Bloomington City Council wrapped up 18 hours of preliminary discussions for the 2023 budget Thursday.
The department of public works took center stage with proposals to raise trash fees, eliminate leaf vacuuming, and crack down on scooter parking.
Trash
Director of public works Adam Wason said sanitation rates will likely increase in 2023, but the proposal is not finalized. The change will be lowest for smaller cart sizes and higher for the largest size. The goal is to encourage people to throw away less trash.
The department is currently predicating fees for the smallest bin (35 gallons) could increase from $6.51 per month to $9.75. The middle size (64 gallon) could increase from $11.61 to $18.25. The largest size bin (96 gallon) could increase from $18.52 to $31.50.
The purpose of the change is to transition sanitation off general fund subsidies. Sanitation is budgeted for $1.4 million from the general fund, which is paid by all taxpayers; however, the department only offers trash service to single-family homes or homes with four units or less.
“Everybody pays into the general fund,” councilmember Matt Flaherty said. “We’re taking a big chunk of that…and putting it towards a portion of the community to make their trash bill cheaper, when everyone else is still paying full cost."
He said the current structure is a compounded equity issue.
“The group that gets the discount is disproportionately wealthier and whiter than the whole of Bloomington,” Flaherty said.
Councilmember Steve Volan said he isn’t opposed to a rate increase, but he wants to see incentives for people who don’t put trash out often. However, Wason said the department is not considering these kinds of incentives.
Volan questioned further and said the department provided council data in 2021 that the average Bloomington household put trash out 2.08 times each month.
“We’re not overly confident in those 2021 numbers,” Wason said.
Wason said the numbers came from a previous software vendor.
The department of public works plans to bring a rate change to council in the coming months.
Leaves
The city plans to stop free, curbside leaf vacuuming in 2023. Services will continue for fall 2022. The city will still collect leaves that have been bagged for yard waste.
Public works will spend the next year to educate the public on best practices for onsight composting and mulching.
“It is such a carbon intensive thing to do when there are pretty easy alternatives onsight. It’s just a matter of education and outreach,” said councilmember Isabel Piedmont-Smith.
The change comes after the city conducted a two-year pilot program to study urban leaf composting and mulching.
Scooters
After council made scooters the point of discussion for several nights of budget hearings, the public works department is launching a scooter enforcement pilot program.
The city is in the process of hiring two temporary, part time employees to focus on enforcement. The pilot program will document scooters blocking sidewalks, ADA ramps, etc.
“We’ll get to the point where likely fines come into play, impoundment possibly,” Wason said.
Department Budgets
Public Works
The public works department is divided into seven budgets:
Administration ($2.3 million)
Animal Control ($1.9 million)
Facility Maintenance ($1.4 million)
Fleet Maintenance ($4.1 million)
Parking Services ($5.3 million)
Sanitation ($4.8 million)
Street Operations ($9.8 million)
Planning and Transportation
The planning and transportation department is requesting $1.9 million, up about $230,000 from 2022.
Engineering
The engineering department is requesting $4.7 million, nearly double its 2022 budget.
Council will take the next few weeks to submit questions and recommendations, so that all the city departments can prepare their final budget requests.
Council will hold a first reading of the final budget Sept. 28. The council is scheduled to cast a final vote Oct. 12.
