At their Oct. 13 meeting, the Bloomington Council expressed frustration with the city's budget process and voted to recess their meeting until Oct. 27, in order to further negotiate with Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton. 

Some councilmembers want to add a full-time climate action director who would oversee implementation of the city's climate action plan. Other councilmembers are concerned about the city's ability to recruit and retain Bloomington Police Department sworn officers, and want to increase officers' base pay.

​The deadline to act on the budget is Nov. 2. After that, the 2021 tax levy is carried over automatically and the city would lose about $1.2 million in general fund revenues.

​Watch the council's Oct. 13 meeting on CATS here.

On Friday, Oct. 8, official public notices from the City of Bloomington were published in the Bloomington Herald-Times, marking the next step in the city's annexation process. 

Property owners who oppose annexation now have 90 days to file remonstrances with the Monroe County Auditor. Forms will be available at the courthouse square rotunda from 8-4 weekdays. Cathy Smith, the county auditor, will be offering informational classes on the remonstrance process at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. from Oct. 11-15, also at the courthouse square rotunda.

Read more about the city's annexation process here.

Mayor John Hamilton's Recover Forward relief program has allocated $100,000 to the Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association (BUEA) and the Bloomington Arts Commission (BAC) to support local artists, nonprofit organizations, and businesses whose work has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Grant applications are due Friday, October 29th at 5pm, and can be submitted under the following three categories:

• Operating Support: Non-profit organizations may apply for up to 5% of their total operating budget (including in-kind operating expenses) for the most recently completed fiscal year.
• Project Support: Individuals or organizations may apply for up to $2,000 of project support.
• Emerging Artists: Individual artists in the early stages of their career and not yet established within the field may apply for up to $500 of support for a public-facing project.

If you are interested in learning more about submitting an application, follow this link to the City's website for more information.

​The City will also be holding office hours the week of October 18th for applicants to ask further questions. To schedule a meeting, please contact Holly Warren, Assistant Director for the Arts and Staff Liaison to the Bloomington Arts Commission by email at [email protected] or by phone at 812-349-3534. 

The City of Bloomington is re-opening Kirkwood Avenue to vehicles from Walnut to Indiana after Oct. 31. Portions of the street have been closed during the COVID-19 pandemic to allow businesses – mostly restaurants – to have more space to serve customers outside.

Also ending is the "parklet" program, which cordoned off parking spaces with orange barriers to allow for extra outside seating, and the restricted parking spots designated as pick-up/drop-off zones.

City staff are preparing a proposal for Bloomington Council to consider restarting the partial Kirkwood closures and parklet program in 2022, from mid-March through October. Kaisa Goodman is the point person for the proposal, and can be reached at [email protected].

UPDATE: Staff will present a plan for 2022 to Bloomington Council on Wednesday, Dec. 8 with a final vote expected on Dec. 15. Stayed tuned for details.

In a 5-hour meeting on Sept. 22, the Bloomington Council approved annexation of most areas proposed by the city administration, but did not move forward with Area 7, covering Bloomington's northern corridor.

​The votes to annex were all 6-3, with opposition from Dave Rollo, Susan Sandberg and Ron Smith.

Residents in the proposed annexed areas now have 90 days to file remonstrances, which are objections to annexation. Several speakers during public commentary on Sept. 22 who opposed annexation – including Monroe County Commissioner Julie Thomas and Margaret Clements, chair of the Monroe County Plan Commission – vowed to help residents with the remonstration process. 

If remonstrances are signed by 65 percent of the affected landowners in a proposed annexation area, or owners of 80 percent of the assessed property value there, then the annexation is automatically stopped. If more than 50 percent but less than 65 percent of affected landowners remonstrate, an appeal to the circuit court can be made. 

Read more about the city's annexation process here.

At their Sept. 8 special meeting, the Bloomington Council passed a resolution urging the administration to increase the annual salary for Bloomington police officers by $5,000. The resolution passed 7-1-1, with Matt Flaherty voting against it and Kate Rosenbarger abstaining.

The resolution is non-binding, which means it doesn't force the administration to act. The administration opposed the resolution, saying it would interfere with the city's collective bargaining​ efforts with the police union. The current contract runs through 2022, but could be re-opened if both parties agree.

BPD has struggled to recruit and retain officers. The department is authorized to hire 105 officers, but currently has only 93 on staff. Of those, only 76 are available for duty, as others are on sick leave, military duty, or are being trained. The city is currently developing its 2022 budget. BPD has requested a $20 million budget, with $16.65 million for personnel.

Watch the council deliberations on CATS here. Read the resolution here.

Holly Warren has been named the City of Bloomington's Assistant Director for the Arts, a position within the Economic & Sustainability Development Department.

​The position represents the city to other organizations in issues related to arts and culture, oversees and coordinates public art projects, cultural activities and community events, and supports community artists and cultural organizations.  

Warren began on Sept. 7 and replaces Sean Starowitz, who served in this role from 2016 until 2021.  Her  annual salary is $56,746.

Monroe County and the City of Bloomington are accepting applications for their respective advisory committees related to upcoming redistricting.

Monroe County will be redrawing precinct boundaries for the county, and possibly district boundaries for the Monroe County Board of Commissioners and Monroe County Council. Redistricting occurs every 10 years, following the U.S. Census results. Results of the 2020 U.S. Census were released in mid-August. To apply for the Monroe County redistricting advisory committee, click here.

Bloomington Council will be redrawing its six districts. More information about the council's Citizens' Redistricting Advisory Commission, including an application, is here.

Local redistricting work can’t be finished until the state-level districts are drawn. If an existing precinct is split by a state legislative or congressional district, it has to be redrawn so that it is not split. Indiana’s state legislators are expected to complete that work in mid-to-late September.