Tag: county

Political brief: Iversen runs for county commissioner, Zulich takes formal step for city council caucus

Peter Iversen speaks at an Oct. 3, 2022 county council campaign forum.

Political news from the end of this week included city as well as county campaigns for office.

Sydney Zulich has filed her paperwork to stand as a candidate in the Democratic Party’s city council ballot vacancy caucus, according to election office staff.

The city council vacancy on the Nov. 7 ballot stems from David Wolfe Bender’s decision to resign as the Democratic Party’s nominee for District 6.  Bender won the May 2 primary as the only candidate on the ballot.

No Republican declared for District 6, but the GOP has until July 3 to caucus in a candidate of their own.

The Democratic Party’s caucus is set for June 30 at 4:30 p.m. in city council chambers at city hall.

Looking ahead to the 2024 Democratic Party primary, Peter Iversen has filed the paperwork to form a committee to run for the District 2 Monroe County commissioner seat.

Iversen is currently in his fourth year of service on the seven-member county council, which is the county’s fiscal body. Continue reading “Political brief: Iversen runs for county commissioner, Zulich takes formal step for city council caucus” →

Opinion: Local income tax increase, a way to heal rift between Bloomington, other stakeholders?

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?” →