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From YouTube: Annexation Interview with Tomi Allison
Description
Bloomington's mayor from 1983-1995, Tomi Allison led City government at a time of tremendous population growth and development. In this conversation, she discusses the roles good planning and periodic annexation have played in sharing limited resources and delivering services to this growing community.
A
Hi,
I'm
yael
cassander
communications
director
for
the
city
of
bloomington,
and
I'm
excited
to
be
here
today
with
tommy
allison,
who
was
mayor
of
bloomington
from
1983
to
1995,
and
she
served
on
the
city
council
from
1977
to
1982,
so
while
almost
two
decades
in
city
government
leadership.
What
what
a
proud
record
mayor
allison!
You
were
also
the
first
woman
to
have
been
elected
mayor
of
bloomington.
What
a
distinction!
So
I'm
honored
to
be
here.
Thank
you
for
being
here.
A
So
I'd
like
to
start
with
your
time
in
the
mayor's
seat,
and
so
during
your
administration,
you
refocused
energy
and
investments
in
our
historic
downtown,
our
downtown
really
blossomed.
During
that
time,
you
many
people
may
may
remember
that
you
oversaw
the
reuse
of
the
shower
building
for
city
hall,
you
created
a
master
plan
for
the
city
and
certain
beloved
traditions,
like
the
canopy
of
lights,
started
on
your
watch
as
well
or
restarted.
A
B
We
had
the
difficulty
that
there
was
not
sufficient
funds
to
provide
the
basic
services
you
sort
of
have
to
look
at
the
state
of
indiana
indiana.
You
have
your
constitutional
government
with
your
county
government.
Your
county
government
covers
your
rural
areas,
your
courts
and
your
welfare,
and
as
the
population
grew,
there
were
towns
and
then
cities,
because
that
was
more
concentrated
population
requiring
different
services.
B
But
in
all
these
cases
the
state
regulates
how
many
taxes
you
can
raise
sets
of
rules
in
effect.
Well,
bloomington
was
put
at
a
disadvantage
with
those
rules.
I
you
had
a
quarter
of
the
assessed
valuation
with
of
the
university,
which
is
a
boom
to
our
community
and
county,
but
they're
off
the
tax
rolls
and
the
city
was
caught
with
a
new
regulation
and
frozen
at
a
disadvantaged
part.
So
you
had
infrastructure.
B
B
A
Mayor
allison,
if
I
can
summarize,
I
guess
I
would
say
that
your
discussions
with
the
county
and
the
the
ability
to
plan
in
these
areas
that
were
you
know,
on
the
outer
fringes
of
the
city
allowed
for
those
planned
unit.
Developments
the
puds
to
be
undertaken
in
a
sustainable
way
and
in
a
way
that
limited
sprawl
and
maintained
compact
urban
form
and
had
other
benefits
in
terms.
B
Of
costs
you
know
to
supply
fire
protection,
you
made
sure
that
your
roads
and
your
water
supply
and
everything
you
could
protect,
give
fire
protection.
You
could
you
know
you
could
get
garbage
pick
up
because
the
trucks
could
get
in
and
out.
You
know
the
things
that
you
think
out
that
you
plan
about
gin
etc.
B
B
After
all,
if
you
have
been
getting
a
service
without
having
a
you
know,
add
to
certain
at
a
certain
level
with
that,
and
then
somebody
comes
to
you
and
says,
oh
by
the
way,
you're
not
going
to
have
to
pay
more
for
what
you've
been
getting
at
this,
this
particular
price
and
is
it
well,
they
say
I
don't.
I
don't
need
anything
more.
I
don't
need
anything.
I
don't
need
anything,
but
not
only
that.
I
think
that
fire
protection
is
another
one
that
is.
B
Is
it
shows
you
what
happens
when
there
is
not
the
vision
of
looking
to
what
I
would
say
you
you
need
to
plot.
You
need
to
provide
certain
services.
When
you
have
concentrated
population,
you
want
to
provide
it
cost
effective
and
efficiently
fire
protection,
fire
protection.
You
talk
to
any
professional
firefighter.
B
B
B
Township
fire
department
for
the
subdivisions,
not
the
rural,
which
was
volunteer
now
they're,
going
to
have
to
staff
up
to
365
days
a
year,
24
hours
a
day,
okay,
equipment
and
facilities.
Now
that
they
may
be
able,
to
put,
I
say,
with
the
facilities
right
there,
but
they
have
a
township
is
huge
right.
So
the
people
right
there
in
that
subdivision,
but
the
thing
of
it
is
the
city
taxpayer,
is
paying
county
taxes
and
part
of
that
fire
protection
in
those
subdivisions
outside
the
city
is
coming
out
of
that
city:
taxpayers
money.
B
B
B
What
you
have
is
people
distrustful
feel
put
upon
and
that
what
that,
and
rather
than
concentrating
our
thinking
about
the
real
issues
is
how
do
you
supply
necessary
services?
I'm
not
talking
about
what
you
would
like.
Like
you
know,
you
would
like
some
some
other
things.
These
are
necessary
services,
okay,
in
a
equitable
way,
an
efficient
way,
a
cost
effective
way
without
the
idea
of
is
somebody
getting
it
at
a
at
a
better
price.
Then
you
know
because
we're
talking
about
now
sovereign
people
and
their
government
right.
B
B
What
I
would
think
say,
a
look
at
the
common
good
is
water
service
and
sewer
treatment
service
is
a
scarce
commodity.
In
monroe
county
we
don't
have
you
know
we
don't
have
a
natural
source,
we
don't
have
the
big
rivers
etc.
So,
there's
a
reason.
We
don't
have
a
lot
of
private
sewer
treatment
plants
or
you
have
a
lot
of
water
treatment
plants
or
something
like
that.
B
So
that's
that's
the
part
that
that
that
bothers
me.
It's
you
know,
annexation
is
a
lot
of
work.
You
know
it's
hard
to
do,
but
the
the
question
is,
you
know
in
terms
of,
if
you're
thinking
of
the
common
good
for
both
the
city
and
the
county,
then
you
look
at
it
as
a
whole
ahead
of
it
now.
The
the
part
that
is
is
the
elephant
in
the
room.
That's
never
talked
about
here.
Is
this.
B
Industry
is
the
driver.
Industry
is
the
jobs
in
the
community,
and
industry
absolutely
requires
sewers
and
they
require
other
services
as
well.
They
require,
you
know
fire
protection
of
a
a
higher
level
say
you
know
in
terms
of,
and
so
and
of
course
we
have
a.
You
know,
a
philosophy
that
if
you
can
get
away
with
not
paying
for
something,
that's
smart
business.