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From YouTube: Council Minute September 7
Description
In this week’s Council Minute Mayor Tim Busse provides an update on the proposed Bloomington Sales Tax, including survey results with feedback from Bloomington residents.
A
Hello
bloomington,
I'm
mayor
tim
bussey,
and
this
is
your
council
minute
for
the
week
of
september-
5th
no
council
meeting
this
week
because
of
the
labor
day
holiday.
So
I
wanted
to
take
a
few
minutes
today
to
talk
about
two
informational
presentations.
The
council
heard
last
week
at
our
august
29th
meeting
both
of
those
presentations
had
to
do
with
the
proposed
bloomington
sales
tax.
A
We've
been
talking
about
a
possible
bloomington
sales
tax
for
a
while
now,
but
the
discussion
went
quiet
when
the
state
legislature
didn't
get
their
work
done
back
in
may,
and
the
tax
bill
didn't
get
finished.
A
quick
review,
a
bloomington
sales
tax
would
be
a
half
cent
added
to
sales
tax
charged
within
the
boundaries
of
the
city.
A
A
The
revenue
collected
would
be
used
for
specific
capital
projects
that
are
regionally
significant.
The
projects
we
talked
about
include
a
substantial
renovation
of
bloomington
ice
garden,
a
new
community
health
and
wellness
center
to
replace
our
public
health
building
and
creekside
community
center,
an
expansion
of
the
bloomington
center
for
the
arts,
that
would
add
a
concert
hall
and
a
replacement
of
the
clubhouse
at
duan
golf
course
as
well,
as
course,
improvements.
A
This
whole
discussion
is
important
in
the
context
of
bloomington's
capital
investment
needs.
Many
of
our
physical
assets
in
bloomington
need
significant
investment
or
replacement
for
years.
One
of
the
top
priorities
of
city,
elected
officials
and
staff
and
residents
was
to
keep
property
taxes
as
low
as
possible,
which
is
a
great
goal,
and
it
worked
well
for
bloomington
for
decades,
but
the
result
was
under
investment
in
our
physical
capital,
our
buildings
and
now
we're
at
a
point
where
significant
reinvestment
is
needed.
A
A
Obviously,
the
world
has
changed
a
bit
since
then,
so
we
asked
the
extension
service
to
take
another
look
and
to
provide
an
update
to
those
numbers
to
the
surprise
of
no
one.
The
sales
tax
numbers
for
2020
were
considerably
lower
than
what
we
saw
in
2016
or
18..
The
pandemic
had
a
huge
impact
on
retail
and
service
sales.
In
2016,
total
taxable
sales
in
bloomington
were
3.2
billion
dollars
that
number
dropped
to
2
billion
in
2020..
Again,
I
can't
imagine
anyone
is
surprised
by
that.
A
If
a
bloomington
sales
tax
were
in
effect,
the
city
would
have
generated
11
million
dollars
in
2016
and
about
6.8
million
dollars
in
2020..
The
good
news
is
that
the
extension
service
expects
taxable
sales
to
bounce
back.
It
estimates
a
bloomington
sales
tax
could
generate
more
than
12
million
dollars
by
2023.
A
A
We
also
learned
that
extension
revised
downward
its
estimate
of
the
amount
that
would
come
from
non-bloomington
residents.
As
I
mentioned
earlier,
its
original
estimate
was
75
percent
from
non-residents,
and
now
it's
revised
that
estimate
to
60
percent
extension
made
the
change
after
reviewing
non-resident
spending
using
2020
data
and
looking
at
shifts
in
specific
sales
in
specific
categories
like
building
materials
or
electronics.
It's
certainly
something
to
consider
as
we
continue.
A
This
conversation
as
a
reminder:
if
a
bloomington
sales
tax
is
signed
into
law,
it
would
ultimately
go
before
bloomington
voters
for
final
approval
residents
would
have
the
opportunity
to
vote
yes
or
no
for
each
project
separately.
So
with
that
in
mind,
we
wanted
to
gauge
how
bloomington
residents
were
feeling
about
a
proposed
bloomington
sales
tax.
A
But
we
heard
from
mr
leatherman
that
what
differentiates
cities
is
the
excellent
rating
minnesotans
are
a
historically
tough
crowd.
Most
often
good
is
good
enough.
Mr
leatherman
told
us
that
on
this
question,
the
typical
excellent
rating
is
11,
so
with
26
percent
of
people
saying,
the
quality
of
life
in
bloomington
is
excellent.
That's
more
than
twice
the
median
rating
of
excellent
compared
to
other
cities.
That's
a
very
strong
quality
of
life
rating.
A
The
survey
also
asked
how
people
feel
about
the
value
of
the
city
services,
provided
this
really
is
a
where
the
rubber
hits
the
road
kind
of
question.
It's
asking
people
to
evaluate
the
property
taxes
they
pay
and
the
city
services
they
receive.
How
do
they
rate
that
value
in
our
survey?
73
percent
rate,
the
value
favorably
and
20
percent
rate
it
unfavorably
again
back
to
mr
leatherman.
He
pointed
out
that
the
most
effective
evaluation
of
this
question
is
a
ratio
of
the
favorable
to
the
unfavorable.
A
He
told
us
that
the
norm
in
most
cities
is
two
to
one.
The
favorable
to
unfavorable
here
in
bloomington
is
three
and
a
half
to
one.
So
a
significant
number
of
residents
in
bloomington,
mr
leatherman,
described
it
as
extraordinarily
strong,
are
saying
they
receive
a
positive
value
in
services
and
amenities
for
the
taxes
they
pay.
That's
good
to
know.
A
The
survey
also
asked
about
the
four
projects
being
considered.
This
chart
shows
support
and
opposition,
but
it
also
shows
intensity.
Dark
blue
is
strong
support.
Dark
red
is
strong
opposition.
You
can
see
that
a
new
health
and
wellness
center
has
the
strongest
support.
76
percent
indicate
they
support
it.
The
next
highest
level
of
support
is
for
the
center
of
the
arts.
Expansion
with
72
percent
in
favor
62
were
in
favor
of
improvements
to
dwan
and
57
favorite
improvements
to
the
ice
garden.
So
all
four
proposed
projects
were
supported
by
a
majority
of
survey.
A
Respondents
and
two
of
the
projects
had
overwhelming
support
the
bottom
line
here
mr
leatherman
said
that
if
the
projects
were
on
the
ballot,
this
fall,
it's
very
very
likely
they
all
would
have
passed.
Finally,
a
question
was
asked
about
support
for
a
local
sales
tax
based
on
the
fact
that
a
good
portion
of
the
tax
will
be
collected
from
people
outside
of
the
community.
A
Now
the
question
was
asked
using
the
75
level,
because
the
new
60
estimate,
from
extension
wasn't
available
yet,
but
you
can
see
that
two-thirds
of
respondents
said
they
would
be
somewhat
or
much
more
likely
to
support
a
local
sales
tax
if
a
majority
of
that
tax
would
be
collected
by
people
from
outside
the
community.
That's
a
lot
of
information
and
a
lot
to
chew
on.
If
you
want
to
hear
the
complete
discussion,
go
to
the
city's
youtube
page
and
watch
the
last
meeting,
there's
also
plenty
of
information
available
regarding
the
proposed
bloomington
sales
tax.