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From YouTube: Council Minute April 21
Description
Mayor Tim Busse provides an overview of the April 19 Council meeting, including a rundown of the conversion therapy ban, the Community Development Block Grant program and a thank you to Bloomington volunteers.
A
Hello
bloomington,
I'm
mayor
tim
bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute.
This
week
the
city
council
adopted
an
ordinance
that
prohibits
the
practice
of
conversion
therapy
on
minors
and
vulnerable
adults
here
in
bloomington.
Now,
usually,
I
don't
walk
through
the
details
of
an
ordinance,
but
I
think
in
this
case
it's
an
important
thing
to
do
so.
There
is
no
misunderstanding
about
what
conversion
therapy
is,
what
the
ordinance
does
and
why
we
think
it's
necessary
and
consistent
with
bloomington's
values.
The
human
rights
commission
began
studying
this
issue.
A
Last
year
in
january,
the
commission
recommended
that
the
council
adopt
an
ordinance
based
on
the
research
they'd
conducted
now.
Important
findings
from
the
research
are
that
a
significant
number
of
major
medical,
mental
health
and
child
welfare
professional
associations
have
denounced
and
rejected
conversion
therapy
as
ineffective,
unreliable
and
unsafe,
included
on
that
list
of
organizations
are
the
american
medical
association,
the
american
psychological
association,
the
american
academy
of
pediatrics
and
the
american
psychiatric
association.
A
Those
organizations
that
have
spoken
out
have
made
it
clear
that
conversion
therapy
is
not
at
all
rooted
in
evidence-based
science
or
medicine.
In
adopting
the
ordinance,
the
city
council
made
a
clear
statement
that
being
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual
or
transgender
is
part
of
the
natural
spectrum
of
human
identity.
It
is
not
a
disease,
it
is
not
a
disorder
or
an
illness
that
needs
to
be
cured
or
corrected.
A
So
the
purpose
of
this
ordinance
is
to
protect
the
physical
and
psychological
well-being
of
minors
and
vulnerable
adults
from
exposure
to
the
serious
harms
caused
by
conversion
therapy.
The
ordinance
says
that
providers
who
are
minnesota
licensed
certified
or
registered
in
professions
such
as
psychiatry
and
psychology,
family
therapy,
social
work
or
clinical
counselors
are
prohibited
from
practicing
conversion
therapy.
The
ordinance
has
a
civil
penalty
that
finds
the
provider
for
each
reported
violation
of
the
ordinance
and
includes
a
report
of
the
violation
to
the
provider's
licensing
board
or
authority.
A
The
ordinance
does
have
an
exception
for
religious
counseling,
and
it
does
not
apply
to
conversion
therapy
on
adults.
People
over
the
age
of
18
who
are
able
to
give
consent
and
make
their
own
medical
and
mental
health
decisions
now
bloomington
is
not
alone.
In
wanting
to
protect
the
community
from
the
harms
of
conversion
therapy.
20
states
across
the
country
have
already
banned
this
practice.
Unfortunately,
minnesota
is
not
among
them.
A
Bloomington
joins
cities
like
duluth,
redwing,
winona,
west,
st
paul
robbinsdale,
minneapolis
and
saint
paul,
and
taking
action
since
the
state
of
minnesota
has
not,
and
we
take
action
for
three
important
reasons.
First,
this
is
a
public
health
issue.
Bloomington
has
long
been
a
leader
in
moving
forward
public
health
measures,
and
this
is
squarely
in
that
tradition.
A
Second,
inclusion
and
equity
is
one
of
the
strategic
pillars
for
the
city
council.
Ensuring
a
safe
and
welcoming
community
for
everyone
is
fundamental
to
who
we
are
as
residents
of
the
city
of
bloomington
and
third
and
most
importantly,
it's
the
right
thing
to
do
harmful
practices
done
under
the
guise
of
pseudoscience
have
no
place
in
our
society.
A
I'm
grateful
to
the
human
rights
commission
for
their
work
on
this
ordinance
and
grateful
to
my
colleagues
on
the
city
council
for
taking
action
to
protect
our
community.
The
bloomington
housing
and
redevelopment
authority,
also
known
as
the
hra,
helps
provide
affordable
housing
opportunities
for
those
who
are
not
adequately
served
by
the
marketplace.
The
hra
also
coordinates
the
city's
efforts
to
preserve
existing
neighborhoods
and
promotes
development
and
redevelopment
that
enhances
the
city
of
bloomington.
A
The
hra
accomplishes
its
mission
through
various
programs,
rental
assistance,
housing,
rehabilitation,
loans,
first
time,
home
buyer
assistance
and
other
development
and
redevelopment
programs.
Now
funding
for
these
programs
comes
from
all
levels
from
federal
state,
regional
and
local
sources.
The
federal
funds
that
we
receive
every
year
are
part
of
the
community
development
block
grant
program,
also
known
as
cdbg,
which
provides
funds
from
the
u.s
department
of
housing
and
urban
development
to
cities
across
the
country.
A
The
single
family
rehabilitation
program
receives
the
largest
amount
of
funding.
This
program
provides
low
interest
loans
to
low
and
moderate
income
homeowners
to
help
repair
or
update
their
homes.
In
my
years
on
the
council,
it
has
been
a
very
popular
program
and
it
really
is
great
to
see
the
improvements
on
homes
all
over
town.
The
rehabilitation
loan
program
also
focuses
resources
on
the
abatement
of
lead-based
paint
hazards
in
homes
built
before
1978..
A
A
The
city
will
continue
funding
a
homeownership
activity
this
year,
assisting
the
west
hennepin,
affordable,
housing,
land
trust
to
complete
two
purchase
and
rehab
projects
right
here
in
bloomington.
This
project
is
called
homes
within
reach
and
the
land
trust
resells,
the
updated
homes
to
low
and
moderate
income
families.
The
cdbg
funds
are
used
as
gap
financing
to
help
ensure
that
the
home
is
affordable
after
the
rehabilitation.