The Chamber Voices Skepticism of the Proposed Local Income Tax Hike

​The Chamber weighed in on the issue of the local income tax proposal (LIT) at last night’s Bloomington Common Council meeting.   We shared the preliminary results from a survey of our members and community residents. In total, 196 people responded at that time with just over 90 percent being against the proposal as written. About 60 percent of respondents stated public safety is their top priority area. You can hear our comments at the meeting last night by clicking here.  

The council was considering new revenue proposals for a nearly four-hour duration. One of the proposals was mayor John Hamilton’s 0.855 percent LIT increase. This translates into an extra $85 to be paid on every $10,000 of taxable income for all Monroe County residents. 

Chamber President,  Eric Spoonmore asked the council to take more time to find a solution to public safety.   “They’re (law enforcement) only asking for 1.5 million additional dollars to meet the salary needs.  Let’s start there and figure that out first.”

The council is set to cast a final vote next week, but it is unclear if that timeline will stick. They took a non-binding straw poll which ended up 3-1-3. Councilmembers Sims, Rosenbarger, and Flaherty voted in favor, Councilmember Ron Smith was the lone vote against, while Councilmembers Rollo, Sgambelluri, Sandberg took a pass.  Based on the demographic make-up of the LIT council, just eight Bloomington City Council members could implement the tax increase for all County residents. This would then bypass the County Council’s input. 

The mayor’s office put forth his call for an additional $18 million in revenue which equates to a  64 percent increase in the Monroe County LIT.

• Public Safety- $4.5 million ($1.5 million to fund the police union contract)
• Climate change- $6.5 million
• Equity and quality of life- $4 million
• City services- $3 million 

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