AFSCME Local 2487 president Bradley Rushton speaking to union members outside city hall Tuesday, August 30, 2022.
(Holden Abshier, WFIU/WTIU News)
Bloomington City Council continued department hearings Tuesday for mayor John Hamilton’s $129 million budget proposal.
During the utilities department presentation, several councilmembers addressed unfinished union negotiations for a second night in a row. The union rallied outside city hall for the same issue several hours earlier.
Utilities
City of Bloomington Utilities (CBU) is a separate municipal organization, and it is not included in the $129 million civil city budget. However, council must still approve its annual proposal.
CBU’s budget is divided into three parts:
$20.4 million for water works, up $2.3 million from 2022.
$24 million for sewer, up $1.8 million
$3.2 million for stormwater, up about $100,000
Councilmember Isabel Piedmont-Smith said the budget does not include a wage increase for AFSCME employees, many of whom work in utilities.
“I just think there is also a certain symbolic value to say ‘we’re not putting anything in the budget for this,’ which just sort of rubs me the wrong way,” Piedmont-Smith said.
AFSCME Local 2487 President Bradley Rushton spoke to several dozen union members outside city hall Tuesday afternoon to encourage city administration to resume contract negotiations before the budget is adopted. He said the city administration cancelled the last two negotiations, with the most recent being a couple weeks ago.
“We feel that they’re trying to back us into the corner where they go ahead and get the budget hearings concluded and then whatever they deem necessary to give us is what we’ll get,” he said. “That’s not fair, good-faith negotiations."
Council made a due-pass recommendation of 3-0-5.
During Monday department hearings, Bloomington Corporation Counsel Beth Cate said she is unsure if negotiations will conclude by the scheduled budget adoption in October.
Bloomington Transit
Bloomington Transit (BT) is proposing a $35 million budget, up $20 million from 2022. BT is a separate municipal organization, and it is not included in the civil city budget.
The organization’s largest sources of revenue are $20 million in federal funding and $3.8 million from the local income tax (LIT), which general manager John Connell said is a game changer.
“It positions BT to not only become one of the best transit systems in the state, but I think it could become one of the best in the country,” Connell said.
He said the LIT commitment already yielded more than $7 million in federal funding for eight electric buses. BT is looking to purchase another eight electric buses in 2023, for a total of 16. The organization is also looking to expand microstransit, add Sunday service and improve fixed-route frequency.
Bloomington Transit is planning to add five positions, including a grant and procurement specialist and chief safety officer.
Council made a due-pass recommendation of 6-0-2. Councilmembers Steve Volan and Dave Rollo passed; councilmember Matt Flaherty was absent.
Bloomington Police Department
The police department is proposing a budget of $24.3 million, up $2.6 million from 2022.
Police chief Mike Diekhoff said the department is authorized and funded for 62 civilian employees and 105 officers. However, as of August 12, the department only has 56 civilian employees and 81 sworn officers, with only 72 available for full duty.
For incentives, BPD currently offers either a $5,000 or $3,000 hiring bonus, an $18,000 down payment assistance for officers purchasing a home in the city, and up to $750 per month in rental assistance for officers living in the city.
Councilmember Rollo asked if the incentives are working since staffing is no better than the same time last year.
“I think we are doing the right types of incentives, but I don’t know that we are doing the best job of trying to find police officers,” Diekhoff said.
In 2023, BPD is planning to add four non-sworn employees, three community service specialists and a social worker in emergency dispatch. One of the new positions will be a recruiting specialist.
Council made a due-pass recommendation of 4-0-4. Rollo passed because he said he is uncertain if adding non-sworn employees is beneficial when the money could be used on officer incentives.
Bloomington Fire Department
The fire department is proposing a $16.2 million budget, which is up $2.9 million from 2022.
Council made a due-pass recommendation of 6-0-2.
Department budget hearings continue the next two nights at 6 p.m.
