Category: City Council

Column: Bloomington city council quarrel about committees could be helped by a look back to 1954

The image contains the text of points 59 and 60 or an ordinance. The complete text reads as follows: "59. Each ordinance to be introduced in the Common Council shall be typewritten or mimeographed, and at least six (6) boors before the convening of the meeting at which such ordinance is to be introduced, twelve (12) copies thereof shall be filed with the Clerk-Treasurer for his file and to be distributed to the members of the Council, the Mayor and the City Attorney. Such filed copies accompanied by a motion signed by a member of the Common Council proposing the introduction of such ordinance, shall qualify the ordinance to be placed on the calendar for first reading. However, upon motion approved by two-thirds!s of the members -present, said requirement for advance filing: of conies may be waived. 60. An ordinance shall be read a first time by the clerk when the order order of business is reached during the session of the Council;· provided, Rule 59 is complied with or waived. However, if there be objection to its consideration after the Clerk has read the title of such proposed ordinance, the question shall be: ''Shall the proposal be considered?'' Such question shall be decided without debate, and if two-thirds of the members present vote in the negative, the proposal shall be stricken from the calendar and not read. The first reading of such ordinance shall be in its entirety, and shall be for information only. An ordinance may not be debated or amended on its first reading, but shall normally be referred to an appropriate committee for consideration and recommendation. "
The image is taken from Bloomington city council rules adopted as part of Ordinance 7 in 1954.

On Wednesday this week, Bloomington’s city council will convene a stand-alone committee-of-the-whole meeting to discuss one item—an ordinance that would put an all-way stop at the intersection of Maxwell Lane and Sheridan Drive.

This week’s committee meeting has been listed on the council’s 2022 annual calendar since the council adopted the schedule late last year.

But at last week’s council meeting, after the stop sign ordinance was introduced and given a first reading, a motion was made to skip the committee meeting. That motion failed on a 4–5 vote “along party lines.”

The bit inside scare quotes is a joke, because all nine members of Bloomington’s city council are Democrats. But on the question of legislative process, the council has been sharply divided—along pretty much the same lines—since the start of 2020, when the current edition of the city council was sworn into office. Continue reading “Column: Bloomington city council quarrel about committees could be helped by a look back to 1954” →

Bloomington OKs $100K for emergency reproductive services, meant to counter effect of SB1

Bloomington city council president Susan Sandberg (Oct. 19, 2022)
Bloomington city council (Oct. 19, 2022)
Bloomington corporation counsel Beth Cate (Oct. 19, 2022).

On a unanimous vote at its regular Wednesday meeting, Bloomington’s city council approved a $100,000 appropriation for this year (2022) to pay for “an emergency reproductive health care program to help address the impacts of Indiana’s near-total abortion ban.”

Last week the council adopted a budget for 2023 that included another $100,000 for the same purpose.

From the public mic on Wednesday came opposition to the appropriation as well as support for it.

The expenditures are supposed to provide “lawful assistance to residents of Bloomington” who are affected by SB1, a law that prohibits most abortions in the state of Indiana, effective Sept. 15. Continue reading “Bloomington OKs $100K for emergency reproductive services, meant to counter effect of SB1” →

Bloomington budget adopted, AFSCME workers get same pay (for now) as last year

Bloomington city council (Oct. 12, 2022)
Bloomington mayor John Hamilton (Oct. 12, 2022).
AFSCME member addresses Bloomington city council (Oct. 12, 2022)
AFSCME members in Bloomington city council chambers (Oct. 12, 2022)
AFSCME Local 2487 president Bradley Rushton addresses Bloomington city council (Oct. 12, 2022)

On unanimous votes taken on Wednesday night, Bloomington’s city council adopted the six separate ordinances that make up the 2023 budget.

That meant the council chose not to confront Bloomington mayor John Hamilton’s administration in the same way it did last year, when it postponed a vote on the next year’s budget until late October.

Based on their deliberations in late September this year, indications had been that a delay similar to last year’s might have been in the works, especially on the ordinance that sets AFSCME member pay.

Just one councilmember, Jim Sims, had expressed support for that ordinance during late September deliberations. The straw poll results on that occasion showed five councilmembers voting no and three abstaining.

But on Wednesday, the salary ordinance that sets AFSCME pay for 2023 was adopted on a unanimous vote, with the same pay schedule for those workers as for 2022. When the current ongoing collective bargaining negotiations conclude with an agreement, that salary ordinance is supposed to be amended to reflect a pay increase.

City council chambers were filled on Wednesday night with more than 50 AFSCME members who pled with the council to support them in their ongoing contract negotiations. Their current four-year contract expires at the end of the year. Continue reading “Bloomington budget adopted, AFSCME workers get same pay (for now) as last year” →

2023 Bloomington budget notebook: Parking cashouts, cop cars

The methods used by city employees to get to work have surfaced in two ways during recent Bloomington city council deliberations on the 2023 budget.

First, for city hall employees, mayor John Hamilton has already implemented a parking “cashout” program for the second half of 2022. It’s supposed to encourage employees to find a different way to arrive at work than driving a car by themselves—by giving them a $250 reward for not purchasing a city hall parking permit.

Parking permits for the city hall lot have historically cost $2 annually.

The parking “cash out” program, for the whole year, is also a part of the 2023 budget, and will reward employees who don’t purchase a parking permit, by giving them a $500 payment.

Second, Hamilton got a push from some councilmembers at the first reading of the 2023 budget, which came on Sept. 28, to allow Bloomington police officers to take their squad cars home.

That would mean a change from the administration’s current policy, which is to allow just those officers who live inside the city limits—or who are part of an on-call response team—to take their squad cars home.

Councilmembers who want to allow police officers to use their squad cars to get to and from work, and for other purposes during off-duty time, see it as maintaining parity with other police departments. It’s part of their ongoing worry about the retention and recruitment of Bloomington police officers.

How many employees are impacted by these programs? Continue reading “2023 Bloomington budget notebook: Parking cashouts, cop cars” →

2023 Bloomington budget notebook: Trash talk, cart fees, general fund

Some Bloomington residents could soon see significant increases in their trash collection fees.

But trash cart fees are laid out in city code, separate from the city budget.

So the city council’s upcoming decisions on the city’s 2023 budget will not affect trash collection fees.

Any decision to increase trash cart fees would come later in the year, in the form of a separate ordinance change enacted by the city council.

And Bloomington mayor John Hamilton’s proposed 2023 budget does not assume any increase in trash cart collection fees. Continue reading “2023 Bloomington budget notebook: Trash talk, cart fees, general fund” →

Initial talk: Bloomington city council balks on 2023 budget, likely looking for better employee pay before late October vote

Bloomington city council. (Sept. 28, 2022)
Bloomington mayor John Hamilton. (Sept. 28, 2022)
Screenshot
Bloomington deputy mayor, Don Griffin. (Sept. 28, 2022)
Bloomington mayor John Hamilton addresses the city council about the 2023 budget (Sept. 28, 2022)
AFSCME Local 2487 president Bradley Rushton. (Sept. 28, 2022)

“Rather than have a transformative budget, I would like a budget that is fair and equitable to our city employees.”

On Wednesday night, that’s how Bloomington city councilmember Dave Rollo summed up his thoughts on mayor John Hamilton’s proposed 2023 budget.

Rollo’s choice of words was not accidental—Hamilton has pitched his budget as “transformative.”

There’s no question the dollar figure is bigger. Hamilton’s $129.4-million budget proposed for 2023 is $22.4 million more than last year, fueled by $16 million in additional revenue from a 0.69-point increase in the local income tax.

Rollo and several of his city council colleagues don’t think the proposed 5-percent increase in employee base compensation is enough to retain and recruit city employees.

The rate of inflation measured between December 2020 and December 2021 was 7.5 percent. From August 2021 to August 2022, it was 8.1 percent.

Faced with high inflation many city employees are leaving for better-paying jobs. From August 2021 through July of 2022, 122 city employees have left the city for one reason or another. That’s 35 percent more than the 90 employees who left the year before.

And it’s in the neighborhood of double the 66 departures from August 2019 to July 2022 and the 69 departures in the year before that. Of the 42 employees who have completed an exit survey this year, 19 have said their new position offers a higher salary.

So on Wednesday at the council’s committee-of-the-whole meeting, the tally for the council’s straw poll vote was 0–6–3. That means not one of nine councilmembers was willing to say they’d support the mayor’s budget when it comes time for the actual vote on adoption, which is set for Oct. 12. Continue reading “Initial talk: Bloomington city council balks on 2023 budget, likely looking for better employee pay before late October vote” →

Column: New Bloomington city council districts should get a vote on Sept. 21, but probably won’t

Last Wednesday, Bloomington’s redistricting advisory commission voted to recommend a set of new population-balanced districts for the city council, which would be used starting with the 2023 city elections.

This Wednesday morning (Sept. 7), the advisory commission is set to take a vote on the report that will be forwarded to the city council for its consideration.

Based on its current schedule, the city council could—if it set its collective mind to it—take a vote to adopt or reject the new map and report as soon as the regular council meeting that is set for Sept. 21.

But under the city’s redistricting ordinance, the council could wait almost six weeks, until Nov. 1, to adopt or reject the advisory commission’s map.

Still, the current lull—between last week’s departmental budget presentations and the first reading of the final 2023 budget set for Sept. 28—makes for a perfect time for the city council to give the recommended map an up-or-down vote. Continue reading “Column: New Bloomington city council districts should get a vote on Sept. 21, but probably won’t” →

Bloomington 2023 budget notebook: Compensation, scooters, fire stations, trash fees, coins for parking

Bloomington mayor John Hamilton is greeted by AFSCME workers as he leaves city hall on Aug. 30, 2022. Left in the frame is AFSCME Local 2487 president Bradley Rushton.
AFSCME Local 2487 president Bradley Rushton addresses the city council during 2023 budget week.
From left: Bloomington police chief Mike Diekhoff; and Paul Post, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, Don Owens Memorial Lodge 88.
Bloomington city councilmember Jim Sims.
Bloomington city councilmember Sue Sgambelluri.

The hour was close to 11:30 p.m. on Thursday when Bloomington’s city council wrapped its fourth night of departmental budget presentations in a row, each starting at 6 p.m.

Over the four days, the council racked up a total of 17 hours and 40 minutes worth of meeting time.

That intense burst of activity will be followed by the submission of written followup questions by city councilmembers to the administration. Based on past practice, answers to those questions will eventually be released, sometime before the 2023 budget ordinances get a first reading in front of the city council.

The first readings are currently set for a little more than three weeks from now, on Sept. 28.  The city’s 2023 budget is currently set for adoption by the council on Oct. 12. Continue reading “Bloomington 2023 budget notebook: Compensation, scooters, fire stations, trash fees, coins for parking” →

New Bloomington council district lines proposed, advisory commission report set for Sept. 7 adoption

On a 4–0 vote taken on Wednesday night, Bloomington’s redistricting advisory commission settled on new boundary lines for the six city council districts, which will be recommended by the group to the city council.

The commission is set to meet next Wednesday (Sept. 7) to finalize its report on the recommended map.

The city council has until Nov. 1 to either adopt or reject the recommended map. If it’s rejected, the redistricting advisory commission has until Dec. 1 to respond to the council. Under state law, the city council has to adopt a new population-balanced map by the end of the year.

The work for city council redistricting takes place in the second year following the decennial census. The point of redistricting work is to restore population balance to the districts that might have shifted in the last 10 years.

Highlights of the new map include the prominence of 3rd Street as an east-west running boundary that is generally respected by every district—with one exception.

The 3rd Street boundary corresponds to the line between Bloomington Township and Perry Township. Political subdivisions like townships are among the “communities of interest” described in local code, which proposed new districts are supposed to avoid splitting. Continue reading “New Bloomington council district lines proposed, advisory commission report set for Sept. 7 adoption” →

$129M in 2023: Bloomington mayor asks city council to approve 21% bigger budget for next year

Bloomington city council (Aug. 29, 2022)
Bloomington mayor John Hamilton (Aug. 29, 2020)

The 2023 budget  that has been proposed by Bloomington mayor John Hamilton comes in at $129.2 million, which is about 21 percent more than last year.

That’s the figure in city controller Jeff Underwood’s memo, which was released on Monday at 2 p.m. A  news release came a few minutes later.

Hamilton delivered the proposal to the city council on Monday evening.

The budget reflects a 5-percent pay increase for non-union workers, plus a $250 quarterly bonus, for a total of $1,000 in bonuses.

Hamilton’s presentation was followed by a financial overview from city controller Jeff Underwood and an overview of compensation by human resources director Caroline Shaw.

After that, the council received departmental budget briefings from several departments: human resources; clerk’s office; legal department; information and technology services; city council; controller; and office of the mayor.

The departmental budget breakdowns were released last Friday.  The departmental budget presentations to the council will continue over the next three nights, all starting at 6 p.m.  The B Square will report reaction from councilmembers separately.

The $129 million reflects all of the city’s departments, but does not include city of Bloomington utilities, Bloomington Transit, or the Bloomington Housing Authority. Adding in the budgets for those three entities brings the total to about $229 million.

Changes residents will notice

Part of the budget proposal includes reductions in some city services, increased costs to residents, or changes to current practice.

Continue reading “$129M in 2023: Bloomington mayor asks city council to approve 21% bigger budget for next year” →