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From YouTube: Council Minute December 21
Description
In this week’s Council Minute, Mayor Busse provides a review on listening sessions, discusses part-time pay wages and the council vacancy.
A
Hello
Bloomington
I'm
mayor
Tim
Bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
December
19th
back
in
April.
The
city
council
voted
to
change
the
way
we
conduct
our
public
comment
period
as
part
of
our
council
meeting
Mondays.
We
made
the
change
to
council
listening
sessions
and
we
overhauled
how
we,
the
council,
engage
with
residents
as
part
of
the
change.
We
agreed
that
before
the
end
of
the
year,
we'd
review
how
the
change
was
going
and
we
did
that
on
Monday
evening.
First,
some
quick
background
back
in
the
spring.
A
We
talked
a
lot
about
the
shortcomings
of
the
way
the
Bloomington
city
council
had
traditionally
done
the
public
comment
period
as
part
of
Council
meetings.
We
had
heard
from
many
people
that
the
old
practice
of
requiring
people
to
stand
before
the
council
at
the
podium
on
camera
with
people
behind
them
in
the
chambers
was
very
intimidating.
A
We
heard
that
asking
questions
and
then
having
to
wait
a
week
to
have
those
questions
answered
was
frustrating
I,
know,
council
members
were
frustrated
because
our
rules
of
procedure
didn't
allow
any
back
and
forth
between
the
council
and
residents.
And
finally,
we
also
knew
that
we
needed
to
find
a
way
to
get
more
people
involved.
A
So
we
switched
to
council
listening
sessions,
which
I
believe
have
been
a
huge
Improvement
on
all
fronts,
including
Monday
night.
We've
now
held
21
listening
sessions
over
the
course
of
those
21
listening
sessions.
The
council
has
heard
from
62
individual
speakers
or
in
a
couple
of
cases,
a
small
group
with
35
of
those
folks
being
first
time
or
non-repeat
speakers.
A
And
while
people
discuss
things
we've
heard
about
in
the
past,
like
budget
or
Levy
concerns
or
questions
about
ranked
Choice
voting.
Many
people
brought
forward
topics
that
I
don't
recall.
Hearing
about.
In
the
past
things,
like
a
suggestion
for
a
community
Christmas
tree
lighting
ceremony,
a
good
discussion
on
solar
panels
in
the
community,
we
heard
concerns
about
crime
and
rideability
issues
on
the
blue
line.
Lrt,
we
learn
more
about
the
foundations
that
help
fund
activities
at
both
Jefferson
and
Kennedy
High
School.
A
We
got
a
preview
of
the
Bloomington
notables
project
and
we
heard
from
musicians
representing
the
Bloomington
Symphony
Orchestra
and
the
best
part
of
it
was
that
the
council
was
able
to
make
it
a
conversation
rather
than
a
one-sided
speech
on
camera,
we
had
a
discussion.
The
council
asked
and
answered
questions
we
gained
Clarity.
There
was
back
and
forth
folks.
There
was
engagement,
that's
what
we
set
out
to
do.
A
Ultimately,
the
city
council
made
it
very
clear.
They
are
very
happy
with
the
listening
session
format.
There
were
a
couple
of
good
suggestions
about
possible
flexibility
and
the
time
or
the
days
we
hold
listening
sessions
or
even
the
possibility
of
taking
listening
sessions
out
into
the
community.
We've
asked
our
community
outreach
and
engagement
division
to
bring
options
back
for
Council
considerations,
I'm,
looking
forward
to
continuing
our
listening
sessions
and
other
possible
Outreach
and
engagement
opportunities
in
2023..
A
Also,
on
Monday
night,
the
council
approved
the
2023
Compensation
Plan
for
full-time
non-union
employees
as
well
as
part-time,
temporary
and
seasonal
employees.
This
is
an
annual
action
of
the
council
and,
of
course,
it's
tied
to
the
2023
City
budget
that
the
council
adopted
on
December
5th.
The
proposed
Compensation
Plan
reflects
a
three
percent
general
cost
of
living
wage
increase
for
non-represented
staff.
A
I'm.
Never
shy
about
saying
that
the
city
of
Bloomington
staff
is
the
best
in
the
state
of
Minnesota
our
wage
and
benefits
package,
along
with
policies
like
remote
work
arrangements
and
flexible
work,
hours
and
strategies
like
strong
Employee,
Engagement
efforts,
they're
all
designed
to
attract
and
retain
the
best
possible
people
to
serve
you.
The
residents
of
Bloomington,
one
interesting
part
of
our
compensation
plan
this
year
has
been
the
need
to
look
very
closely
at
the
wage.
We
pay
our
part-time
and
seasonal
employees.
A
It's
not
news
to
anyone
that
the
Minnesota
labor
market
is
tight.
If
we're
going
to
remain
competitive
for
good
talent,
we
need
to
make
sure
our
wages
are
competitive,
especially
for
seasonal
or
part-time
employees
in
our
park
and
rec
department.
If
you
remember,
last
winter,
we
weren't
able
to
open
warming
houses
next
to
our
outdoor
rinks,
primarily
because
we
didn't
have
the
staff
to
do
so.
Over
the
summer
we
were
forced
to
reduce
our
offerings
in
summer
camps
and
park
programs.
A
For
many
of
the
same
reasons
and
don't
get
me
started
on
how
hard
it
is
to
find
lifeguards
to
work
at
the
family,
Aquatic
Center,
those
folks
and
many
others-
don't
have
a
work
at
home
option
so
to
keep
Pace
with
the
marketplace
and
to
attract
applicants.
Our
park
and
rec
department
raised
the
wages
for
those
part-time
positions.
Some
of
the
cost
was
covered
by
increased
fees,
but
staff
didn't
want
to
raise
fees
so
high
that
residents
wouldn't
be
able
to
afford
camps
or
programming.
A
So
some
of
that
cost
is
coming
from
the
city's
general
fund.
When
I
talked
about
the
2023
budget
a
couple
of
weeks
ago,
I
said
it
reflected
what
we
heard
from
residents
and
the
priorities
they
specifically
identified.
This
is
part
of
that
as
well.
We
heard
very
clearly
that
warming
houses
are
important,
that
Park
programming
and
summer
camps
are
important,
that
shortages
of
seasonal
workers
and
the
cuts
and
services
that
resulted
from
those
shortages
are
not
acceptable.
A
Bloomington
residents
expect
quality
city
services,
whether
that
service
is
being
delivered
by
the
executive,
leadership,
team
or
office
workers
or
police
officers
or
part-time
park,
and
rec
staff
with
that
expectation,
comes
the
responsibility
of
the
council
and
Senior
staff
to
find
ways
to
put
people
in
place
to
do
that.
Work
as
I
know,
you've
heard
Bloomington
city
council,
member
Nathan,
Coulter
was
elected
to
the
Minnesota
State
House
of
Representatives
back
in
November
Monday
night
was
Nathan's
final
meeting
of
the
city
council
and
he'll
be
sworn
in
at
the
State
House
on
January
3rd.
A
He
has
been
a
great
representative
of
Bloomington
on
the
city
council
for
five
years
and
I
know
he'll
be
an
equally
great
Advocate
at
the
state
level.
Thank
you
for
your
service
Nathan
with
Nathan's
departure.
There
will
be
a
vacancy
on
the
city
council
for
one
of
the
at-large
council
seats.
The
process
is
already
underway
to
find
someone
to
fill
that
seat.
We've
had
the
application
process
open
for
a
couple
of
weeks
now
and
I've
been
encouraging
folks
to
apply
the
only
official
qualification
is
that
any
applicant
must
be
a
Bloomington
resident.
A
A
Now
we
don't
want
to
have
a
Council
seat,
sit
vacant
for
too
long,
so
we're
moving
to
fill
the
vacancy
early
in
the
new
year.
The
city
council
will
review
applications
and
will
conduct
interviews
in
early
January,
and
the
plan
right
now
is
to
do
those
interviews
in
the
council
chambers
and
to
have
those
interviews
on
cable
and
live
streamed.
A
A
That
will
do
it
for
this
week's
Council
minute
I
hope
everyone
has
a
safe
and
happy
holiday
season
and
a
wonderful
start
to
2023.
I'm
excited
about
the
opportunities
for
the
city
in
the
new
year
and
I.
Look
forward
to
many.
Many
more
of
these
weekly
updates
until
next
time
stay
warm
and
safe
Bloomington.