►
From YouTube: Council Minute August 23
Description
Mayor Tim Busse gives an update on the Council’s discussion Monday night about the proposed 2024 City budget and preliminary tax levy plus, your questions about Bloomington Forward and how the sales tax would work are answered.
A
Hello
Bloomington
I'm
mayor
Tim
Bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
August
21st.
Our
council
meeting
this
week
was
officially
a
special
meeting.
We
didn't
conduct
any
City
business
and
there
was
only
one
agenda
item.
Our
first
discussion
of
the
proposed
2024
Bloomington
City
budget
and
preliminary
Levy
staff
provided
the
council
with
an
overview
of
where
the
preliminary
budget
currently
stands.
We
talked
about
a
variety
of
issues
that
need
to
be
addressed
over
the
next
several
months
and
provided
some
general
direction
to
staff
regarding
a
preliminary
tax
levy
as
they
do.
A
Every
year
our
top-notch
Bloomington
City
staff
have
been
working
on
this
budget
since
May
and
I
appreciate
and
I
fully
agree
with
the
principles
they've
been
working
with
as
they've
developed.
This
proposed
budget.
This
budget
continues
our
community
investments
in
public
safety,
it's
structured
to
maintain
the
city
services,
that
residents
value
and
expect
there's
been
a
focus
on
the
Tactical
allocation
of
resources
and
the
budget
requests
align
with
the
city's
strategic
plan
Bloomington
tomorrow,
together
and
finally,
and
probably
most
visibly
so
far.
A
City
staff
and
the
council
have
been
fully
committed
to
increased
public
engagement
in
the
budget
process.
I
want
to
talk
a
bit
about
that
public
engagement.
Over
the
past
few
years,
staff
has
been
out
and
about
in
the
community
using
a
unique
tabletop
display
to
gather
feedback
on
what
residents
value
and
would
prioritize
in
the
city
budget.
A
You
might
have
seen
them
at
concerts
at
the
Band
Shell
at
the
farmers
market
or
at
the
Public
Works
open
house
staff
has
made
a
point
this
year,
not
only
to
get
to
a
greater
number
of
events,
but
also
to
ensure
that
they
are
at
events
in
different
parts
of
the
city
at
different
times
and
on
different
days
of
the
week.
The
people
working.
Those
events
have
included
department,
heads
and
members
of
the
city
council.
If
you
haven't
seen
the
display.
This
is
what
it
looks
like.
A
It
includes
an
information
board
and
six
individual
tubes
that
are
labeled
with
different
priorities:
Parks
Arts
Recreation
and
natural
resources,
facilities
and
infrastructure,
Equitable
economic
growth,
Public
Safety,
healthy
community
and
a
connected
welcoming
Community.
Everyone
who
stops
by
to
talk
is
given
10
color
chips
and
they're
asked
to
put
their
chips
in
the
tubes
in
a
way
that
reflects
their
values
or,
where
they'd
like
to
see
the
city
Focus
Investments.
So
far,
more
than
600
residents
have
participated
and
there
are
still
three
more
events
to
go
now.
A
We
know
full
well
that
the
results
of
this
survey
are
in
no
way
statistically
significant,
but
it's
been
an
interesting
exercise.
It's
gotten
people
thinking
and
it
started
a
lot
of
good
conversations
in
case
you're
wondering
the
top
three
vote.
Getters
so
far
have
been
Parks,
Arts,
Recreation
and
natural
resources,
Public
Safety
and
facilities
and
infrastructure
on
top
of
personal
interactions.
At
events,
more
than
260
residents
have
filled
out
a
priority
related
survey
on.
A
Let's
talk,
Bloomington
and
staff
has
produced
a
series
of
videos
to
help
residents
better
understand
topics
like
home,
valuations
and
property
tax
statements.
I
really
appreciate
this
work
done
by
our
city
staff
and
I
hope
that
you
do
too.
Staff
has
really
leaned
into
this
notion
of
public
engagement
and
have
worked
to
include
the
voice
of
residents
in
our
budget
process
in
ways
that
have
never
been
done
before
hats
off
to
them.
A
For
that
engagement,
work
on
Monday
night
staff
also
spent
time
framing
up
our
budget
discussion
in
terms
of
revenues
and
expenses
on
the
revenue
side.
Next
year,
collections
from
bloomington's
lodging
tax
and
admissions
tax,
their
rejected
to
be
back
at
2019
levels.
That
is
great
news,
and
it
tells
me
that
our
hospitality
industry
is
fully
back
on
track
after
the
pandemic.
A
A
on
the
expense
side
of
things,
staff
identified
three
significant
issues
that
will
drive
City
expenses
next
year
and
in
years
to
come.
The
first
is
labor
market
pressure.
Unemployment
in
Minnesota
is
at
a
record
low
rate
and
competitive
salaries
and
benefits
are
needed
to
attract
and
retain
skilled
workers
to
deliver
the
services
that
we've
all
come
to
expect.
A
The
second
expense
driver
is
bloomington's.
Continued
commitment
to
Public
Safety
the
proposal
to
add
six
new
firefighters
in
2024
to
help
with
that
ongoing
transition
to
a
hybrid,
part-time
and
full-time
fire
department,
as
well
as
adding
a
new
dispatcher
for
our
Dispatch
Center
is
undoubtedly
a
cost
driver
and
the
final
cost
driver
is
one
that's
affecting
City
governments,
businesses
and
individuals
alike,
economic
volatility
and
how
it
affects
the
costs
of
materials
and
services.
With
all
of
that,
as
a
backdrop,
staff
brought
forward
a
proposed
preliminary
Levy
increase
of
9.49
percent
for
2024..
A
Now
that's
the
proposed
Levy
increase
that
amount
would
translate
into
a
5.6
percent
tax
increase
for
a
median
valued
home.
That's
because
Bloomington
has
such
a
strong
commercial
tax
base
for
a
median
value
home
that
would
equate
to
an
increase
of
75
dollars
and
34
cents
for
2024
or
1.45
per
week.
When
talking
about
budgets
in
the
past,
a
question
that
I've
heard
more
than
once
is:
what's
the
proposed
increase
for
where's
that
money
going
and
that's
that's
a
good
question.
A
You
can
see
here
that
the
Lion's
Share
of
this
proposed
increase
is
for
salaries
and
benefits
for
city
employees.
City
governments
are
basically
in
the
service
industry.
The
city
of
Bloomington
does
not
make
widgets
the
city
of
Bloomington
provides
services
like
police
and
fire
protection,
snow,
plowing,
Park,
maintenance,
water
delivery
and
many
many
others
about
75
percent
of
our
general
fund
budget
goes
to
paying
the
people
who
provide
the
services.
You've
come
to
expect
from
the
city
of
Bloomington
and
I
want
to
be
clear.
A
This
graphic
doesn't
show
that
city
employees
will
see
a
5.3
percent
salary
increase
this
year.
That
5.3
percent
includes
the
new
firefighter
positions,
step
increases
and
increased
costs
of
Health
Care
coverage
as
I
mentioned
earlier.
This
was
our
first
discussion
regarding
the
2024
budget
in
Levy
and
I
can
promise
you.
The
conversation
is
just
getting
started.
A
The
next
budget
Milestone
comes
the
middle
of
next
month
when
we're
required
to
set
our
preliminary
tax
levy.
The
preliminary
Levy
sets
the
maximum
amount.
A
city
can
collect
through
property
taxes
for
the
coming
year.
The
council
can
lower
that
number,
but
we
can't
raise
it
beyond
the
amount
set
in
the
preliminary
Levy.
A
As
always,
there's
a
lot
more
to
come
on
this
I
look
forward
to
your
feedback.
Now,
it's
time
to
answer
your
questions
about
Bloomington
forward.
The
long-term
investment
plan
that,
if
approved
by
voters,
would
support
three
major
Community
projects
for
Better,
Health,
Wellness,
Athletics,
Recreation
and
improved
natural
areas.
The
projects
include
renewal
in
The,
Nine,
Mile,
Creek
Corridor,
an
upgrade
of
Bloomington
Ice
garden
and
construction
of
a
new
Community
Health
and
Wellness
Center
on
November
7th
Bloomington.
A
Voters
will
consider
a
half
percent
local
option
sales
tax
to
finance
155
million
dollars
in
bonds
to
pay
for
the
projects
as
part
of
a
city-wide
referendum.
If
approved
67
percent,
that's
two-thirds
of
the
local
sales
tax
revenue
will
come
from
non-residents
by
using
a
sales
tax.
Instead
of
a
property
tax
to
finance
these
projects,
non-residents
would
share
in
the
cost
of
paying
for
them
when
they
patronize
local
businesses.
The
first
question
is:
are
there
exemptions
to
the
sales
tax?
A
The
answer
is
yes,
the
local
option
sales
tax
would
work
the
same
as
the
state
state
sales
tax,
which
means
that
things
like
groceries,
clothing,
prescription
and
over-the-counter
drugs,
feminine
hygiene
products
and
baby
products.
They
would
not
be
taxed.
Some
have
asked
if
the
sales
tax
applies
to
Motor
Vehicles.
The
answer
is
no.
Sales
of
Motor
Vehicles
and
boats
are
also
exempt
for
a
full
list
of
taxable
and
non-taxable
items
visit
the
Minnesota
Department
of
revenues
website.
A
Today's
second
question:
how
would
the
sales
tax
work,
if
approved
by
Bloomington
voters,
the
local
half
percent
sales
tax,
would
be
applied
the
same
way
as
the
state
sales
tax?
The
proposed
tax
amounts
to
a
half
cent
for
every
one
dollar
spent.
For
example,
the
10
purchase
would
cost
an
additional
five
cents
if
the
tax
is
approved
and
the
final
question
today
would
the
sales
tax
be
permanent.
A
The
answer
is
no,
if
approved
by
Bloomington,
voters
collections
from
the
local
sales
tax
will
be
used
to
make
bond
payments
to
finance
the
three
capital
projects
for
up
to
20
years.
The
tax
will
expire
when
the
bonds
for
the
projects
have
been
paid
off.
This
approach
allows
current
residents
to
take
advantage
of
the
improvements,
while
the
bonds
are
being
repaid.
A
I'll
be
answering
a
couple
of
questions
each
week,
leading
up
to
the
election
so
be
sure
to
tune
in
next
time
for
more
answers
to
your
frequently
asked
questions
in
the
meantime,
there
is
much
more
information
on
the
website.
Bloomingtonforward.Org
that'll,
do
it
for
this
week's
Council
minute,
thanks
for
tuning
in
until
next
time,
stay
safe,
Bloomington,.