process is pretty much public driven in the sense 00:29:26.436 --> 00:29:33.695 - that, you know, there's kind of a back and forth on tax rates and services and stuff. I've not seen 00:29:33.695 --> 00:29:38.558 - anything like that in the current law. If that's done, so, I mean, 00:29:49.698 --> 00:29:58.101 - Public comment now That way we can take care of that portion of it before we get an announcement future 00:29:58.101 --> 00:30:06.504 - dates and things like that Okay, we will open it up to public comment again. Remember this is a comment 00:30:06.504 --> 00:30:15.149 - You have a three minutes at the podium Use your time as you see fit and we'll go from there. So if there's 00:30:15.149 --> 00:30:18.462 - anyone who wishes to make a comment on a 00:30:18.690 --> 00:30:34.848 - Potential consolidation between Richland Township and the current town of Elksville, please approach 00:30:34.848 --> 00:30:45.886 - the lectern sign in and you'll three minutes will begin Good evening 00:30:47.810 --> 00:30:54.379 - I'm Jill Thurman, Director of the Greater Ellisville Area Chamber of Commerce. First, thank you to the 00:30:54.379 --> 00:31:00.820 - town council and the Richland Township Board for your service, for your time, effort, and thoughtful 00:31:00.820 --> 00:31:07.644 - work you put into making decisions on behalf of our community. We appreciate your dedication to Ellisville 00:31:07.644 --> 00:31:14.404 - and its future. Also, thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. On behalf of the Greater Ellisville 00:31:14.404 --> 00:31:16.062 - Area Chamber of Commerce, 00:31:16.738 --> 00:31:23.869 - After careful consideration, our board of directors recommends a yes vote on placing the proposed 00:31:23.869 --> 00:31:31.219 - reorganization of the town of Ellisville and Richland Township on the November ballot. At this time, 00:31:31.219 --> 00:31:39.005 - our support is specifically for allowing the question to go before the voters so the community can decide. 00:31:39.005 --> 00:31:45.918 - We believe this is an important conversation about the future of Ellisville and that residents 00:31:46.146 --> 00:31:54.090 - and businesses should have the opportunity to review the proposal, ask questions, and make informed 00:31:54.090 --> 00:32:02.828 - decisions. As an organization committed to growth, collaboration, and the long-term success of our community, 00:32:02.828 --> 00:32:10.772 - we believe allowing the public to weigh in through the ballot process is the appropriate next step. 00:32:10.772 --> 00:32:13.950 - Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. 00:32:22.786 --> 00:32:29.647 - Good evening. My name is Eric Spoonmore. I am president of the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. 00:32:29.647 --> 00:32:36.311 - You get to hear a lot of chambers of commerce tonight. I'm also a resident of Richland Township. And 00:32:36.311 --> 00:32:42.908 - while I'm speaking on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce personally as a resident, I also agree with 00:32:42.908 --> 00:32:49.637 - this entire statement. So just wanted to let you all know the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce 00:32:49.637 --> 00:32:52.606 - supports placing the proposed reorganization 00:32:52.962 --> 00:32:59.091 - of the town of Ellitsville and Richland Township on the November ballot. The residents and businesses 00:32:59.091 --> 00:33:05.520 - most directly affected deserve the chance to review the plan, ask questions, and make an informed decision 00:33:05.520 --> 00:33:11.829 - about their community's future. We place significant value on the perspective of the greater Ellitsville 00:33:11.829 --> 00:33:18.198 - area Chamber of Commerce, a trusted regional partner with firsthand knowledge of the community it serves. 00:33:18.198 --> 00:33:21.022 - Its decision to support allowing this question 00:33:21.698 --> 00:33:28.627 - to go before voters reflects the importance of giving the public a direct voice in a matter that touches 00:33:28.627 --> 00:33:35.424 - local governance, services, planning, and growth. Ellisville and Richland Township are important parts 00:33:35.424 --> 00:33:42.023 - of Monroe County's broader economic vitality. Many of our member businesses, which we have over 900 00:33:42.023 --> 00:33:49.018 - of, have owners, employees, customers, and families connected to these communities. How these communities 00:33:49.018 --> 00:33:51.262 - grow and govern themselves matter 00:33:51.394 --> 00:33:57.503 - to the region. And so our position at this stage is straightforward, to support a transparent public 00:33:57.503 --> 00:34:03.914 - process and let voters decide in November. We encourage residents, businesses, and community stakeholders 00:34:03.914 --> 00:34:10.023 - in Ellitsville and Richland Township to stay engaged, become informed, and to participate. Thank you 00:34:10.023 --> 00:34:11.838 - all. Appreciate your service. 00:34:20.354 --> 00:34:29.434 - My name is Harry Ferris. I live in the southeast corner of Richland Township. And really, I have a question. 00:34:29.434 --> 00:34:37.847 - My curiosity is about this annexation. What area of the southeast part of the township is subject to 00:34:37.847 --> 00:34:46.344 - annexation by the city that was mentioned? It's already been done. Yeah, years ago, wasn't it, Darla? 00:34:46.344 --> 00:34:48.510 - Yes, it's not a new area. 00:34:48.642 --> 00:34:55.224 - The third and Curry area is where they're talking about, correct? Right. It's already in that area. 00:34:55.224 --> 00:35:02.267 - It's already in the city of Bloomington. If yours is not, then you can't get annexed if this goes through. 00:35:02.267 --> 00:35:08.981 - Okay. But yeah, we're talking about stuff that had been done years, not the current annexation thing. 00:35:08.981 --> 00:35:15.563 - That has been the courts. Not the one that's pending. Right. That is dead for Richland Township and 00:35:15.563 --> 00:35:17.406 - this would prevent you from 00:35:17.698 --> 00:35:33.049 - being annexed. I would set up a border that yeah, the city couldn't. That is correct. Thank you. 00:35:33.049 --> 00:35:47.134 - Thank you. Anyone else? Good stuff up. Hello all. Carl Thurman. I'm a business owner and 00:35:47.266 --> 00:35:56.529 - historic downtown area and also a resident of that area. And I've heard a lot of good comments and discussion 00:35:56.529 --> 00:36:05.202 - on this. And I think if we're gonna practice being a government for the people and by the people, then 00:36:05.202 --> 00:36:13.792 - this should go before the voters and let the constituents decide where we go from here. Thank you for 00:36:13.792 --> 00:36:14.718 - your time. 00:36:17.986 --> 00:36:24.328 - Good evening. My name is Noel Conyer and I'm coming to you this evening as the vice chair of the Monroe 00:36:24.328 --> 00:36:30.487 - County Republican Party. The Monroe County Republican Party supports a yes vote to move the proposed 00:36:30.487 --> 00:36:36.890 - governmental reorganization between the town of Elstville and Richland Township to the ballot for public 00:36:36.890 --> 00:36:43.415 - consideration. Republicans have long supported efficient government, fiscal responsibility, accountability 00:36:43.415 --> 00:36:45.854 - to taxpayers, and strong local control. 00:36:46.594 --> 00:36:52.215 - This proposal reflects those principles by reducing duplication of government services and giving voters 00:36:52.215 --> 00:36:57.621 - the chance to decide on what kind of government structure makes the most sense for our community. At 00:36:57.621 --> 00:37:03.349 - a time when taxpayers are asking harder questions about transparency, spending, and local decision making, 00:37:03.349 --> 00:37:08.969 - conversations about improving government should not be shut down before the public has a chance to weigh 00:37:08.969 --> 00:37:14.590 - in. What makes this proposal different is simple. It puts the decision where it belongs with the voters. 00:37:15.202 --> 00:37:20.842 - People across Monroe County have seen plenty of decisions move forward even after residents show up, 00:37:20.842 --> 00:37:26.649 - ask serious questions, express concerns, yet they're handed decisions that fail to represent that. This 00:37:26.649 --> 00:37:32.233 - reorganization process has incorporated public input from the beginning, address concerns, which is 00:37:32.233 --> 00:37:37.984 - exactly why this process should be allowed to continue. The voters of Richland Township and Ellisville 00:37:37.984 --> 00:37:44.126 - deserve the opportunity to review the proposal and make the final decisions for themselves at the ballot box. 00:37:44.642 --> 00:37:50.359 - allowing the reorganization plan to move forward does not decide the outcome. It simply allows the public 00:37:50.359 --> 00:37:55.860 - to make the decision instead of having it stopped by a small group of elected officials before voters 00:37:55.860 --> 00:38:01.577 - get their say. The Monroe County Republican Party encourages our elected officials to respect the process 00:38:01.577 --> 00:38:05.406 - and allow the public to decide the issue at the ballot box. Thank you. 00:38:22.178 --> 00:38:32.112 - Richard Dillman, McNeely Street in the township. One question, currently my tax bill for 2026, 00:38:32.112 --> 00:38:42.674 - I give $1,500 for 2026 to the county. What is the percentage of that money that's gonna come to this 00:38:42.674 --> 00:38:47.902 - reorganized entity after this if it goes through? 00:38:54.242 --> 00:39:00.715 - I'm telling you, that's what the township people need to hear. Well, I think that the tax increase would 00:39:00.715 --> 00:39:07.620 - be what they stated, 6.9%. And that includes, as a result of reorganization, your tax bill would increase 6.9%. 00:39:07.620 --> 00:39:14.031 - Well, let's back up just a little bit. And forgive me, sir, for putting words in your mouth, so correct 00:39:14.031 --> 00:39:20.566 - me. He's talking, your entire property bill is $1,500, is that what you're saying? No, my entire property 00:39:20.566 --> 00:39:23.710 - bill is 4,000. Okay, but you have 1,500 of a dose. 00:39:23.906 --> 00:39:32.973 - 1500, it goes to the schools. This is money that goes to the county, the county debt. And currently, 00:39:32.973 --> 00:39:42.399 - of course, I included in that 1500, the township and the township debt. So that would come out of there. 00:39:42.399 --> 00:39:51.646 - But still, my concern is I'm paying right now, and you are too, for road service, sheriff's, judicial, 00:39:51.810 --> 00:39:58.364 - on and on and on. There's gotta be a, whoever passed this law through had to figure out that some of 00:39:58.364 --> 00:40:04.982 - that money was gonna come to this new reorganized entity. It can't just all keep going to the county. 00:40:04.982 --> 00:40:11.731 - Can you potentially show him how to work that here in just a few minutes? If you'll get with him, he'll 00:40:11.731 --> 00:40:18.414 - show you how to do it based upon property tax for you. But also I think I understand that 1500, you're 00:40:18.414 --> 00:40:19.582 - saying with this, 00:40:19.938 --> 00:40:26.462 - In a sense, how much less are we paying to the county going to here? Is that kind of what you're? Exactly. 00:40:26.462 --> 00:40:32.804 - How much next year, if this goes through of that $1,500, let's just say how much is Monroe County going 00:40:32.804 --> 00:40:39.328 - to get out of that next year if it goes through? If I'm not mistaken, it would still get the 1,500 because 00:40:39.328 --> 00:40:45.182 - we still pay the same county rate currently. The city of Bloomington pays the same county rate. 00:40:45.698 --> 00:40:52.805 - Okay, you know, and I bring this up, I'm not saying this is bad or good. No, I'm just saying, there's 00:40:52.805 --> 00:40:59.981 - gotta be some pluses here for the people in the township. Well, there's actually, there's quite a few. 00:40:59.981 --> 00:41:06.949 - And then just comments. I assume Ellisville doesn't do deficit spending today. No. And nor does the 00:41:06.949 --> 00:41:13.150 - township. No. So we should be able to go into the reorganization without a tax increase. 00:41:15.810 --> 00:41:23.106 - I mean, let's live like we do with our own paychecks, with our own checkbooks. If we got the money, 00:41:23.106 --> 00:41:30.621 - we don't spend it. We are picking up more services though. Exactly. So that's hence there will be. And 00:41:30.621 --> 00:41:38.064 - I think you're gonna get more tax dollars than you projected because your $300,000 is low in Ritsland 00:41:38.064 --> 00:41:43.390 - Township, I think. Probably. I mean, right now, if you take that $1,500, 00:41:43.906 --> 00:41:50.019 - times the 6,400 parcels that are in Richland Township, that's $10 million. Right, but that still will 00:41:50.019 --> 00:41:56.431 - not come to the town of Ellitsville. And that's what I can't agree with, although I don't have any control 00:41:56.431 --> 00:42:02.544 - over it. As far as I'm concerned, we only get a couple of county trucks. Right, and that's what we're 00:42:02.544 --> 00:42:08.717 - trying to prevent because you will get services from the town of Ellitsville. I know I'll get service, 00:42:08.717 --> 00:42:11.294 - I'll get good road service, but that's it. 00:42:12.194 --> 00:42:22.126 - I live on Union Valley Road, so I'm in the same boat as you. We will also get a say. Right now, you 00:42:22.126 --> 00:42:32.455 - and I have nobody at the county level who cares about. I agree with you wholeheartedly. So what we will 00:42:32.455 --> 00:42:40.798 - get is that in our area, and I don't have the map with me to show, but we will have 00:42:41.634 --> 00:42:48.881 - somebody from our area that will be on the town council. And so we will be able to go and knock on somebody's 00:42:48.881 --> 00:42:55.535 - door or call them or email them and say, hey, this is coming up and this is how I feel about it. And 00:42:55.535 --> 00:43:02.519 - so we'll at least have that opportunity for that. I appreciate that. I just wish there was more positives 00:43:02.519 --> 00:43:09.238 - out there because I'm afraid you're not going to get enough people to the ballot box. I think it will 00:43:09.238 --> 00:43:10.622 - come down to do they 00:43:10.850 --> 00:43:19.232 - trust Monroe County government to guide their future when it comes to public safety and especially land 00:43:19.232 --> 00:43:27.532 - use? Exactly. Or will they trust people that more align with them? We won't get into that. But anyway, 00:43:27.532 --> 00:43:35.753 - thank you. Thank you for allowing me to speak. Let's put this down a little bit there. Hello, my name 00:43:35.753 --> 00:43:40.830 - is Anna Bednarski and I am a resident of the town on Deer Run. 00:43:40.962 --> 00:43:49.584 - And looking at the report, which I've read, all 43 pages, as well as the fiscal impact, I think today's 00:43:49.584 --> 00:43:57.874 - presentation, if anyone wants to look at slide 17, because I think there's a really relevant number 00:43:57.874 --> 00:44:06.164 - there, the budgeted operating expenses for 2026 are 8.4 million for the combined township and town, 00:44:06.164 --> 00:44:08.734 - if I'm reading that correctly. 00:44:09.218 --> 00:44:17.957 - The estimated operating expenses in the reorganized town would be eleven point three million dollars. 00:44:17.957 --> 00:44:27.038 - So that is to me a vast increase in spending and a lot of it is through almost doubling the police force. 00:44:27.586 --> 00:44:36.042 - and increasing the fire department operating budget which the fire department will be, again if I'm 00:44:36.042 --> 00:44:45.005 - understanding this correctly, serving the same area that it does now. So I think we need to ask ourselves 00:44:45.005 --> 00:44:53.969 - as township and town residents about this increase and why it doesn't apply to other areas like education 00:44:53.969 --> 00:44:57.182 - or other local concerns that we have. 00:44:57.314 --> 00:45:05.608 - But as a town resident, likely my property taxes will not go up very much. We will likely hit the property 00:45:05.608 --> 00:45:13.514 - tax cap. The thing that concerns me is one of the justifications being about development. This would, 00:45:13.514 --> 00:45:21.498 - and again, correct me if I'm wrong, but I've heard that this would increase the size of the town eight 00:45:21.498 --> 00:45:26.846 - times, eight times geographic area. Is that, am I making that up or? 00:45:28.386 --> 00:45:36.570 - It takes the entire township right so so at least multiple times what the current town is right and 00:45:36.570 --> 00:45:44.835 - one of the justifications for the change is to Have more local control of development The only issue 00:45:44.835 --> 00:45:53.018 - with that is we've heard no assurances for many of the leaders at this table that there are certain 00:45:53.018 --> 00:45:58.174 - kinds of development that would be Discouraged Factory farming 00:45:58.402 --> 00:46:05.554 - data centers and the like. So to be honest, I don't feel any safer with a reorganized town and their 00:46:05.554 --> 00:46:12.706 - development plans versus what we have now. Thank you. If I can address just one thing that she said, 00:46:12.706 --> 00:46:20.070 - and we're talking about putting money toward education, understand that does not fall to the town. That 00:46:20.070 --> 00:46:21.982 - is the school corporation. 00:46:22.562 --> 00:46:29.201 - So any money that goes to the school corporation, they are the ones that take care of the schools. The 00:46:29.201 --> 00:46:35.969 - town and the school corporation are separate governmental entities and will remain separate governmental 00:46:35.969 --> 00:46:42.415 - entities. Next, anyone else? Can I make a comment? Sure. So as far as the fire, the increase in the 00:46:42.415 --> 00:46:49.054 - amount of funds for the fire department, regardless of whether or not the reorganization goes through, 00:46:49.474 --> 00:46:57.118 - Our fire department is currently working understaffed, and we've got to get them to a safe level. We 00:46:57.118 --> 00:47:04.761 - always have, they have an agreement, all the local fire departments have an agreement that they will 00:47:04.761 --> 00:47:11.648 - come and assist, but our guys are working, our guys and gals are working understaffed, and 00:47:11.648 --> 00:47:18.686 - if the reorganization does not go through, this is still gonna happen with them getting more 00:47:18.850 --> 00:47:24.896 - firefighters because we will have the fire territory and our taxes in the township are going to go up 00:47:24.896 --> 00:47:31.000 - to provide for that. So regardless of whether or not reorganization goes through, we've got to get our 00:47:31.000 --> 00:47:37.105 - fire department back up to where they should be so they can work safely to keep us safe. And one other 00:47:37.105 --> 00:47:43.092 - thing I do want to address, and thank you. I think we've talked online about data centers and things 00:47:43.092 --> 00:47:47.774 - like that. I want to make clear to everybody, data centers in any construction 00:47:48.610 --> 00:47:55.445 - they're gonna have to address before. I don't like saying blanket no to anything because I'd say based 00:47:55.445 --> 00:48:02.080 - on the plan in front of me. And if the plan in front of me is as negative as some of the stuff I've 00:48:02.080 --> 00:48:08.848 - heard, absolutely I would not vote for it. Those things would have to be addressed. So it's just kind 00:48:08.848 --> 00:48:15.550 - of a function of the way I operate and I think the board operates. If somebody can do something with 00:48:16.418 --> 00:48:22.867 - Minimizes or eliminates the impact to the surrounding areas will consider it. So I don't think we would 00:48:22.867 --> 00:48:29.130 - Want to make a blanket ban or statement any type of industry and correct me if I'm wrong it would be 00:48:29.130 --> 00:48:35.393 - incredibly poor public policy for one of us to say absolutely not we'll never do it because Everyone 00:48:35.393 --> 00:48:41.594 - is free. Everyone is free to come forward and present to something whether or not we would vote for 00:48:41.594 --> 00:48:42.462 - it or not and 00:48:43.330 --> 00:48:49.157 - That's a situational thing to sit here and say, until we have passed some type of ordinance that said 00:48:49.157 --> 00:48:55.041 - we will never have this, and I'm not even sure you could legally do that, you would never have it. You 00:48:55.041 --> 00:49:00.811 - at least have to consider each proposal as it comes through. All right, I'm a three minute timer. My 00:49:00.811 --> 00:49:07.037 - name is Andrew Henry. I served on the Rehabilitation Committee. Thank you especially to all the subcommittee 00:49:07.037 --> 00:49:12.350 - members, many of whom are here, who gave enormous amounts of time and energy to put together 00:49:12.610 --> 00:49:17.955 - all the information that went into our proposal. I have three main points. I would recommend the book 00:49:17.955 --> 00:49:23.405 - Strong Towns by Charles Marrone. I've recommended it before. There's a lot of good information in there 00:49:23.405 --> 00:49:29.064 - about understanding how towns grow and remain strong over time. The reorganization proposal is a trade-off. 00:49:29.064 --> 00:49:34.514 - Anything involving decisions about government and spending are always trade-offs. There is nothing that 00:49:34.514 --> 00:49:39.806 - has all upside and no downside. We are weighing different potential options looking into the future. 00:49:39.906 --> 00:49:45.108 - What Marrone pointed out in his book is how much local knowledge matters. In the process of being on 00:49:45.108 --> 00:49:50.362 - the committee that put together the proposal, I've learned a ton more about the history of Ellisville 00:49:50.362 --> 00:49:55.615 - and of Richland Township, the industries, the developments, the school districts, all kinds of things 00:49:55.615 --> 00:50:00.972 - that I would not otherwise have known. That knowledge is intensely local and I want to keep our options 00:50:00.972 --> 00:50:06.637 - open to use that local knowledge to make good decisions in the future because we have no idea what challenges 00:50:06.637 --> 00:50:09.470 - or opportunities will present themselves over the next 00:50:09.570 --> 00:50:17.096 - 20 years. The second thing is I want to see this whole area develop even greater long-term financial 00:50:17.096 --> 00:50:24.696 - resilience. And that doesn't mean simply that we're trying to make the fastest short-term adjustments 00:50:24.696 --> 00:50:32.446 - to tax rates or property taxes or staffing, but aiming at attracting a diversified tax base, especially 00:50:32.446 --> 00:50:37.662 - small and medium-sized businesses that are owned locally that provide 00:50:37.762 --> 00:50:44.078 - a generous support to the tax base and don't put the same amount of demand on local services like parks, 00:50:44.078 --> 00:50:50.274 - roads, fire, and police. We can have a much more diverse and strong tax base over time if we plan well 00:50:50.274 --> 00:50:56.229 - for it. And then I have five kids. The chances that all five of them remain in Ellisville are low. 00:50:56.229 --> 00:51:02.485 - Not zero, but low. Some of them will probably go other places. But I want Ellisville to be a place that 00:51:02.485 --> 00:51:07.358 - they don't simply rule out out of hand. That when they're finishing high school, 00:51:07.586 --> 00:51:13.145 - considering a career, considering getting married, starting a family, that they look at Ellsville and 00:51:13.145 --> 00:51:18.704 - see opportunities. They see options. And so I look at reorganization and think it is our best current 00:51:18.704 --> 00:51:24.153 - option to give local control, to have local knowledge, guide local decisions, to build a town and a 00:51:24.153 --> 00:51:29.821 - future for our kids that I want my kids to be excited to be a part of. So I would encourage you, please 00:51:29.821 --> 00:51:33.854 - put this before the voters in November or approve it to go to the ballot. 00:51:34.242 --> 00:51:42.927 - so that everyone has the opportunity to decide the future of our community. Thank you. Thank you. 00:51:42.927 --> 00:51:52.409 - Thank you. Sir? Good evening, everyone. My name is Mason Greenberg. I am a Realtor. I serve Monroe County. 00:51:52.409 --> 00:52:01.802 - I sit on the Local Realtors Board Government Affairs Committee. So I've had a pulse on this whole process 00:52:01.802 --> 00:52:03.486 - for quite a while. 00:52:04.226 --> 00:52:11.357 - Thank you all for all the effort you've been putting into it. It's very evident you've been losing a 00:52:11.357 --> 00:52:18.629 - lot of sleep, so thank you for that. I don't have anything specifically prepared, but I wanted to just 00:52:18.629 --> 00:52:25.760 - share a bit more of a layman's perspective on why this has a really positive light to it, this whole 00:52:25.760 --> 00:52:31.902 - scenario. Pretty similar to what was just said, I'll just speak a little more commonly 00:52:34.818 --> 00:52:44.602 - When a municipality is not able to maintain itself financially, it's usually because there aren't enough 00:52:44.602 --> 00:52:54.292 - taxpayers feeding that municipality. And Bloomington, as a city, has found themselves in that scenario. 00:52:54.292 --> 00:53:04.542 - And by virtue of that, it seems that Ellisville is now being handed an opportunity to fill the huge necessity 00:53:04.674 --> 00:53:14.052 - to provide opportunities for new companies to come in and provide more opportunities for people to want 00:53:14.052 --> 00:53:23.339 - to stay and build a life in Ellisville. I've been an Indiana resident for eight years. I've spent time 00:53:23.339 --> 00:53:32.446 - working on campus, getting my master's degree at IU, and then now becoming a resident of Ellisville. 00:53:32.642 --> 00:53:41.085 - just shy of two years, a decade of being here, I've seen some changes in both the housing and just general 00:53:41.085 --> 00:53:49.054 - economy of Bloomington. And I remember not knowing what the heck Ellisville was eight years ago. And 00:53:49.054 --> 00:53:57.339 - even in this time period, seeing the growth that Ellisville seems to have around it, the momentum that's 00:53:57.339 --> 00:54:01.758 - building around here. So I can certainly empathize with 00:54:01.986 --> 00:54:08.744 - hesitations around what type of businesses might be brought. However, I would encourage all 00:54:08.744 --> 00:54:16.090 - of our constituents to remember that Ellisville is a resilient town. It's very proud of the culture 00:54:16.090 --> 00:54:23.656 - and the history that has brought us to where we are now. And I'm proud to call myself a resident here. 00:54:23.656 --> 00:54:30.782 - And so I'm very excited that this is being brought to a ballot and that the people who live here 00:54:31.202 --> 00:54:44.184 - are being given a choice to make a pivotal change and hopefully a step forward in what Ellisville is 00:54:44.184 --> 00:54:57.553 - capable of. Thank you. Thank you so much. Anyone else? Is it okay if I speak from here? Sure. I'm just, 00:54:57.553 --> 00:55:00.766 - I'm speaking, basically, 00:55:01.250 --> 00:55:09.130 - as a resident of Richland Township. I was born here a long time ago. On Chester Drive, I've always considered 00:55:09.130 --> 00:55:16.364 - myself, when somebody asks me where I live, I live in Ellingsville. No matter where I've lived, I've 00:55:16.364 --> 00:55:23.599 - lived a few different places, but most of it's been in either Ellingsville or Richland Township. And 00:55:23.599 --> 00:55:30.046 - I can tell you that I really would like, there's been the Township Board, the Town Board, 00:55:30.690 --> 00:55:38.582 - I think both of them have done a wonderful job in the places I've lived as far as managing our tax dollars 00:55:38.582 --> 00:55:46.105 - and the way we proceed with municipalities and govern, you know, as a whole. And I think it's a great 00:55:46.105 --> 00:55:53.186 - opportunity for all of us that live here in Richland Township, because I consider it the people 00:55:53.186 --> 00:56:00.414 - of Neltsville, obviously, and Richland Township as well. I just want the opportunity to vote yes. 00:56:00.546 --> 00:56:07.766 - because that's what I'm going to vote for. And so I can really say I'm from Ellisville and my address 00:56:07.766 --> 00:56:14.986 - will be probably still a Bloomington address, but I will be in the town limits. But I'm proud of what 00:56:14.986 --> 00:56:22.135 - we've done. If you've been working here in the town for 31 years, we've made great progress. There's 00:56:22.135 --> 00:56:28.222 - great opportunity and growth. I can remember at 10 o'clock at night when I was a kid, 00:56:28.610 --> 00:56:44.617 - hardly a car going through town, so I hope you offer me the opportunity to vote come November. Thanks. 00:56:44.617 --> 00:56:57.982 - I'm Dan O'Rourke, and I've been a Bristol township, an Elksfield resident since 1963. 00:57:00.674 --> 00:57:07.640 - I'm proud of everything that Ellsfield has done, the way they've progressed. And if anybody's been around 00:57:07.640 --> 00:57:14.342 - as long as I haven't seen what it was when I got here and what it is now, you wouldn't even recognize 00:57:14.342 --> 00:57:21.439 - the same thing. I think it's wonderful. I live in a township. However, I am annexing into town. So whatever 00:57:21.439 --> 00:57:28.076 - happens here, I'm going to be in town anyway. But I think no matter which side of this you're on, if 00:57:28.076 --> 00:57:29.982 - you're for it or against it, 00:57:30.690 --> 00:57:39.192 - the only fair thing is to give everybody the opportunity to vote on it. And to not let the residents 00:57:39.192 --> 00:57:48.031 - have their say, I think would be totally unfair to not let this go on the ballot. So I would just really 00:57:48.031 --> 00:57:56.533 - appreciate it if this could go on the ballot and give people the right to say up or down. Thank you, 00:57:56.533 --> 00:57:58.974 - sir. Thank you. Anyone else? 00:58:05.698 --> 00:58:12.667 - Anyone wishing to speak? Seeing none, we'll now move forward. Council, do you wanna take opportunity 00:58:12.667 --> 00:58:19.843 - to comment or do you wanna move forward with the agenda? Move forward. Okay. I would just like to thank 00:58:19.843 --> 00:58:26.881 - everybody for being here and in the comments. Ms. Brown, how do you wanna proceed? Do we need to read 00:58:26.881 --> 00:58:34.057 - both of these plans or how are we gonna go for this as far as the things that were essentially on first 00:58:34.057 --> 00:58:35.230 - reading tonight? 00:58:37.922 --> 00:58:46.628 - question to the board would be, are there any changes that you would like to see made to the plan, or 00:58:46.628 --> 00:58:55.419 - are you satisfied with them? If there are any changes, I could make those before the next meeting, but 00:58:55.419 --> 00:59:04.040 - if you're satisfied with them. Okay, so, all right then. Moving on, is that okay, Scott? Absolutely. 00:59:04.040 --> 00:59:06.430 - All right, so, as I stated, 00:59:06.530 --> 00:59:14.537 - There are two resolutions that are up for first reading this evening. The first is resolution 11, 2026, 00:59:14.537 --> 00:59:22.235 - which is the town council's resolution adopting the plan of reorganization. The township also has a 00:59:22.235 --> 00:59:30.165 - resolution dated June 22nd, 2026, whereby board adopts the plan of reorganization. And the resolutions 00:59:30.165 --> 00:59:31.166 - are similar. 00:59:31.426 --> 00:59:37.845 - or they're identical actually, but they go through the history of how the proposed reorganization got 00:59:37.845 --> 00:59:44.641 - started. Each resolution states that a cross section of the citizens were appointed to make recommendations 00:59:44.641 --> 00:59:51.186 - that the town and township directed Baker Tilley to prepare fiscal impact analysis. It goes on to state 00:59:51.186 --> 00:59:57.982 - when the public hearings were held and when notice was posted in the paper. And then finally, if the boards 00:59:58.146 --> 01:00:06.976 - Approve the reorganization plan at the next meeting the boards will sign the resolutions and the resolution 01:00:06.976 --> 01:00:15.151 - the plan will go to the auditor recorder voter registration office DLGF and the clerk of the Monroe 01:00:15.151 --> 01:00:23.654 - County Circuit Court Questions from the council about those two All right So our next meeting and final 01:00:23.654 --> 01:00:25.534 - meeting I would assume 01:00:25.634 --> 01:00:32.149 - is scheduled for June 22nd, 2026. It's a joint public meeting on both of these boards on the plan of 01:00:32.149 --> 01:00:38.857 - reorganization. The boards may reject it, modify it, or adopt the plan of reorganization at which point 01:00:38.857 --> 01:00:45.308 - in time it would then be pushed to the voters in November. That meeting is scheduled again for June 01:00:45.308 --> 01:00:52.081 - 22nd, 2026 at 6.45 p.m. Please note the difference in times. Where we've been normally starting at 6.30, 01:00:52.081 --> 01:00:53.758 - this is 15 minutes later. 01:00:56.130 --> 01:01:05.614 - Is there any additional public comment before we adjourn the meeting? In addition, council comments. 01:01:05.614 --> 01:01:15.192 - Town manager, would you like to say anything? No, I wouldn't like to say anything, but I guess I will 01:01:15.192 --> 01:01:24.958 - anyway. So I think there's a lot of technical aspects to all of this that can be confusing and complex. 01:01:26.626 --> 01:01:36.899 - You know, it can be misconstrued why this is happening. Originally, the state legislator passed a law 01:01:36.899 --> 01:01:47.273 - that affected how we did our business as a town. And so we reacted to that. And we, in a business-like 01:01:47.273 --> 01:01:55.934 - manner, took some good advice, looked into reorganization. I think it should be noted 01:01:56.098 --> 01:02:05.233 - that we were told right off the bat that there won't be a lot of extra money moved from pot A to pot 01:02:05.233 --> 01:02:14.910 - B. It's not a money grab. The fact is when this all came down as it is today, the town's in good financial 01:02:14.910 --> 01:02:24.407 - position. Some of the law or legislation, if you will, the SCA-1, might have affected that in the future 01:02:24.407 --> 01:02:25.854 - and as we grow, 01:02:25.954 --> 01:02:35.963 - the services need to grow as well, and that might have been affected as well. With that all said, a 01:02:35.963 --> 01:02:46.073 - lot of times when there's a problem, people that really will dig in will look for the opportunity in 01:02:46.073 --> 01:02:55.582 - that problem. There are many opportunities that presented themselves regarding reorganization. 01:02:55.842 --> 01:03:04.300 - We, as a township in a town, have a cultural identity that's the same. Obviously, we have the same fire 01:03:04.300 --> 01:03:12.758 - protection. Our kids all go to the same school. Most people, if they don't live in the town boundaries, 01:03:12.758 --> 01:03:21.297 - they just say they're from Ellisville anyway. They talk about being from the community, and it's usually 01:03:21.297 --> 01:03:24.062 - said in a manner that's prideful. 01:03:25.154 --> 01:03:34.738 - We as a local entity, especially Ellisville currently, we have a business friendly attitude when people 01:03:34.738 --> 01:03:43.954 - come here and wanna build a house or they come here and wanna do a business, a project, we say what 01:03:43.954 --> 01:03:51.326 - can we do to help? We don't say here's how you're gonna go about it and I think 01:03:51.714 --> 01:04:02.450 - It reflects in the number of annexations when possible, that a lot of people understand that, and that 01:04:02.450 --> 01:04:12.977 - by virtue of annexation, they vote to reorganize at that moment. What we're proposing to do now is a 01:04:12.977 --> 01:04:18.814 - compression of what's gonna happen anyway. I think that 01:04:19.074 --> 01:04:27.300 - People annex any time they can if they want to build, whatever. And so if they're able to, and so in 01:04:27.300 --> 01:04:35.933 - 10 or 15 years or 20 years, all of this is going to come to pass one way or another. And this compression 01:04:35.933 --> 01:04:44.158 - of this opportunity because of a problem allows us to maybe get ahead of economic development, which 01:04:44.158 --> 01:04:46.846 - means business, and the business 01:04:47.010 --> 01:04:56.608 - People have to have employees the employees have to have somewhere to live and so by having The use 01:04:56.608 --> 01:05:06.495 - of the whole township which else feels part of by having that Ability to plan for economic development 01:05:06.495 --> 01:05:09.662 - in a reasonable way allows us to 01:05:10.338 --> 01:05:18.774 - Present the community with housing opportunities more have housing opportunities and it also allows 01:05:18.774 --> 01:05:27.463 - businesses won't they won't come here if they can't house or House their employees and it's one of the 01:05:27.463 --> 01:05:35.899 - reasons that Moreau County is Is lacking in some of the economic development that they've maybe let 01:05:35.899 --> 01:05:39.358 - get past them so we not only have a good 01:05:39.810 --> 01:05:50.817 - land use policy that encourages economic development, but we also have really good land that could be 01:05:50.817 --> 01:06:01.824 - used for businesses or residential. We have IU, Ivy Tech, and all the high schools and schools in the 01:06:01.824 --> 01:06:09.054 - area. They graduate kids, they educate them, and then they go look 01:06:09.986 --> 01:06:17.754 - Like Andrea said, a lot of times they have to go look somewhere else to live and thrive because there 01:06:17.754 --> 01:06:25.370 - isn't housing or there's not economic development that supports their education. So I think we have 01:06:25.370 --> 01:06:33.061 - an opportunity to change that and retain those kids. A lot of them, they're our own kids, especially 01:06:33.061 --> 01:06:39.230 - if they come out of high school. And for me, the reason I'm such a big proponent 01:06:39.554 --> 01:06:47.780 - on this is I have grandkids, and I'd like for them to be here and be part of the future. So anyway, 01:06:47.780 --> 01:06:56.171 - I just think that there's a lot of opportunity in this reorg. It's going to happen one way or another 01:06:56.171 --> 01:07:04.973 - through annexation. It's almost a monthly thing where somebody annexes a parcel or a large parcel. There's 01:07:04.973 --> 01:07:09.086 - some in the works now, and so reorganization just 01:07:09.602 --> 01:07:18.121 - allows this process to move forward. But above all else, I think the best part of this reorganization 01:07:18.121 --> 01:07:26.724 - process is it is democratic. You get to vote on it. And so I'm willing to, I think whatever the voters 01:07:26.724 --> 01:07:35.160 - decide, that's what everybody ought to adhere to. And the fact that it's a democratic process is the 01:07:35.160 --> 01:07:38.334 - best part of this. And so I appeal to 01:07:38.434 --> 01:07:46.663 - the township and the town board to vote this through when they can so everybody gets a say. I think 01:07:46.663 --> 01:07:54.398 - that was the common denominator tonight. So I appreciate our lawyers who have worked on this, 01:07:54.398 --> 01:08:02.627 - Baker Tilly, the reorganization committee, people have put in a ton of time on this and even had to 01:08:02.627 --> 01:08:03.614 - worry about 01:08:03.874 --> 01:08:10.665 - what we're gonna do in the future and decisions that they make or suggestions they make that may be 01:08:10.665 --> 01:08:17.456 - taken up. It's historic, so there's some stress in all this, and so I really appreciate everybody's 01:08:17.456 --> 01:08:24.315 - effort in all this, so thank you. Board, have any other comments? If not, I'd like to close with one 01:08:24.315 --> 01:08:31.445 - very brief statement, if we can. I think I wanna agree, and I don't think, I know I agree with everybody 01:08:31.445 --> 01:08:33.822 - who says put it before the voters. 01:08:34.370 --> 01:08:40.517 - Fair thing to do and let's be honest as you've heard this plan unfold and as you've read it for most 01:08:40.517 --> 01:08:46.785 - of you It doesn't offer anything. You don't have it really doesn't it offers you almost zero But let's 01:08:46.785 --> 01:08:52.931 - also be honest about that How many of you are gonna need the police department tonight? Hopefully no 01:08:52.931 --> 01:08:59.199 - one how many of you're gonna need the fire department? Hopefully no one how many of you need your road 01:08:59.199 --> 01:09:01.086 - plow tonight? Hopefully no one 01:09:02.466 --> 01:09:08.581 - and we can go on and on and on. We're not promising you anything you don't already have. What we're 01:09:08.581 --> 01:09:14.940 - promising you is that this board will be responsive to you. All of us live in this area. All of us live 01:09:14.940 --> 01:09:21.483 - in the considered consolidation area. We're all in this together. For some of you, you're going to benefit 01:09:21.483 --> 01:09:27.598 - more than others. Some of you, I'll just be honest with you, one away from the city of Bloomington. 01:09:27.598 --> 01:09:32.062 - You don't want to be annexed. This prevents that. Some of you don't want 01:09:32.162 --> 01:09:39.141 - a larger body telling you how you can use your land. This prevents that. Some of you will benefit greatly. 01:09:39.141 --> 01:09:45.664 - Some of you will pay no additional taxes whatsoever. Some of you will pay more. But what it remains 01:09:45.664 --> 01:09:52.513 - down to is what are you buying for your dollars? You're buying insurance. Simple as that. You are buying 01:09:52.513 --> 01:09:59.101 - insurance. That if you call 911, Eltsville PD shows up. If you call 911, Eltsville Fire shows up. If 01:09:59.101 --> 01:10:00.862 - you need your street plow, 01:10:01.250 --> 01:10:06.272 - Elseville shows up. If you need something done at your house and permission to do something with your 01:10:06.272 --> 01:10:11.244 - land, you come to this board and ask about it. You don't have to go to somebody far removed from you 01:10:11.244 --> 01:10:16.463 - that has no accountability whatsoever. You are buying insurance if you vote for consolidation, and that's 01:10:16.463 --> 01:10:21.632 - all you're buying, and I hope you don't have to use any of it. It's a reason we all have life insurance. 01:10:21.632 --> 01:10:26.703 - It's a reason all of our houses are insured. That's all you're buying. You're not getting anything you 01:10:26.703 --> 01:10:30.494 - don't already have. The question is, do you want that insurance on the hook? 01:10:30.690 --> 01:10:41.118 - for the day you need it. That's my two cents. Anyone else? Seeing nothing further, we'll stand adjourned.