Bloomington Chamber of Commerce
  • Membership
    • Business Directory
    • Become a Member
    • Benefits of Membership >
      • Interested in Membership
    • Levels of Membership
    • Member Portal & Materials >
      • Member Login
    • Chamber App
    • Connect Bloomington
    • Member Resources
  • Events & News
    • Signature Events >
      • Educator of the Year Nominations
      • WEB Nominations
      • Showcase Bloomington Exhibitor Page
    • Chamber Events Calendar
    • Sponsorship
    • Member News
    • Multimedia Gallery
    • Chamber News
  • Initiatives & Resources
    • Bloomington Women in Leadership
    • The Success School
    • Young Professionals Bloomington >
      • YPB Steering Committee
    • Business Resources
    • Job Board
    • Community Calendar
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Matters Updates
    • Legislative Agenda
    • Local Government
    • Advocacy Resources
  • About Us
    • Contact Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Press & Media
Member Login | Join Us!
Member Login | Join Us!

City Annexation Process to Resume in May, After Illegal Termination in 2017 by Legislature

4/28/2021

0 Comments

 
Mayor John Hamilton announced in coordination with City Council leadership that the city annexation process underway four years ago is scheduled to resume in early May. The City was in the middle of a months-long annexation process, heading for more public discussion and ultimately a council vote, when the state legislature unconstitutionally ordered action halted in April 2017. 
​
Resuming the extensive public process from the point it was illegally interrupted will proceed by May 5, when revised and updated fiscal plans for the potential annexation areas are expected to be distributed. The City Council is scheduled to review the updated fiscal plans on May 12. After adoption, the public process would continue with re-sending formal notice to current property owners, additional public hearings to review and evaluate potential boundaries, and a City Council vote to approve and/or amend the annexation ordinances, anticipated in September.  The process will offer continued opportunities for re-evaluation based on public input, new information, and additional review.
“We were in the middle of an extensive public conversation reviewing our city boundaries four years ago, when our local process was hijacked mid-stream by an illegal overreach of state politicians,” said Hamilton.  “Now we can resume that local public process to consider and discuss appropriate boundaries, in light of nearly 20 years of growth, to assure optimal services to our residents and an ongoing vibrant, viable community.” 

"The annexation process is an important step of defining the future growth of our community and I expect the Council will have meaningful dialogue along with robust community input on the annexation legislation," said Council President Jim Sims. "As our population increases it is prudent that we regularly reassess Bloomington's boundaries in the interest of maintaining the health of the greater collective community at large for the long term."
Bloomington has regularly annexed property to keep pace with increases in population and development, with city boundaries continually expanding in its history through hundreds of annexations until 2004. But with no significant annexation since then, the city limits no longer correspond to the developed extent of the community, which has seen substantial growth outside the existing boundaries during that time.
The current annexation process began in February of 2017 when Mayor Hamilton announced the City’s plans and proposed potential boundaries to be reviewed and considered by the City Council. On March 29, 2017, pursuant to the required legal process, the City Council introduced the annexation ordinances and adopted corresponding fiscal plans. Six public outreach sessions were held and notice of the public hearings mailed to every affected property owner.  On April 21, 2017, the Indiana legislature passed and the Governor soon signed a law that illegally terminated Bloomington’s annexation. The City sued the State of Indiana and prevailed at the trial court and the Indiana Supreme Court, which issued a decision on December 15, 2020 holding that the law preventing Bloomington’s annexation efforts was unconstitutional special legislation that targeted only Bloomington.

Annexation is a state-defined procedure for bringing unincorporated areas of a county into an adjacent incorporated city or town. Annexation allows for the long-term planning necessary to accommodate a growing community and to facilitate the planning, budgeting and delivery of services and infrastructure. Areas annexed into Bloomington receive enhanced services including policing, trash and recycling curbside collection, street and sidewalk/path construction and maintenance, stormwater management, access to Bloomington Transit, safety inspections for rental housing, neighborhood grants, trails, playgrounds and parks and more. Sewer service may be offered to those not already receiving it, if feasible. Those areas already receiving sewer services will experience an average reduction of 12% in their rates. City residents are eligible to vote in both county and city elections, to be elected to county or city offices, and to serve on a variety of appointed boards and commissions.

“Bloomington’s long-term social and economic success is critical for the success of our entire region,” said Hamilton. “We are all in this together. All of us in city government look forward to continued discussions with and ideas from our county and local government colleagues, and from residents in the region, and employers and nonprofits and other institutions.” 

The City website will offer for review the updated fiscal plans when completed, the maps of the areas proposed for potential annexation, maps of Bloomington’s changing corporate limits over time, a projected timeline of the annexation process, a comment form, frequently asked questions, and other resources. The process for the City to consider approving the annexations could be completed in 2021. The current annexation ordinances will likely be amended to provide that annexed land would become part of the City as of January 1, 2024. 

To view a video of the mayor’s announcement please visit https://youtu.be/MXr_iK1gmOU
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Share your news with us!

    Submit your news to the Chamber by the 12th or 28th of each month to be included in the bi-weekly Membership Matters emails.

    Event submissions will only be published once. Please consider submitting your event to the Community Calendar through your Member Portal. 

    Direct solicitations for sponsorships, paid advertising or political endorsements will not be included in any publication.

    All content in blog posts are submitted from Chamber members. 

    Submit Member News
    Archives

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Webpage Square Ad Banner spaces are available for members. Download our sizes and pricing sheet for more information by clicking the button below.
    Download Web Ad Sheet
Contact Our Team | Business Directory

Our Chamber

​The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce provides leadership through member engagement, business advocacy and civic partnerships to strengthen our community and business environment.

Main Contact

421 W 6th Street, Suite A | Bloomington, IN 47404
[email protected]
(812) 336-6381

Office Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 9:00am - 500:pm
Friday: 9:00am - 3:00pm
Trust Center
​
Media Center
Speaking Requests

There is a no refund policy for events.  If you need to reassign your ticket to another person we will be happy to update our attendance list. Thank you.

Chamber Info

About Us
Board of Directors
Contact Our Team

Chamber Resources

Business Directory
Chamber Events Calendar
Member News
Chamber News
Membership Application
Member Login
Business Resources
Picture
Copyright The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. All Rights Reserved.
  • Membership
    • Business Directory
    • Become a Member
    • Benefits of Membership >
      • Interested in Membership
    • Levels of Membership
    • Member Portal & Materials >
      • Member Login
    • Chamber App
    • Connect Bloomington
    • Member Resources
  • Events & News
    • Signature Events >
      • Educator of the Year Nominations
      • WEB Nominations
      • Showcase Bloomington Exhibitor Page
    • Chamber Events Calendar
    • Sponsorship
    • Member News
    • Multimedia Gallery
    • Chamber News
  • Initiatives & Resources
    • Bloomington Women in Leadership
    • The Success School
    • Young Professionals Bloomington >
      • YPB Steering Committee
    • Business Resources
    • Job Board
    • Community Calendar
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy Matters Updates
    • Legislative Agenda
    • Local Government
    • Advocacy Resources
  • About Us
    • Contact Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Press & Media