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From YouTube: Council Minute August 18
Description
Mayor Tim Busse thanks all who participated in Bloomington’s first Pride event, provides an update on COVID-19 and congratulates the City for another award of excellence on its budget presentation.
A
Hello
bloomington,
I'm
mayor
tim
bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
august
16th
on
saturday,
community
members
came
together
to
celebrate
at
bloomington's.
First
ever
pride
event,
the
theme
for
the
day
was
cultivate,
love
and
the
event
had
something
for
everyone.
There
were
food
trucks,
there
were
arts
and
crafts,
including
a
mural
that
was
on
display
by
bloomington
artist
and
resident
jamie
schumacher,
and
there
was
great
entertainment,
including
comedy
music,
a
children's
story
hour
and
yes,
there
were
dragon.
A
Performers
drag,
has
long
been
a
part
of
the
lgbtq
culture,
the
audience
loved
it
and
it
was
entirely
appropriate.
Bloomington
pride
has
been
in
the
works
for
a
few
years
now
through
the
work
in
the
leadership
of
the
human
rights
commission
and
the
city
council.
Bloomington
has
been
vocal
and
active
in
support
of
the
lgbt
community.
In
bloomington,
we've
issued
a
pride
proclamation
for
the
past
five
years.
A
The
pride
flag
has
flown
during
june
in
recognition
of
pride
and
in
recent
years
bloomington
has
sponsored
a
booth
at
the
twin
cities,
pride
festival
held
at
loring
park
in
minneapolis
bloomington's
involvement.
There
was
very
well
received,
and
I
know
because
I
worked
in
the
booth
and
one
of
the
most
common
questions
I
heard,
while
working
in
the
booth
was
when
is
bloomington
going
to
host
their
own
pride
event.
The
answer
was
this
year
now
some
people
have
questioned
the
appropriateness
of
the
city,
sponsoring
a
pride
event
and
it's
a
good
question.
A
So
here's
what
I
would
say
in
response.
More
than
five
years
ago
now,
the
city
council
sat
down
and
listed
out
strategic
priorities
that
would
guide
the
city's
work.
The
city
council
very
specifically
identified
equity
and
inclusion
as
important
strategic
priorities
for
the
city
of
bloomington.
That
means
the
city
has
acknowledged
that
equity
and
inclusion
are
vitally
important
to
the
future.
A
When
we're
talking
about
equity
and
inclusion,
there
is
a
definite
intersection
between
lgbtq
rights,
racial
inequity,
gender
equity,
housing
issues,
transportation,
inequality
and
a
host
of
other
issues,
it
all
interconnects.
In
many
ways.
We
can't
pretend
it
doesn't
so.
Yes,
it's
appropriate
for
the
city
to
host
a
pride
event
and
to
prioritize
equity
and
diversity
and
to
work
to
create
an
environment
where
everyone
is
welcomed,
respected
and
valued.
A
One
thing
that
makes
bloomington
such
a
fantastic
community
is
that
so
many
people
are
willing
to
invest
their
time,
their
resources
and
their
courage
in
community
activities,
and
they
do
so
in
positive,
inspiring
and
uplifting
ways.
That's
how
you
create
a
welcoming
and
vibrant
community.
So
a
big
thank
you
to
our
community
outreach
and
engagement
staff
for
coordinating
the
event.
A
They
did
so
in
collaboration
with
a
community
planning
committee
with
parks
and
recreation
and
the
human
rights
commission,
and
thank
you
so
very
much
to
our
sponsors,
hennepin,
county
library,
mall
of
america,
normandale,
community
college
and
the
minnesota
valley,
national
wildlife
refuge
and
an
enormous.
Thank
you
to
everyone
who
joined
us
on
saturday.
A
I
look
forward
to
seeing
pride
join
the
list
of
bloomington
community
building
events
like
summerfet
heritage
days
and
the
firemen
softball
tournament.
Here
in
bloomington.
We
continue
to
see
an
increase
in
coven
19
cases.
The
most
recent
data
shows
that
we
have
140
cases
per
100
000
over
the
last
seven
days
as
of
august
10th.
What
that
means
is
that
we're
still
in
what
the
cdc
calls
high
transmission
now
you
know
what
I'm
going
to
say.
A
A
For
those
of
you
not
vaccinated,
please
talk
to
your
doctor
or
with
our
public
health
staff.
They
will
be
happy
to
answer
any
questions.
You
may
have
there's
been
a
lot
about
covet
19
vaccines
in
the
news
lately.
The
bottom
line
is
that
vaccines
continue
to
work
incredibly
well,
they're
doing
exactly
what
they
were
designed
to
do,
preventing
most
infections
and
almost
all
hospitalizations
and
deaths
in
people
who
are
fully
vaccinated.
A
The
data
on
vaccine
breakthroughs
here
in
minnesota
and
nationally
confirms
just
that
for
those
of
you
who
are
fully
vaccinated.
Thank
you
for
helping
keep
us
all
safe.
That
said
this
week
we
saw
that
a
third
dose
has
been
authorized
and
recommended
for
people
who
are
moderately
to
severely
immunocompromised.
A
A
A
Last
week,
the
government
finance
officers
association
notified
the
city
that
bloomington
is
once
again
the
recipient
of
the
distinguished
budget
presentation
award
for
its
annual
budget
for
the
fiscal
year.
Beginning
january,
1st
2021
bloomington
has
received
this
award
for
get
this
26
years
in
a
row.
That
is
some
consistently
great
budget
presentation
in
the
world
of
governmental
budgeting.
This
is
the
highest
honor
or
form
of
recognition
that
any
organization
can
receive.
A
It
reflects
the
commitment
of
the
bloomington
staff
to
meeting
the
highest
principles
of
governmental
budgeting
now
in
order
to
receive
this
award,
bloomington
is
required
to
publish
a
budget
document
right
here
that
meets
program
criteria
as
a
policy
document
as
an
operations
guide
as
a
financial
plan
and
as
a
communications
device.
It
is
no
small
task
and
it
really
is
an
impressive
document
check
out
the
most
recent
budget
book
on
our
website.
This
is
the
second
award
bloomington
has
received
from
the
government
finance
officers
association.
Just
this
summer.
A
Back
in
july,
the
city
was
selected
as
one
of
seven
recipients
for
an
award
of
excellence
for
the
public
engagement
work
staff
did
during
last
year's
budget
process.
So
why
is
this
important,
making
sure
that
residents
and
businesses
in
bloomington
know
how
their
tax
dollars
are
being
spent
is
important
to
maintaining
the
trust
and
transparency
between
the
city
and
its
taxpayers
and
residents
appreciate
it
once
again
this
year,
two-thirds
of
respondents
in
our
resident
survey
said
that
the
value
of
city
services
for
the
taxes
paid
to
bloomington
is
excellent
or
good.