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From YouTube: September 14 Council Minute
Description
Mayor Tim Busse shares an overview of a staff report about the use of hotels as temporary shelters for those experiencing homelessness, a preliminary tax levy has been approved and plans for a Veterans Memorial in Bloomington progress.
A
Hello
bloomington,
I'm
mayor
tim
bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
september
14th.
For
the
past
several
weeks,
council
members
and
I
have
been
hearing
from
a
number
of
residents
concerned
about
hotels
in
bloomington
that
have
been
used
as
temporary
shelters,
especially
since
the
onset
of
the
pandemic
for
people
experiencing
homelessness
or
housing
instability.
A
Recently
I
asked
staff
to
report
to
the
city
council
and
to
the
community
and
to
lay
out
the
facts,
so
we
can
know
what
is
happening
and,
what's
being
done
to
ensure
that
bloomington
remains
a
safe
community.
This
week,
staff
did
just
that
going
back
to
march
and
april,
several
hotels
have
entered
into
contracts
with
agencies
like
hennepin
county,
to
provide
services
to
homeless
and
vulnerable
populations.
A
Since
april,
bloomington
police
have
seen
a
significant
increase
in
the
number
of
calls
for
service
to
these
hotels
and
the
areas
around
them.
The
reasons
are
many.
Some
of
the
sponsoring
agencies
didn't
have
the
correct
staffing
levels
in
place.
Other
agencies
have
more
of
a
hands-off
policy
when
it
comes
to
supervising
people
using
their
services.
A
A
A
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We've
directed
our
staff
to
provide
regular
updates
to
the
city
council
to
make
sure
we
continue
to
see
improvement
and
reduce
crime
and
disturbances.
The
city
council
approved
a
preliminary
tax
levy
for
the
budget
year
2021
this
week.
The
city
is
required
by
state
law
to
follow
a
two-step
process
to
approve
our
budget
and
tax
levy.
Each
year
before
we
can
adopt
the
final
levy
in
december,
we
have
to
adopt
a
preliminary
levy
in
september.
A
The
preliminary
levy
tells
property
tax
owners,
the
maximum
amount
of
taxes
the
city
intends
to
collect
in
the
coming
year.
We
can
lower
that
number
in
december
when
we
adopt
the
final
budget
and
levy,
and
history
shows
that
we
usually
do,
but
we
cannot
increase
the
levy
from
what
we
set
this
week
after
much
discussion,
the
council
set
the
preliminary
levy
increase
at
five
percent,
and
I
want
to
spend
a
couple
of
minutes
talking
about
why
we
chose
that
amount
and
what
that
means
for
you.
A
A
Here's
what
we
know
in
2019
the
city
took
in
more
than
10
million
dollars
from
lodging
taxes
and
admissions
taxes.
Those
taxes
help
us
keep
property
taxes
low,
because
the
hospitality
and
entertainment
industries
have
been
especially
devastated
by
the
pandemic,
we're
expecting
to
receive
only
half
that
amount
in
2021.
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That
means
we
have
a
multi-million
dollar
hole
in
our
city's
budget.
The
community
budget
advisory
committee
has
been
looking
at
this
and
last
month
they
recommended
the
city
council
set
a
preliminary
levy
increase
of
nearly
6.5
percent.
The
rationale
was
twofold:
first,
the
impact
of
a
6.5
levy
increase
would
be
about
five
dollars
a
month
for
the
median
valued
home
in
bloomington,
and
the
committee
felt
that
in
this
current
environment
that
was
about
the
absolute
maximum,
we
could
ask
from
taxpayers.
A
While
the
city
council
appreciated
that
perspective,
each
of
the
council
members
spoke
to
the
real
economic
concerns
that
exist
for
you,
we're
all
hearing
it
and,
more
importantly,
we're
all
listening
at
the
5
levy
amount
that
was
adopted,
we're
going
to
have
to
reduce
the
city's
budget
by
nearly
two
million
dollars
and,
honestly,
it's
hard
to
imagine
a
scenario
where
we
would
adopt
a
five
percent
levy.
Increase.
A
I've
asked
the
advisory
committee
to
put
together
three
options
for
council
consideration
and
I'm
confident
those
options
will
be
less
than
five
percent,
and
it's
important
to
remember
that,
as
the
levy
number
goes
down,
the
amount
that
will
need
to
be
cut
from
the
city's
budget
goes
up.
That
number
will
be
somewhere
between
two
and
five
million
dollars
and
whatever
that
number
is,
it
will
mean
a
reduction
in
city
services,
services
provided
directly
to
you,
the
residents
of
bloomington
and
provided
by
an
outstanding
city
staff.
A
We
will
all
have
decisions
to
make
and
we
need
your
input.
Community
meetings
will
be
held
on
october,
15
and
october
17th.
To
get
your
input,
the
proposed
reductions
will
be
very
clear
and
we
need
to
hear
from
you.
We
need
to
know
what
you
think.
For
the
past
several
years,
a
group
of
veterans
has
been
working
with
city
staff
to
develop
a
veterans
memorial
in
bloomington.
A
A
Each
of
these
artists
have
produced
inspiring
memorials
and
pieces
in
minnesota
and
around
the
country
they
will
be
interviewed
later
in
october,
and
the
final
design
will
be
presented
to
the
city
council
in
november.
This
is
an
exciting
project
for
our
community.
It
will
provide
a
meaningful
and
well-deserved
tribute
to
our
neighbors,
who
have
sacrificed
and
served
their
country.
I
am
very
much
looking
forward
to
sharing
more
as
the
vision
begins
to
take
form.