​The City Council unanimously approved to move forward in the first part to designate the Catalent expansion as a revitalization area.  Final approval of the tax abatement in exchange for $350 million in investment and 1,000 new jobs will be on March 2nd after a public hearing.  Bloomington is competing with Louisville, Madison, and Kansas City.  $10 million of this investment will be to develop real property.  The Real property would be abated at a rate of 50 percent a year for 10 years, while the larger portion is the personal property, which is 90 percent for 20 years.   The impact of the abatement on TIF revenue would not be significant as it is calculated on real property but not personal.  The Impact on COB revenue would not be significant.  Local taxes are collected is based on the City’s budget.  The abatement does not reduce total revenue on a dollar-for-dollar basis, but rather spreads that loss to the other taxpayers.  Where the issue comes is how close we are to the state-restricted CAPS which puts a levy on the amount a tax can go up. According to the the City’s Alex Crowley does not believe it will be an issue.   The main reservation from the Council was housing, where are these people going to live?  Currently, half of Catalent’s 3,212 workforce lives outside the county which Monroe County reaps no financial benefit from. 
Get involved, contact your City Council representative to voice your opinion.  

A group of over 200 people heard from economists and economic development experts at the 2021 Business Outlook Luncheon, co-sponsored by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce and the Bloomington Rotary Club. The Nov. 9 event was held at IU Alumni Hall. 

Panelists were Kyle Anderson and Jennifer Lynn Rice of the IU Kelley School of Business, Ryan Brewer of the IU Columbus Division of Business, and Jennifer Pearl of the Bloomington Economic Development Corp.

​Watch a recording of the event 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.

The Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association is seeking applicants to serve on its board, which meets monthly. The applicant must live in the BUEA zone and be affiliated with the non-dominant political party. (In Bloomington, the Democratic Party is the dominant political party.)

More information about the BUEA's work and how to apply can be found at ​https://bloomington.in.gov/business/buea.

The City of Bloomington has released survey results showing preferences for how to spend American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that the city is receiving.

Of the 147 responses, priorities were: 36% housing insecurity, 31% public infrastructure, 23% jobs/economic recovery, and 10% city revenue replacement. The choice of these "bucket" categories had already been determined by the city.
Read more about the survey here.

Businesses in Bloomington and Monroe County can apply to participate in the gBETA Main Street program, which helps early-stage firms accelerate their growth.

The free, 7-week program includes mentoring and coaching, lunch & learn sessions, and one-on-one meetings with subject matter experts and successful small business owners. The program is open to any kind of business.

The deadline to apply is July 19. More info and an online application form here.