city – The B Square

If they weren’t already in town, Indiana University students arrived this week in Bloomington to start the fall term next Monday.

On Thursday morning, if any them looked skyward in the downtown area, they might have seen a red-tailed hawk perched on top of the Monroe County courthouse. It flew off eastward a couple of blocks and landed on the steeple of the First Presbyterian Church at 6th and Lincoln streets. From there it made a short jump to a tree on the Monroe County Public Library side of the intersection, then crossed 6th Street and landed in a tree next to the big pink house on the north side of the street. It flew off eastward in the direction of campus.

On Thursday evening, any of the students who moved in to the big complexes on North Walnut Street, could have spotted a great egret fishing the waters of the southernmost detention pond of Miller-Showers Park. The big white bird waded the southwest corner for a while, working its way towards the sculpture—a piece by Dale Enochs called “Axis.” It then flew to the east side of the pond where it found some more fish to snack on.

More photos below. (Click on any image for a bigger version.)

Continue reading “Photos | Bloomington resident wildlife update from move-in week: red-tailed hawk, great egret” →

On Wednesday, Bloomington’s city council could take a final vote that would enact an increase to the local income tax (LIT) that is paid by all residents of Monroe County, whether they live inside the city limits or not.

two stacked bars side by side. Components of the layers are the different categories of LIT. The total height of the left bar is 1.345 which is the current rate. Adding in 0.855 of economic development category makes the right bar 2.2 high. — This article looks at the impact of enacting an additional 0.855 points in the certified shares (green) category of local income tax, instead of enacting the increase in the economic development category (lilac).

Bloomington mayor John Hamilton has proposed an increase of 0.855 points, which would make the total rate 2.2 percent. For county residents who pay the tax, it would mean an extra $85 dollars paid on every $10,000 of taxable income.

At the city council’s Wednesday night corral, there’s the possibility of some political horse trading, based on the amount of increase to the rate. The horse trading could even lead to a delay in the final vote for at least another week.

At-large council representative Matt Flaherty said at last week’s meeting he would support the rate as proposed by the mayor. But he added, “In working to meet my colleagues somewhere in the middle, at the very least, I think I can come down to 0.65, and find a balance of what I think is most essential.”

The balance to be struck in the package proposed by Hamilton is between public safety and essential services on the one hand, and climate change mitigation and quality of life on the other.

The focus of the council’s consideration now appears to be just the rate, and how much revenue it would mean for the city of Bloomington.

I think it’s wrong to make that the sole focus of deliberations.

It’s wrong for at least two connected reasons. Continue reading “Opinion: Local income tax increase, a way to heal rift between Bloomington, other stakeholders?” →