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From YouTube: Council Minute September 20
Description
The City Council sets the preliminary tax levy for 2024, Mayor Busse talks about Bloomington’s participation in Governor Walz’s recent trade mission to Japan and answers your questions about Bloomington Forward, specifically on the difference between a sales tax and a property tax and why Bloomington Ice Garden needs updating.
A
Hello
Bloomington
I'm
mayor
Tim
Bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
September
18th.
On
Monday
night,
the
city
council
adopted
the
preliminary
2024
Levy
and
the
2024
City
budget.
The
preliminary
Levy
was
set
at
9.49,
which
would
fund
a
general
fund
budget
of
81.6
million
dollars.
The
budget
is
structured
around
a
set
of
principles
and
a
budgetary
approach
that
continues.
A
Our
community
investments
in
public
safety
maintains
the
city
services
that
residents
value
and
expect
and
focuses
the
budget
requests
to
align
with
the
city's
strategic
plan
Bloomington
tomorrow
together
and
as
we've
talked
about
in
the
past,
the
entire
budget
process
has
been
fully
enmeshed
into
a
creative,
vigorous
and
wide-reaching
public
engagement
process
staff
spent
time
framing
up
the
budget
in
terms
of
revenues
and
expenses
on
the
revenue
side.
Next
year,
collections
from
bloomington's
lodging
tax
and
admissions
tax
are
projected
to
be
back
at
2019
levels.
A
That's
great
news,
and
that
tells
me
that
our
hospitality
industry
is
fully
back
on
track
after
the
pandemic.
The
downside
is
that
revenues
from
permits
are
projected
to
be
lower
than
what
we've
seen
in
the
last
few
years.
That's
the
result
of
fewer
big
construction
projects
on
tap
for
2024.
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.
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
the
ongoing
transition
to
a
hybrid,
part-time
and
full-time
fire
department,
as
well
as
adding
a
new
dispatcher
for
our
Dispatch
Center
is
certainly
a
cost
driver
and
the
final
cross
driver
is
one
that's
affecting
City
governments,
businesses
and
individuals
alike,
economic
volatility
and
how
it
affects
the
costs
of
materials
and
services.
The
preliminary
Levy
increase
of
9.49
for
2024
would
translate
into
a
5.6
percent
tax
increase
for
a
median
valued
home.
A
That's
because
Bloomington
has
such
a
strong
commercial
tax
base
for
a
median,
valued
home
that
would
equate
to
an
increase
of
75.34
cents
for
2024
or
1.45
cents
per
week.
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
others
about
75
percent
of
our
general
fund
budget
goes
to
paying
the
people
who
provide
the
services.
A
You've
come
to
expect
from
the
city
of
Bloomington.
The
budget
also
reflects
the
values
and
the
priorities
of
the
residents
of
Bloomington.
This
always
popular
graphic
shows
the
proposed
2024
property
tax
allocation,
as
if
it
were
a
dollar
bill,
50
cents
would
go
to
police
and
fire
17
cents
to
Public,
Works,
14
cents
to
Parks
and
Rec
and
seven
cents
to
Community
Development,
that's
88
cents
of
every
dollar
that
would
go
to
these
foundational
city
services.
A
A
reminder.
The
preliminary
Levy
sets
the
maximum
amount.
A
city
can
collect
through
property
taxes
for
the
coming
year.
The
city
council
can
lower
that
number,
but
we
can't
raise
it
beyond
the
amount
set
in
the
preliminary
Levy
over
the
next
10
weeks.
The
council
will
hear
the
annual
budget
presentations
from
City
departments
and
will
work
to
sharpen
and
refine
that
9.59
percent
increase,
if
possible,
on
November
20th.
A
The
council
will
hold
a
special
counsel
meeting
to
finalize
the
budget
in
Levy
and
the
annual
truth
and
Taxation
public
hearing
is
set
for
December
4th
you've
heard
over
the
past
couple
of
weeks
that
Governor
walls
invited
Bloomington
to
be
part
of
a
Minnesota
trade
mission
to
Japan
as
part
of
the
53rd
annual
conference
of
the
midwest
U.S
Japan
Association
we
returned
late
last
week
and
I
would
call
the
trip
a
success
with
more
benefits
in
the
offing.
The
trip
itinerary
was
jam-packed
and
it
was
time
well
spent.
A
That
was
all
in
the
first
24
hours.
The
next
48
hours
included
Bloomington
participating
in
a
Roundtable
discussion
with
local
with
a
local
business
group.
A
trip
to
a
food
trade
show
with
the
Minnesota
Department
of
Agriculture
a
visit
to
the
Osaka,
Expo
2025
site
and
me
being
part
of
a
panel
discussion
during
a
lunch
with
the
Osaka
Chamber
of
Commerce.
The
highlight
of
the
trip
for
me
was
the
opportunity
to
visit
Izumi
City
bloomington's
sister
city
of
30
years,
just
back
in
August,
a
group
from
Izumi
visited
Bloomington.
A
While
we
were
there,
they
rolled
out
the
red
carpet
for
us
and
for
lieutenant
governor
Peggy
Flanagan
I
was
honored
to
address
the
27-member
Izumi
City
Council,
and
the
most
significant
outcome
of
the
visit
was
in
agreement
to
formalize
a
relationship
between
businesses
in
our
two
cities
and
to
explore
opportunities
for
trade.
Business
and
trade
opportunities
were
the
main
focus
of
this
trip.
Governor
walls
and
the
Minnesota
Department
of
Employment
and
economic
development
first
attended
the
midwest
U.S
Japan
association
meeting
in
2019.
since
that
time,
Japanese
business
in
Minnesota
has
doubled.
A
That
shows
a
significant
opportunity
for
a
city
like
Bloomington,
as
we
ramp
up
our
efforts
in
the
international
trade
Arena.
Now
that
being
said,
in
each
of
the
presentations
I
made
I
stress
the
importance
of
cultivating
the
relationships
between
Minnesota,
specifically
Bloomington
and
Japan
I,
kept
going
back
to
that
30-year
relationship
with
Izumi
a
city
literally
on
the
other
side
of
the
world
as
an
example
of
what
we
could
accomplish
through
friendship.
Now,
it's
time
to
answer
your
questions
about
Bloomington
forward.
A
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.
Specifically,
three
questions
on
this
Fall's
ballot
will
ask
voters
about
building
a
new
Community,
Health
and
Wellness
Center,
renovating
the
Bloomington
Ice
garden
and
enhancing
and
protecting
The
Nine
Mile
Creek,
Corridor
and
Moyer.
A
This
graphic
helps
explain
the
difference
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
shop
at
local
businesses.
Through
the
proposed
sales,
tax,
Bloomington
residents
would
pay
an
estimated
35
percent
or
54
million
dollars
of
the
155
million
dollar
investment
plan,
and
non-bloomington
residents
would
pay
about
65
percent
or
101
million
dollars.
A
The
updated
percentages
just
came
in
from
the
University
of
Minnesota
extension
service
on
September
15th
and
is
using
the
most
recently
available
sales
tax
data
from
the
Department
of
Revenue,
which
is
from
sales
that
took
place
in
2021
in
comparison.
If
property
taxes
were
solely
used
to
fund
these
three
projects,
Bloomington
residents
and
Property
Owners
would
pay
one
hundred
percent
of
the
costs
of
the
proposed
projects.
The
next
question
is
about
a
popular
50
year
old
facility
in
Bloomington.
Why
is
the
city
updating
the
Bloomington
Ice
Garden?
A
The
Bloomington
Ice
Garden
has
three
ice
rinks
and
is
one
of
the
busiest
ice
skating
facilities
in
Minnesota
hosting
more
than
9
000
hours
of
ice
time
and
24
tournaments
and
events
annually
years
of
heavy
use
have
taken
a
toll.
Ice
and
refrigeration
systems
are
outdated
and
need
to
be
replaced
and
lots
of
critical
infrastructure
work
is
needed,
including
major
roof
repairs
and
converting
Rank
3
from
Olympic
to
standard
NHL
size.
A
The
city
needs
to
renovate
big
to
ensure
it
continues
to
provide
skaters
and
families
from
Bloomington
and
Beyond
with
ice
time
closer
to
home,
as
well
as
continuing
to
host
Regional
events
and
tournaments.
The
renovations
will
improve
access
for
all
users
and
improve
the
visitor
experience
with
updated
ticketing
and
Concession
areas,
and
many
other
necessary
updates.