Transportation is a top priority for city council moving into 2021. Many members say they want to make it more affordable. (WFIU/WTIU File Photo)
On Wednesday night Bloomington discussed future city spending at the 2021 Budget Advance meeting.
The annual gathering is for the city council to set goals and come up with ideas on how to fiscally reach those goals. However, this year was not an average budget advance with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
"Our budget for 2021 will be part of the discussion on how we help our community get through this," Mayor John Hamilton says.
City controller Jeff Underwood says the city has about 4 months worth of revenue in reserve right now in its Rainy Day Fund.
“We’re going to do this right. We’re going to manage our budgets. We’re going to manage our cash reserves, but we’ve been building to this day for the last 7-9 years," Underwood says.
Underwood says the Rainy Day Fund has $4.8 million out of Bloomington’s total cash balance of $35.4 million from 2019.
He says the city currently projects to take a 2-5% loss at the end of the year, but Underwood says that possible loss isn't that bad when you look at how the economy is suffering as a whole.
"We're only four weeks into this, so we don't know what the losses will be for sure," Underwood says.
The city put together an abbreviated list of estimated revenue losses in the short-term:
- Parking Meters: $800K loss (April-July)
- Parking Facilities: $300K loss (April-July)
- Food and Beverage Tax: $865K (April-July)
Other topics the city council discussed were general goals for 2021.
Several members say they want to make a bigger difference in closing Bloomington's socioeconomic gap and try to make the city more sustainable.
"We absolutely have to take measures to prioritize the health of our community and our economy," councilmember Matt Flaherty says. "But I think we do need to continue to work on progress for fighting the climate crisis, address the growing wealth inequality and other forms of systemic classism and racism that exists in our society."
Much of the council echoed similar thoughts, and every member agreed that Bloomington needs more sustainable and affordable transportation.
"We all are going to have to find ways to be fluid and flexible during all of this," councilmember Susan Sandberg says.
This was the first of several meetings on the 2021 budget. In August the council will hold its budget hearings before adopting a final budget on Oct. 14.
