Council Preview Aug. 28, 2019: Buses, fire allocations from public safety income tax
Two agenda items appear for a second reading and final vote on the Bloomington’s city council’s agenda for Wednesday.
One is an appropriation ordinance for Bloomington Transit buses—BT won some competitive federal grants totaling $900,000. That makes the ordinance amount about $1.13 million because of the 20-percent local share that BT will need to contribute towards the cost of the three new buses—two for its BT Access para-transit service and one for the fixed-route service. The fixed-route service bus is a battery electric bus. All three buses are replacement vehicles, not part of a fleet expansion. [Previous Beacon coverage: 1 2]
The second agenda item is one piece of the approvals the city council will need to make for the allocation of public safety local income tax funds. The income tax rate of 0.25 percent is estimated to generate about $8.65 million countywide. On Wednesday, the council will be asked to approve $389,461 worth of funding from that tax revenue—it’s the portion that goes to “qualified service providers.” In practical terms, that means the money will go to a half dozen different fire departments in the county.
Legislative packets with detailed background are available on the city council’s document page.
Qualified Service Provider Allocations 
| Applicant | Request | Recommendation |
| Bean Blossom Stinesville Volunteer Fire Department Inc. |
$140,000 (Tactical Vehicle [$60,000] and MHz Repeaters [$80,000]) | $51,928.14 |
| Benton Twp Volunteer Fire Department |
$162,500 (Remodeling Twp. Fire Station [$110,000], New Extrication Tool Set ($46,000), and New 5-Way Gas Readers [$6,500]) | $65,602.54 |
| Ellettsville Fire Department (for service to Richland Twp) | $141,273 (45 sets of Fire Gear @ $3,139.45/ set]) | $60,582.82 |
| Monroe Fire Protection District | $150,000 (Remodel Station #23 [$120,000] and EMS Squad Vehicle [$30,000]) | $86,546.89 |
| Northern Monroe Fire Territory | $101,600 (Battery-Powered Extrication Tool Set [$31,600) and Haz-Mat Identification Meter [$70,000]) | $46,908.41 |
| Van Buren Township Fire Department |
$150,000 (Remodel Station #9 [$135,000] and ARFF9 Training [15,000]) | $77,892.20 |
