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From YouTube: Council Minute April 13
Description
Mayor Tim Busse congratulates Police Chief Booker T. Hodges who was sworn in Monday night, shares one neighborhood’s traffic calming efforts and explains the value increases for Bloomington properties.
A
Hello
bloomington,
I'm
mayor
tim
bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
april
11th.
At
our
council
meeting
on
monday,
we
celebrated
the
ceremonial
swearing-in
of
bloomington's
new
police
chief
booker
hodges.
It
was
a
great
event.
The
council
chambers
were
packed
with
family
and
friends
with
public
safety
professionals
and
officers
and
chiefs
from
across
the
twin
cities.
Governor
tim
walls
joined
us
for
a
pre-swearing-in
reception
and
minnesota
commissioner
of
public
safety.
A
John
harrington
also
spoke
the
governor
and
commissioner
harrington
spoke
glowingly
about
chief
hodges,
as
did
everyone
I
talked
to
on
monday,
including
members
of
our
own
bloomington
police
department.
The
chief
has
been
on
the
job
for
a
week
now
and
I'm
really
looking
forward
to
having
the
entire
bloomington
community
meet
and
get
to
know
him.
There's
going
to
be
plenty
of
opportunities
for
that
in
the
coming
weeks
and
months,
but
one
event
that
I
absolutely
want
to
get
on.
A
Your
calendars
is
the
bloomington
police
department,
open
house
on
saturday
may
21st
from
11am
to
2pm
right
here
at
civic,
plaza
I've
shared
in
the
past
that
the
most
common
concern
I
hear
from
residents
is
about
people
driving
too
fast
and
too
recklessly
on
the
streets
of
bloomington.
The
city
is
always
looking
for
ways
to
slow
drivers
down
either
through
engineering,
education
or
enforcement.
On
monday
night,
I
was
very
happy
to
support
the
efforts
of
a
neighborhood
to
slow
down
traffic
and
improve
safety
in
front
of
their
homes.
A
A
A
Of
course,
we
said
yes,
all
of
the
details
in
all
of
this
should
be
buttoned
up
in
the
next
two
weeks,
and
I
expect
the
council
will
give
final
approval
on
april
25th.
Now
I
should
mention
that,
as
part
of
this
process,
the
residents
agreed
to
be
assessed
for
this
improvement.
They
agreed
to
pay
for
it.
I
think
it's
a
great
example
of
neighbors
identifying
a
problem
and
working
toward
a
solution
that
works
best
for
them
and
then
being
willing
to
step
up
and
make
it
happen.
A
And
finally,
on
monday
night,
the
bloomington
city
assessor
delivered
his
annual
assessment
report
to
the
city
council,
home
assessment
and
valuations
are
a
hot
topic
right
now.
The
valuation
notices
that
went
out
in
march
showed
that
the
average
value
change
in
bloomington
residential
properties
was
17
percent,
and
I
know
some
properties
saw
an
increase
that
was
much
higher
based
on
the
number
of
phone
calls
and
emails
that
I've
received
and
the
number
of
phone
calls
that
have
come
into
our
assessing
team.
It's
clear
that
a
lot
of
people
have
questions
about
how
this
process
works.
A
Now
I'm
going
to
try
and
summarize
some
of
what
we
heard
on
monday.
But
if
you
have
questions,
I
really
encourage
you
to
go
to
the
city's
youtube
channel
and
watch
our
meeting
from
monday,
particularly
the
assessment
presentation
and
the
questions
and
discussion
that
followed.
According
to
our
assessing
team
they've
received
about
650
calls
on
this
topic.
That's
650
calls
out
of
more
than
30
000
properties
in
bloomington
and
staff
is
spending
a
significant
amount
of
time
with
each
caller
to
ensure
that
people
have
a
better
understanding.
A
A
The
city
has
just
started
the
budgeting
process
and
the
city
along
with
hennepin
county
and
the
school
district
will
set
a
preliminary
levy
in
september
of
this
year.
All
those
taxing
jurisdictions
will
send
proposed
statements
in
november
and
will
hold
truth
and
taxation
hearings
in
december
and
will
then
ultimately
set
the
final
levy.
A
That
final
levy
amount
is
what
determines
what
the
city
can
collect
through
property
taxes,
not
the
market
value.
The
only
way
the
city
can
increase
property
taxes
is
through
the
levy
process.
The
second
question
residents
ask
is:
why
did
my
homestead
market
value
exclusion
decrease
so
much
or
why
did
it
go
away
completely?
A
Forty
percent
of
the
first
seventy
six
thousand
dollars
of
market
value
is
excluded
from
taxation,
so
at
a
value
of
seventy
six
thousand
dollars,
the
amount
excluded
is
thirty
thousand
four
hundred
dollars,
as
market
value
goes
up,
the
amount
that
can
be
excluded
from
taxation
goes
down
when
the
market
value
gets
to
four
hundred
and
thirteen
thousand
eight
hundred
dollars
that
amount
that
can
be
excluded
is
zero.
That's
the
way
the
law
is
written.
A
The
answer
is
regrettably,
no,
but
there
is
a
property
tax
refund
program
at
the
state
level
for
homeowners
and
renters
and
frankly
too
many
people
don't
take
advantage
of
it.
This
program
is
based
on
household
income.
People
with
lower
household
incomes
receive
a
greater
refund
now
here
in
bloomington,
the
average
household
income
is
about
85
000
and
for
folks
at
that
income
level,
the
property
tax
refund
program
could
refund
about
one-third
about
of
what
is
paid
in
property
taxes,
and
that's
just
an
example.
A
A
A
For
years
the
twin
cities
had
a
shortage
of
housing
and
for
the
past
three
years
the
number
of
houses
for
sale
has
dropped
consistently,
so
supply
and
demand
it
comes
into
play
here.
The
second
issue
is
low
interest
rates.
Money
has
been
cheap
for
some
time
now
and
while
rates
are
starting
to
creep
up,
they're
still
lower
than
they
were
even
just
two
years
ago
and
third
there's
been
a
big
change
in
buyer
behavior.
A
As
a
result
of
the
covet
19
pandemic,
people
are
now
looking
for
bigger
homes,
with
extra
bedrooms
and
extra
space
specifically,
so
they
can
have
room
for
home
offices
or
distance
learning
space
for
their
kids.
The
pandemic
really
changed
what
home
buyers
are
looking
for.
Combine
these
three
factors
and
the
result
is
significant
value.
Changes
throughout
the
city
of
bloomington
and
across
minnesota
homes
are
selling
for
more
than
their
asking
prices
and
they're
selling
quickly.
A
Now
I
have
heard
from
some
people
that
this
is
a
plot
somehow
to
artificially
increase
the
value
of
homes.
Just
so
bloomington
can
raise
more
revenue,
that's
not
true
and,
as
I
said,
it
doesn't
work
that
way
and
frankly,
the
numbers
simply
don't
bear
that
out.
Anoka
county
saw
a
23
percent
increase
in
median
residential
values.
A
Scott
county
was
at
22
and
a
half
percent
carver
county
increased
by
20
percent,
and
if
you
take
minneapolis
out
of
the
hennepin
county
numbers,
hennepin
county
suburbs
increased
by
18
percent,
we're
seeing
increases
across
the
metro
and
across
the
state
and
honestly
I
had
the
same
sticker
shock
as
a
lot
of
you.
But
it's
simply.
The
market
at
work,
property
valuations,
are
not
being
artificially
manipulated.
A
A
If
you
think
your
home
has
been
incorrectly
valued,
there
is
an
appeal
process.
The
valuation
notice
you
received
in
the
mail
explains
how
to
appeal
your
assessed
value.
So
if
you
have
questions
regarding
your
market
value,
do
a
bit
of
research
and
then
contact
the
city
of
bloomington
assessor's
office
at
952-563-8722.