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From YouTube: Council Minute December 7
Description
In this week’s Council Minute, Mayor Tim Busse discusses the approval of the 2023 property tax levy and general fund budget, the expansion of Gyropolis and offers condolences on the shooting in Bloomington.
A
Hello
Bloomington
I'm
mayor
Tim
Bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
December
5th
on
Monday
night,
the
city
held
its
annual
truth
and
Taxation
public
hearing
on
the
2023
property
tax
levy
and
general
fund
budget.
After
a
staff
presentation
input
from
the
public
and
a
good
discussion
by
the
council,
the
city
council
ultimately
approved
a
general
fund
budget
of
just
over
94
million
dollars
and
a
property
tax,
letting
increase
of
9.15
percent.
A
The
community
engagement
and
the
interaction
and
the
thoughtful
discussion
by
the
council
I
am
very
confident
that
our
2023
budget
reflects
the
priorities
of
this
community
and
sets
us
on
a
solid
path.
Moving
forward
time
and
again,
we
heard
that
Public
Safety
was
of
the
utmost
importance,
and
this
budget
reflects
that
the
2023
budget
includes
three
new
full-time
firefighters
that
will
be
hired
halfway
through
the
year
and
they
will
go
along
with
the
18
firefighters
that
will
be
added
early
in
2023.
A
Thanks
to
the
federal,
safer
Grant,
the
city
received
on
the
police
side
we'll
be
adding
two
new
officer
positions
in
January
and
in
June
We'll,
add
two
more
along
with
a
new
dispatch
training
coordinator,
those
hires
along
with
The
Debt
Service
associated
with
the
construction
of
the
new
Fire
Station
Number
Four
means
that
85
percent
of
the
property
tax
increase
in
this
budget
is
directly
related
to
Public
Safety,
more
numbers
for
you.
More
than
42
percent
of
all
of
the
general
fund
expenditures
in
Bloomington
go
to
police
and
fire.
A
If
you
throw
in
public
works,
piling
the
streets
keeping
the
roads
in
good
shape,
making
sure
the
water
tastes
great.
That
number
increases
to
64
percent
of
our
general
fund
expenditures.
So
roughly
two-thirds
of
our
city
budget
goes
to
the
nuts
and
bolts
of
Municipal
Services
police,
fire
and
Public
Works
I've
said
before,
and
I
will
say
it
again
without
question
these
annual
budget
discussions
are
the
most
important
discussions
we
have
as
a
city.
I
know
that
a
9.15
levy
increase
is
significant.
A
I
know
that
inflation
is
eating
up
wage
increases
and
the
cost
of
everything
seems
to
keep
going
up
and
I
also
know
that
the
council
and
the
city
staff
take
very
seriously
the
responsibility
we
have
regarding
taxing
decisions
and
how
your
money
is
spent.
Bloomington
is
the
community.
It
is
today
because
for
decades,
city
leaders
and
residents
understood
the
vital
importance
of
investing
in
this
community.
A
The
same
holds
true.
Today
we
invest
in
our
priorities
and
we
will
continue
to
do
so
to
make
Bloomington
an
enduring
and
remarkable
Community
where
people
want
to
be.
Last
week,
the
city
council
approved
a
number
of
land
use,
applications
that
set
the
stage
for
a
long
overdue
Redevelopment
project
at
the
corner
of
90th
Street
and
Penn.
Avenue
plans
are
in
place
for
the
owners
of
europolis
to
build
a
2
000
square
foot,
expansion
onto
their
existing
restaurant.
A
It
would
add
74
seats
and
an
outdoor
patio
europolis
has
been
a
fixture
in
Bloomington
for
more
than
15
years,
they're,
a
great
part
of
the
Bloomington
business
community
and
I'm
so
glad
to
see
their
expansion
plans
and,
as
a
huge
added
benefit,
the
project
will
remove
an
existing
vacant
service
station
that
has
been
an
eyesore
at
that
corner
for
more
than
a
decade.
You
all
know
which
one
I'm
talking
about.
It
will
certainly
beautify
that
corner
and
make
the
area
a
lot
more
appealing
and
welcoming
than
it
currently
is.
A
This
week
the
city
council
approved
a
tax,
increment
financing
or
Tiff
assistance
package
for
the
project
to
help
cover
some
of
the
extraordinary
costs
related
to
the
Redevelopment,
including
the
site,
acquisition,
development
and
some
Redevelopment
costs
and
related
administrative
expenses.
In
addition
to
helping
Finance
the
project
through
Tif
Bloomington
staff
played
a
big
role
in
helping
neuropolis,
get
a
grant
from
deed
that
helped
with
the
cost
of
buying
the
gas
station
site.
Staff
has
worked
with
europolis
each
step
of
the
way
and
will
obviously
continue
to
help
out,
as
they
are
able.
A
One
of
the
consequences
of
that
law
was
that
cities
couldn't
Force
owners
of
blighted
properties
like
the
abandoned
gas
station
to
the
table
to
negotiate
these
types
of
projects
that
improve
the
community.
So
we've
had
to
wait
until
the
property
owners
were
able
to
come
together.
I'm
very
glad.
That's
finally
happened
for
all
of
us.
Finally,
today
because
of
the
Thanksgiving
holiday
and
my
being
out
of
town,
we
haven't
had
a
chance
to
talk
about
the
senseless
and
cold-blooded
killing.
A
I
hope
you
know
that
Bloomington
stands
with
you
and
wish
you
all
the
best
and
a
heartfelt
thank
you
to
the
members
of
the
Bloomington
Police
Department,
who
responded
to
the
incident
and
who
did
an
outstanding
job
investigating
the
crime
to
go
from
a
shooting
to
the
arrest
of
a
suspect
four
states
away
in
little
more
than
12
hours
is
fantastic
police
work.
Thank
you
so
very
much
for
your
work.
A
A
Bloomington
is
a
safe
City
and
through
the
great
work
of
our
police
department
and
their
commitment
to
a
community
that
does
not
tolerate,
condone
or
excuse
crime
of
any
kind.
It
will
continue
to
be
a
safe
City
that
will
do
it
for
this
week's
Council
minute,
thanks
very
much
for
tuning
in
until
next
time,
stay
safe,
Bloomington,.