Tag: annexation

Second lower court order against Bloomington: ‘[T]he annexation of Areas 1A and 1B shall not take place’

Map of annexation areas. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1_7o1q_H6CpeK-1gdEzDTxnPk84RZQ_E&usp=sharing
Lawrence county circuit court photo of special judge for Bloomington annexation lawsuit Nathan Nikirk

In the trial on the merits for two big annexation areas west and southwest of Bloomington, a circuit court judge has ruled in favor of remonstrators—that is, against the city of Bloomington.

It was mid-afternoon on Wednesday, when judge Nathan Nikirk, out of Lawrence County, issued his order  that says Area 1A and Area 1B can’t be annexed into the city of Bloomington.

In the 47-page order, the line near the end that counted was: “Accordingly, the annexation of Areas 1A and 1B shall not take place.”

Nikirk found that for both areas, the city of Bloomington had failed to demonstrate adequate population density, degree of urbanization, or the city’s need for the land.

In addition, Nikirk found that there would be a significant financial impact on residents in annexed areas, and that annexation would not be in their best interest. Continue reading “Second lower court order against Bloomington: ‘[T]he annexation of Areas 1A and 1B shall not take place’” →

Bloomington doesn’t budge on sewer extension denial, sticks to annexation-related policy

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=13DH-gnGfdqjZbpDUy8XcY764CSy9dBs&usp=sharing
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=13DH-gnGfdqjZbpDUy8XcY764CSy9dBs&usp=sharing
Proposed development for rezone by Monroe County commissioners.

At its regular Monday (July 29) meeting, Bloomington’s utilities service board (USB) upheld the denial of a requested sewer connection for a piece of property west of town, at the intersection of Airport Road and SR 45.

The denial of sewer service to the parcel was made by interim CBU director Katherine Zaiger. The appeal was made to the USB.

The voice vote was nearly, but not quite unanimous, as USB president Megan Parmenter dissented.

The current city of Bloomington utilities (CBU) policy, enacted by the USB in August 2022, stems from pending litigation that eventually arose from Bloomington’s original 2017 plan to annex several territories around the city on an involuntary basis.

The basic CBU policy is now for the CBU director not to grant extension of any additional sewer service outside the city boundaries, unless there is a valid petition for voluntary annexation in place. Continue reading “Bloomington doesn’t budge on sewer extension denial, sticks to annexation-related policy” →

Bloomington asks judge for ‘magic language’ so adverse annexation ruling can be appealed

The areas rendered in black, Area 1A and Area 1B, had their lawsuits with constitutional claims dismissed by the city. The remaining five five areas, shown in different colors are subject of the consolidated lawsuits with a constitutional claim.
Lawrence county circuit court photo of special judge for Bloomington annexation lawsuit Nathan Nikirk

Bloomington is looking to appeal the ruling that judge Nathan Nikirk made in mid-June, which found that a 2019 state law about annexation remonstrance waivers was not unconstitutional, as the city had argued.

Last Tuesday (July 2), the city of Bloomington filed a motion asking Nikirk to do one of two things.

The city wants Nikirk either to clarify that his ruling on the constitutional question was a final, appealable ruling, or else certify the city’s motion for an interlocutory appeal. An interlocutory appeal is one that is made on a ruling before the trial is over.

It’s a technical motion, but the takeaway is that Bloomington wants to appeal Nikirk’s ruling, one way or another. [Updated July 10, 2024: Nikirk has granted Bloomington’s motion to amend his ruling to include the “magic language” that the city had requested. That sets the stage for Bloomington to make its appeal as a matter of right to the court of appeals.]

The city’s motion does not appear to have been posted to the online docket until Monday (July 8), which is likely due to the week-long Monroe County government shutdown due to a cyberattack. Continue reading “Bloomington asks judge for ‘magic language’ so adverse annexation ruling can be appealed” →

Monroe County 2024 primary winners: Thomas, Madeira, Van Deventer, Munson, Deckard, Henry

The unofficial tallies for Monroe County voting in the Tuesday, May 7 primary elections made for the following outcomes in contested local races for respective party nominations:

  • Incumbent Democrat Julie Thomas over Peter Iversen for District 2 county commissioner;
  • Democrat Jody Madeira over Steve Volan and incumbent Penny Githens for District 3 county commissioner;
  • Incumbent Democrats Trent Deckard and Cheryl Munson ahead of David Henry and Matt Caldie for the three at-large county council seats, with Henry slightly better than Caldie; and
  • Republican Joe Van Deventer over Paul White, Sr. for District 3 county commissioner.

Continue reading “Monroe County 2024 primary winners: Thomas, Madeira, Van Deventer, Munson, Deckard, Henry” →

Analysis: Vignettes from candidate forums for county commissioner hopefuls Githens, Madeira, Volan

Both races for Monroe County commissioner are contested this year. In one race, incumbent Democrat Julie Thomas is competing with Peter Iversen for the party’s nomination. Iversen currently serves on the county council.

In the other race, incumbent Democrat Penny Githens is competing for the nomination with Jody Madeira, an Indiana University law professor, and Steve Volan, who lost his re-election bid to the Bloomington city council last year.

For the seat where the Democrats have a three-way primary, the Republicans also have a contested race. Vying for the GOP nomination are Paul White, Sr. and Joe VanDeventer. Continue reading “Analysis: Vignettes from candidate forums for county commissioner hopefuls Githens, Madeira, Volan” →

MCCSC referendum squeaks by with 1-point margin, Bloomington residents push it over top

A Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC) referendum question won approval on Tuesday, based on the unofficial tally from the county clerk’s office.

Purple shading indicates more yes votes than no votes. Orange shading indicates  more no votes than yes votes.

The 8.5-cent property tax increase, which was proposed by MCCSC, and now approved by voters, is supposed to pay for early childhood education programs.

The margin for the referendum approval was thin—just 108 votes out of over 10,000 ballots cast.

Here’s the raw total breakdown: 5,229 yes to 5,121 no. That’s 50.5 percent to 49.5 percent.

The narrow passage reflected a number of concerns, including the fact that voters had just last year approved an MCCSC referendum.

Other voters expressed a lack of confidence in the current MCCSC administration, at least in part fueled by a recent controversy about unifying the daily schedules of all four Bloomington high schools.

The MCCSC referendum showed uneven support inside Bloomington compared to outside the city. That’s based on the precinct-by-precinct tallies released by the county clerk’s office.

Outside the city of Bloomington, two-thirds of voters cast a ballot against the referendum. By the numbers, outside Bloomington, there were 2,567 no votes (66.5%) compared to 1,292 yes votes (33.5%). Continue reading “MCCSC referendum squeaks by with 1-point margin, Bloomington residents push it over top” →

2024 Monroe County budget OK’d with 8.5% pay raises, amid concerns about long term, new jail

This public commenter introduced himself as Leroy Jones.
Sam Holdeman called for decreases in the budget for prosecution.
Monroe County councilor Jennifer Crossley.
Monroe County councilor Marty Hawk.
Monroe County councilor Trent Deckard.
Monroe County councilor Peter Iverson.
Micol Seigel in a satirical guise.
Monroe County council (Oct. 17, 2023)

This past Tuesday, the Monroe County council voted to adopt the budget for 2024 on a 5–1 tally. Dissenting was Marty Hawk. Geoff McKim was absent.

The total county budget for 2024 is $132,259,264, of which $59,251,842 is the general fund.

Hawk still voted in favor of the salary ordinance for non-elected county employees, which included an 8.5-percent raise, and a roughly 11-percent raise for those workers who are lowest on the salary grid.

Hawk was also the sole vote of dissent on the salary ordinance for elected officials, which included the same 8.5-percent increase as for other county employees.

After the meeting, Hawk clarified to The B Square that when faced with an up-or-down vote on the same percentage increase for all elected officials, she felt she had to vote it down—because she was not in favor of the same increase for all county elected officials. She put it like this: “I would just say that I’m not as inclined to approve of the jobs some of them do. Most do a great job. Most do.”

On Tuesday, county council president Kate Wiltz noted that the 2024 budget does not include funding for the planned new jail facility. No decision has yet been made on a site, even if the county is taking steps to consider the Thomson PUD as a location for the new jail.

Several comments from the public mic included criticism of the county’s plans to construct a new jail. Continue reading “2024 Monroe County budget OK’d with 8.5% pay raises, amid concerns about long term, new jail” →

Judge greenlights start of Bloomington annexation trials, schedule not yet set

Lawrence county circuit court photo of special judge for Bloomington annexation lawsuit Nathan Nikirk
The plot of dots is from the 2020 census. 1 dot = 1 person counted in the census, with randomized locations within each census block.

Early Thursday, special judge Nathan Nikirk issued an order that says the Bloomington annexation trials for Area 1A and Area 1B will now go forward.

The ruling came after a hearing held Wednesday morning on the question of whether Nikirk should grant the city of Bloomington’s request that he lift a stay, which Nikirk had imposed in early September, on the annexation trials for the two areas.

With the stay now lifted, the trials for Area 1A and Area 1B, which lie to the west and southwest of the city, can now be scheduled. They probably would not start until early 2024. But Nikirk has set a conference for Oct. 23, to sort out the timing.

Bloomington’s request for certification of its appeal of the original stay order, so that the city could go in front of the court of appeals on the question of the stay, became moot under the order that Nikirk issued on Thursday. So Nikirk denied Bloomington’s request for the appeal certification.

Continue reading “Judge greenlights start of Bloomington annexation trials, schedule not yet set” →

Ruling expected Thursday morning on timing of Bloomington annexation trial

Early Wednesday morning, special judge Nathan Nikirk heard procedural arguments in the Bloomington annexation trials for Area 1A and Area 1B, which are west of the city.

Lawrence county circuit court special judge for Bloomington annexation lawsuit Nathan Nikirk

Nikirk said he would likely issue a ruling on the question in front of him “first thing in the morning,” which would mean early Thursday, Oct. 19.

The question for Wednesday was whether Nikirk should grant the city of Bloomington’s request that he lift his stay, which Nikirk had imposed in early September, on the annexation trials for Area 1A and Area 1B.

The stay, which is the legal term for a pause, was meant to allow a constitutional question concerning annexation waivers to get resolved, before conducting the statutorily defined trials for the two areas. The constitutional question bears on a 2019 law that invalidated older annexation waivers, which is the subject of some separate lawsuits filed by Bloomington.

If Nikirk’s decision on Thursday is for Bloomington, that would mean going ahead with the annexation trials for the two areas, just as soon as they can be put on the court’s calendar.

But even if Nikirk rules for Bloomington, the Area 1A and Area 1B trials would probably not start until early 2024. Continue reading “Ruling expected Thursday morning on timing of Bloomington annexation trial” →