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From YouTube: Council Minute December 2
Description
Mayor Tim Busse provides a recap of this week’s study meeting where the Council discussed the proposed tax levy increase, racism as a public health crisis and the process of recruiting and selecting community members to serve on boards and commissions.
A
Hello
bloomington,
I'm
mayor
tim
bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
november
30th.
This
week's
council
meeting
was
a
study
session
that
covered
budget,
racial
equity
and
process
improvements
for
our
city
boards
and
commissions.
Let's
get
right
to
it,
I
don't
know
about
you,
but
I
am
ready
to
put
2020
behind
us,
but
before
we
do
that
there
is
one
last
bit
of
important
city
council
business
that
we
have
to
get
done.
We
need
to
adopt
the
final
budget
and
tax
levy
for
2021.
A
Now,
looking
ahead
to
2021,
the
economic
downturn
meant
that
we
would
be
down
about
five
million
dollars
out
of
an
80
million
dollar
city
budget
to
help
the
council
and
the
staff
work.
Through
these
budget
issues,
we
created
a
community
budget
advisory
committee
to
give
residents
a
voice
in
the
decisions
about
taxes
and
spending,
and
especially
about
the
services
that
might
need
to
be
cut
to
deal
with
a
budget
shortfall.
A
The
committee
provided
their
recommendations
in
early
november
and
the
council
discussed
those
recommendations
a
few
weeks
ago
and
gave
direction
to
our
city
manager
to
bring
back
a
recommendation
for
final
adoption.
That's
what
we
talked
about
this
week,
so
the
proposed
budget
framework
presented
to
the
city
council
has
four
core
values.
A
And,
finally,
the
budget
for
2021
considers
the
implications
and
the
impacts
on
future
budget
years,
for
both
the
taxpayer
and
for
the
organization
with
those
principles
in
mind.
The
city
manager's
proposed
budget
is
best
summarized
with
these
four
points.
First,
property
tax
levy
increase
of
2.75
for
2021..
A
Second,
the
budget
reductions
are
primarily
based
on
the
prioritization
of
the
community
budget
advisory
committee.
The
budget
proposes
to
create
a
tax
levy,
stabilization
approach
that
will
act
as
a
balancing
strategy
to
buffer
tax
levy
increases
over
the
next
two
to
three
years,
to
avoid
having
to
reduce
services
further
or
to
have
large
tax
levy
increases.
A
And,
finally,
the
city
manager
is
presenting
a
preliminary
budget
for
2022.
That
starts
with
a
zero
percent
increase
to
the
tax
levy.
So
what
does
all
this
mean?
The
budget
advisory
committee
provided
three
tiers
of
reductions
to
be
considered.
The
first
tier
was
mostly
comprised
of
service
changes
that
would
be
largely
unnoticeable
to
our
customers,
a
notable
exception
being
the
elimination
of
the
motor
vehicle
office,
the
second
and
third
tiers
included
increasingly
impactful
and
difficult
reductions.
A
A
The
only
cuts
to
police
or
fire
will
be
the
elimination
of
a
newly
authorized
position
in
the
fire
department
for
2020
that
was
never
filled
and
a
reduction
to
police
special
investigation
over
time
that
can
be
funded
from
police
special
revenue
funds.
So
let
me
say
that
again,
the
budget
recommendations
from
the
city
manager,
using
the
recommendations
of
the
resident
budget
committee,
supported
by
the
city
council,
do
not
cut
public
safety.
A
The
tax
levy
stabilization
strategy
will
allow
the
council
to
control
the
levy
and
to
limit
reductions
in
service
to
the
community,
and
that
is
a
win-win
for
our
residents
and
for
our
businesses.
If
you're
a
homeowner,
you
should
have
received
your
proposed
notice
of
taxation.
A
couple
of
weeks
ago,
the
taxes
shown
there
are
based
on
the
preliminary
levy
adopted
in
september.
The
budget
the
council
is
currently
considering
will
reduce
your
the
amount,
that
is
on
your
notice.
A
We
talked
about
two
other
important
items.
This
past
monday
night.
Racism
as
a
public
health
crisis
and
process
improvements
for
the
city's
advisory
boards
and
commissions
for
much
of
this
year,
conversation
about
racial
equity
have
been
front
and
center
following
events
like
the
deaths
of
george
floyd
and
rihanna
taylor,
or
how
covet
19
is
disproportionately
affecting
communities
of
color.
A
Back
in
august,
the
city
council
discussed
how
racism
is
a
threat
to
the
health
and
the
well-being
of
the
members
of
our
black
indigenous
and
peoples
of
color
community.
We
directed
staff
to
look
into
how
the
city
could
take
a
holistic
public
health
approach
to
deal
with
health
disparities
in
our
bipoc
communities.
This
week
we
discussed
a
resolution
to
declare
racism
as
a
public
health
crisis.
A
Staff
presented
a
very
well
thought
out,
process
and
plan
to
tackle
the
issue,
but
the
council
wanted
to
know
how
the
city
is
going
to
commit
the
resources
necessary
to
achieve
it.
The
council
directed
the
city
manager
to
develop
a
funding
plan
to
support
the
work
before
the
council
adopts
a
resolution
that
will
set
an
expectation
for
the
entire
community
expect
to
hear
more
about
this
in
january
and
in
february.
A
Finally,
the
city
council
spent
time
talking
about
the
process
we
use
to
recruit,
select
and
onboard
community
members
interested
in
serving
as
volunteers
on
the
city's
boards
and
commissions.
Our
community
outreach
and
engagement
team
is
working
with
the
council
to
improve
the
way
that
we
invite
people
into
the
process.
The
boards
and
commissions
do
really
important
work,
helping
the
city
council
on
policy
issues
across
a
broad
spectrum
such
as
human
rights,
public
health
planning
and
development
and
property
valuations.
A
While
we
continue
to
fine-tune
our
own
processes
for
selecting
commission
members,
I
do
want
to
make
sure
that
you're
aware
that
the
application
period
for
some
of
these
positions
opens
very
soon
be
sure
to
check
out
this
link
on
the
city's
website
for
more
information.
That'll.
Do
it
for
this
week's
council
minute.
We
will
see
you
next
week.
Stay
safe,
bloomington,.