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From YouTube: Council Minute: COVID-19 City Budget impact update
Description
Mayor Tim Busse shares an update on how the City plans to make up for a significant budget deficit.
A
Hi
Bloomington
I'm
Mayor
Tim
Boise,
and
this
is
a
special
in-depth
council
minute
in
our
videos
and
in
the
City
Council
meetings.
Over
the
past
few
weeks,
we've
worked
hard
to
be
factual,
transparent
and
straightforward.
As
we've
discussed,
the
financial
realities
Bloomington
is
facing
as
a
result
of
the
coab
of
19
pandemic.
I
wanted
to
take
a
minute
today
to
give
you
the
latest,
update
on
the
work
that
city
staff
has
done
developing
options
to
balance
the
2020
budget
to
make
sure
we're
all
starting
from
the
same
place.
A
I
want
to
lay
out
some
basic
assumptions.
First,
as
we've
talked
about,
there
will
be
a
significant
decrease
in
local
lodging
and
admissions
taxes.
These
two
revenues
represent
about
10
million
dollars
of
Bloomington's
80
million
dollar
general
fund
budget.
Lodging
tax
revenue
for
2020
was
expected
to
be
about
eight
point,
seven
million
dollars,
but
we
won't
be
anywhere
near
that
number.
In
fact,
a
worst-case
slow
recovery
reduces
that
lodging
tax
revenue
to
about
1
million
dollars.
A
Instead,
second,
all
levels
of
government
cities,
counties
and
the
state
need
to
prepare
for
the
potential
of
significant
property
tax.
Delinquencies
in
2020
people
are
out
of
work,
people
are
struggling
financially,
Hennepin
County
has
extended
the
deadline
for
the
first
half
payments
from
May
15th
to
July
15th,
but
unless
things
change
dramatically
very
quickly,
it
likely
won't
matter.
We
will
see
a
significant
property
tax
delinquency
rate
and
we
need
to
prepare
for
that
reality.
A
And,
finally,
the
city
will
also
have
program
revenue
losses
due
to
facilities
that
are
closed
and
programs
that
will
be
delayed
or
canceled.
So
from
a
best-case
scenario,
where
the
economic
recovery
begins
in
earnest
in
June
to
a
worst-case
scenario,
where
the
recovery
doesn't
begin
until
January
of
2021,
the
city
of
Bloomington's
2020
revenue
shortfall
is
projected
to
be
anywhere
from
eight
point:
five
million
to
almost
seventeen
point,
eight
million
dollars.
Now
this
is
where
we
are
today.
These
revenue
projections
are
being
continually
updated
and
will
continue
to
be
refined
as
the
year
progresses.
A
But
right
now
the
2020
revenue
shortfall
is
projected
to
be
somewhere
between
eight
point,
five
and
seventeen
point:
eight
million
dollars.
So
what
are
we
doing
about
it?
At
the
April
20th
City
Council
meeting
staff
proposed
and
the
City
Council
agreed
to
a
combination
of
budget
reductions,
deferred
capital
spending,
unallocated
carryover
from
2019
and
use
of
reserves
to
successfully
manage
a
downturn
that
lasts
into
the
summer.
Let
me
take
a
minute
to
talk
about
each
of
these
items.
A
In
addition
to
the
service
reductions,
we've
also
identified
capital
projects
and
purchases
that
will
be
delayed
or
deferred,
which
will
save
about
seven
hundred
and
thirty
thousand
dollars.
That
list
includes
things
such
as
a
brush
truck
for
the
fire
department,
an
exterior
restroom
remodel
at
the
Bloomington
family,
Aquatic
Center,
seven
fleet
vehicles
that
had
been
scheduled
for
purchase
this
year
and
a
new
fleet
fuel
system.
If
you
watch
the
council
meeting
on
April
20th,
you
saw
that
the
council
adopted
the
ten-year
capital
improvement
plan
and
you
might
be
thinking
well
just
cancel
every
project.
A
Even
with
the
service
reductions
and
deferred
capital
purchases,
we
will
still
need
to
identify
an
additional
five
to
fourteen
million
dollars
to
offset
the
projected
revenue
shortfalls.
Now
for
decades,
the
city
of
Bloomington
has
had
a
policy
of
maintaining
maintaining
strong
working
capital
reserves
in
all
of
the
city's
funds.
It's
one
of
the
reasons
why
Bloomington
has
maintained
triple-a
bond
ratings
from
all
three
credit
rating
agencies.
Those
reserves
are
there
to
ensure
that
there
are
funds
set
aside
for
future
capital
purchases
and
to
support
city
operations
in
difficult
economic
times.
A
This
is
certainly
one
of
those
times.
The
plan
is
to
use
3.9
million
dollars
in
reserves
to
help
address
the
budget
shortfall,
but
we
need
to
keep
in
mind
that
we
can't
completely
deplete
all
of
the
city's
reserves.
That
would
be
fiscally
irresponsible,
but,
depending
on
the
length
of
the
recovery,
will
look
at
other
fund
balance
reserves
to
see
if
those
balances
could
be
used
without
negatively
impacting
long-term
financial
plans.
We
also
had
some
good
news
that
2019
revenues
were
higher
than
budgeted
and
the
city's
investment
interest
revenue
also
did
well
in
2019.
A
That
means
an
additional
2.4
million
dollars
that
we
can
use
to
fill
the
gap.
Now,
if
you've
been
doing
the
math
in
your
head,
you
know
that
this
combination
of
budget
reductions
deferred
capital
spending,
the
use
of
reserves
and
the
use
of
unallocated
carry
overs
from
2019.
It
totals
approximately
10.1
million
dollars.
With
this
plan
in
place,
we're
confident
that
Bloomington
can
successfully
manage
a
downturn
that
lasts
into
the
summer.
We've
all
learned
that
this
pandemic
is
working
at
its
own
pace.
A
Staff
is
continuing
to
look
at
a
range
of
solutions
if
the
economic
downturn
continues
into
the
fall
or
even
longer.
Next
week,
at
the
city
council
study
session
on
April
27th
will
be
discussing
additional
options
for
service
reductions,
combined
with
the
use
of
reserves
to
balance
the
2020
budget,
be
on
the
lookout
for
a
video.
After
the
study
session
outlining
our
discussion
now,
switching
gears
here,
just
a
bit
I've
acknowledged
all
along
that
the
city
will
be
forced
to
make
some
hard
and
unpopular
decisions
as
a
result
of
this
pandemic.
A
As
you
may
have
heard,
the
city
of
Bloomington
has
announced
changes
regarding
parks
and
recreations
operations
and
programming
in
response
to
Cova
19.
The
goal
all
along
has
been
to
strike
the
right
balance
between
maintaining
recreational
services,
programs
and
parks,
while
at
the
same
time
ensuring
the
health
and
safety
of
Bloomington
residents.
But,
given
the
reality
of
the
moment,
a
number
of
programs
facilities
and
events
will
be
cancelled,
closed
or
delayed
until
further
notice.
Trust
me
when
I
say
these
were
difficult
decisions
for
both
staff
and
for
the
council.
A
We
certainly
understand
how
important
these
summer
programs
are
in
terms
of
physical
and
mental
health
and
community
involvement.
I
also
understand
that,
for
many
families,
summer
programming
provides
an
affordable
childcare
option.
Most
importantly,
summer
in
Minnesota
is
far
too
short,
and
these
are
the
things
that
make
summer
fun.
The
complete
list
is
available
on
the
city
of
Bloomington
web
I.
Encourage
you
to
please
take
a
look.
The
refund
process
is
underway
for
folks
who
have
already
paid
for
summer
programming
a
couple
of
things
that
I
do
want
to
point
out.
A
A
Second,
you
probably
know
that
golf
courses
are
now
open
and
that
Duan
will
be
open
as
of
April
22nd,
but
the
city
has
decided
not
to
open
Highland
Green's
in
2020
Highland
Green's
is
undoubtedly
an
important
part
of
summer
for
many
people,
but
the
course
has
been
operating
in
the
red
since
at
least
2005
and
is
currently
being
subsidized
by
property
tax
dollars
in
the
amount
of
$300,000
per
year.
That
type
of
subsidy
doesn't
seem
appropriate
right
now.
A
Another
note
Creekside
Community
Center
is
likely
to
be
closed
for
the
foreseeable
future
due
to
distancing
standards,
public
health
threat
to
the
seniors
and
facility
maintenance
costs
and
our
motor
vehicle
office
will
also
remain
closed
because
employee
and
customer
safety
could
not
be
assured
and
the
services
offered
would
not
bring
in
enough
to
justify
reopening
the
operation
is
subsidized
by
the
city
and
further
losses
complicate
our
current
budget
issues.
Now
that's
a
long
update.
Thank
you
very
much
for
sticking
with
me,
as
always,
don't
hesitate
to
contact
me
or
any
member
of
the
City
Council.