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From YouTube: Council Minute October 26
Description
In this week’s Council Minute, Mayor Busse explains the Council’s decision to vote down a proposal to provide Artistry a loan and the latest on the City’s 2023 budget, and honors Native American Heritage Month.
A
A
I'm
mayor
Tim
Bussey-
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
October
24th
on
Monday
night
after
a
public
comment
opportunity
and
another
long
and
thoughtful
discussion
by
the
city
council.
The
council
voted
down
a
proposal
to
provide
Artistry
a
750
000
loan
from
the
city
of
Bloomington.
As
I
discussed
last
week,
the
pandemic
caused
a
significant
operating
shortfall
in
artistry's
budget
and,
as
the
Artistry
chair
told
us
last
month,
poor
management
and
board
oversight
made
a
bad
situation.
A
A
In
the
past
two
weeks,
Artistry
had
come
forward
with
a
request
for
a
750
000
loan
from
the
city
of
Bloomington
to
help
the
organization
become
sustainable.
Once
again,
more
than
a
dozen
people
spoke
at
the
public
comment
period
on
Monday
night,
both
for
and
against
the
loan
and
I
and
others
on.
The
council
received
many
many
emails
from
residents
again,
both
for
and
against.
Thanks
to
everyone
who
provided
input
in
our
discussion,
I
think
every
member
of
the
city
council
expressed
their
strong
support
for
the
Arts
I
know.
A
I
did
I've
been
a
vocal
proponent
of
the
Arts
over
the
years,
not
only
as
an
economic
driver.
Remember
pre-pandemic
the
Arts
had
a
12
million
dollar
local
economic
impact,
but
also
as
an
important
piece
of
what
makes
a
city
special
I,
often
say.
A
great
city
has
great
art
But.
Ultimately,
the
council
decided
it
could
not
support
a
750
000
loan
to
Artistry
there's
simply
too
many
unanswered
questions
about
a
business
plan,
a
development
plan
and
a
viable
path
forward.
A
That
confidently
pointed
to
the
success
of
the
organization
as
one
council
member
put
it,
this
loan
application
wouldn't
be
approved
by
a
bank
or
a
lending
institution.
It
would
be
irresponsible
for
the
city
to
make
a
different
decision.
There
was
also
discussion
about
Equity
regarding
our
other
Arts
organizations,
past
financial
support
of
artistry
and
the
fact
that
seven
hundred
and
fifty
thousand
dollars
is
not
an
insignificant
amount
of
money.
The
next
steps
specific
to
Artistry
are
up
to
the
Artistry
board
of
directors.
A
They
will
meet
very
soon
to
determine
where
the
organization
goes
from
here
now.
I
need
to
be
clear
about
a
couple
of
things.
First,
this
decision
does
not
significantly
impact
the
other
Arts
organizations
that
call
the
Bloomington
Center
for
the
Arts
home
Angelico
cantante,
Bloomington,
Corral,
Bloomington,
Symphony,
Orchestra,
Continental,
ballet,
The,
Medalist
concert
band
and
the
notable
singers
are
all
independent
of
artistry.
They
will
continue
to
operate
regardless
of
what
happens
to
artistry.
A
Second,
this
decision
wasn't
punitive
in
any
way
the
city
council
isn't
punishing
artistry.
The
council
simply
made
a
decision
in
the
best
interest
of
Bloomington,
and
finally,
some
people
are
speculating
on
social
media
that
something
inappropriate
or
illegal
has
happened.
Those
comments
are
just
that
speculation,
as
always
be
wary
of
uninformed
insinuations
on
social
media.
A
I
said
earlier,
a
great
city
has
great
art
and
we
still
have
great
art
here
in
Bloomington,
I
won't
deny
it.
Our
Arts
ecosystem
will
be
different
if
Artistry
is
not
able
to
get
through
their
current
troubles,
but
art
in
Bloomington
will
still
be
strong.
Those
Arts
organizations
I
mentioned
earlier
are
still
an
important
part
of
our
community
and,
like
all
Arts
organizations,
they
too
were
financially
impacted
by
the
pandemic,
support
them
if
you're
able
buy
a
ticket
and
attend
one
of
their
performances
very
soon.
I
know
they'd
love
to
see
you
back.
A
In
September,
the
city
council
approved
the
preliminary
2023
tax
levy
and
the
directly
related
preliminary
2023
general
fund
budget.
As
it
currently
stands,
the
preliminary
Levy
is
proposed
to
increase
by
10.5
percent
to
75.5
million
dollars.
I
said
back
in
September
that
the
council
action
of
approving
the
preliminary
Levy
was
just
one
step
in
the
larger
discussion
of
bloomington's
budgets
and
that
the
city
council
would
be
talking
in
depth
about
budgets
in
meetings
all
the
way
through
October
and
into
November
over
the
past
couple
of
weeks.
Council
and
staff
have
done
just
that.
A
Now
all
of
our
budget
discussions
are
important,
but
the
last
couple
of
weeks
were
especially
important
because
of
the
public
safety
discussions.
I've
shown
this
chart
before,
but
I
think
it's
helpful
to
see
again.
This
chart
breaks
down
the
proposed
10.5
percent
tax
levy
increase
and
shows
how
that
total
would
parse
out
by
City
Department.
A
As
you
can
see,
3.49
percent
of
the
increase
would
go
toward
the
police
department.
3.38
percent
will
go
to
the
fire
department
and
even
the
1.52
percent
increase
in
debt
service.
The
majority
of
that
number
is
the
debt
related
to
the
new
fire
station
number.
Four.
In
total,
more
than
eight
percent
of
the
10.5
percent
proposed
living
increase
is
dedicated
to
Public
Safety
This
truly
is
a
public
safety
budget.
More
specifically,
investments
in
police
would
mean
two
additional
police
officers.
A
A
new
dispatch,
training,
coordinator
and
funds
for
body
cameras,
training
and
supplies
investments
in
the
fire
department
would
move
Bloomington
toward
the
much
needed
transition
to
a
full-time
fire
department.
Our
budget
this
year
certainly
emphasizes
Public
Safety,
and
it's
important
to
remember
that
currently
and
historically
Public
Safety
has
been
a
point
of
emphasis
in
Bloomington
City
spending.
Our
conversation
on
Monday
also
included
a
good
illustration
of
the
deliberations,
the
checks
and
balances
and
the
practicality
that
goes
into
determining
a
city
budget.
A
That's
why
this
budget
focuses
on
public
safety
and
also
includes
additional
staff
to
work
on
natural
resources
and
sustainability
issues,
but
it
doesn't
include
funding
for
even
more
police
officers
for
a
civilian
crime
prevention
position
and
additional
staff
and
equipment
for
sidewalk
snow
plowing.
We
fully
understand
the
need
to
balance
priorities
that
we
know
are
important
to
many
members
of
this
community
with
the
desire
to
keep
the
levy
increase
at
a
reasonable
level.
It's
something
we
keep
in
mind
and
thoughtfully
discuss
every
single
time.
A
We
talk
about
City
budgets,
Community
priorities
and
taxes
on
November
14th,
we'll
be
holding
public
hearings
on
City
Water
and
Wastewater
rates
and
solid
waste
and
refuse
collection
rates
on
November
21st.
There
will
be
a
special
meeting
where
we'll
hear
budget
presentations
from
the
remaining
departments
and
discuss
the
overall
2023
budget
and
tax
levy.
Our,
Truth
and
Taxation
hearing
will
be
held
on
December
5th.
A
There
is
a
lot
of
budget
information
available
on
the
Bloomington
City
webpage
check
it
out
and
please
don't
hesitate
to
contact
me
or
other
members
of
the
city,
council
or
city
staff.
If
you
have
questions
and
finally,
today
November
is
recognized
as
Native
American
heritage
month
and
on
Monday
night
I
read
a
proclamation
that
was
brought
forward
by
the
Bloomington
Human
Rights
Commission.
A
It
encourages
everyone
to
acknowledge
and
celebrate
the
history,
culture
and
traditions
of
Native
Americans
here
in
Bloomington,
Dakota,
Ojibwe
and
Iowa
Indians
have
a
long
and
Rich
history
and
presence
in
Bloomington,
and
in
fact
the
city
of
Bloomington
is
built
on
lands
once
known
by
Native
Americans,
as
where
the
water
touches
the
Bluffs
during
Native
American
heritage
month,
and
always
we
should
celebrate
the
rich
tapestry
of
indigenous
peoples
and
honor
their
vibrant
and
diverse
cultures.
Those
cultures
are
unquestionably
woven
into
the
history
and
the
present
times
of
this
community,
this
state
and
this
country.