2025 budget approved by city council; taxpayer petition demands no modifications

Bloomington, Indiana – The Bloomington City Council spent most of its meeting on Wednesday night debating a taxpayer objection petition before unanimously passing the city’s 2025 municipal budget.

The petitioners, led by Bloomington resident Joe Davis, were determined to have failed to timely file their objection, according to the council members. To be included in the meeting minutes, the council accepted this conclusion together with the conclusion that the petition did not justify a modification to the city budget.

The petition asked the council to halt the disbursement of any money for the renovations, arguing that the city’s Capital Improvement Board—which is in charge of organizing the upgrades for the Monroe County Convention Center—was not duly established.

According to Indiana Code, the petition had to be filed with the council no later than seven days following the budget hearing on September 25. Therefore, it was due on October 2. The petition was delivered to the council on October 3 at 12:01 a.m.

Council Attorney Lisa Lehner announced prior to the meeting that she had asked Davis to produce documentation proving the petitioners were tax payers, and when he failed to do so, the council questioned him further.

During public comment, Davis went up to the stage to recite the names and addresses of the other nine taxpayers who had endorsed the petition, following the council’s concerns.

Davis remarked, “I want to identify the people who I represent.”

After informing Davis that he was out of order, council president Isabel Piedmont-Smith finally requested that Davis be removed by a police officer stationed in the chamber. Davis stepped away from the podium when the police approached him.

The council approved an ordinance to deduct $250,000 from the parking meter fund after council member Matt Flaherty presented a second reading of it.

The convention center is scheduled to undergo repairs for around $52 million, which will proceed according to plan. The budget also includes planning for annexation and affordable housing, along with pay increases for other departments, such as community and family resources, police, fire, and police. The budget for personnel in the fire department, for instance, grew by 27%.

In previous budget hearings, the council and the mayor’s office were able to reach an agreement on compromises pertaining to budgeting priorities for safe street projects, infrastructure, and transit. Jessica McClellan, the city controller, agreed to account for the projects in the budget rather than use general obligations bonds, as the mayor’s office had originally proposed, to fund the council’s objectives for public transportation.

The entire budget for 2025 is $151 million. Due to the lack of yearly renewal funds such as Community Redevelopment Economic District financing and the American Rescue Plan Act, it runs at a deficit.

On October 30, the city council will reconvene in City Hall at 6:30 p.m.