Bloomington city council held a special session Wednesday to share its support for Friends of Lake Monroe and address the Public Safety Local Income Tax.
Friends of Lake Monroe
Council member Dave Rollo read a letter of support to Friends of Lake Monroe, a local advocacy organization, for its effort to hire a watershed coordinator. The lake is the county’s only drinking source, Rollo said, and a place of recreation for many community members. The new position would help improve the lake’s poor water quality.
“Without a doubt, Lake Monroe is critical to our quality of life,” Rollo read from the letter.
Public Safety Local Income Tax
The council voted on a resolution to allocate a portion of the Public Safety Local Income Tax to five fire departments.
The vote came after a recommendation by the Public Safety Local Income Tax committee, which met this summer during the council’s recess. The committee consists of representatives from the Monroe County, Bloomington, Ellettsville and Stinesville councils, who automatically receive funds from the tax to direct toward public safety.
During the summer, the committee reviewed applications from fire departments, volunteer fire departments and other emergency medical providers of towns that would otherwise not receive funds through this tax for 2019. The committee recommended to allocate $360,000 of Public Safety Local Income Tax funds to these towns, which fulfills their requests for a self-contained breathing apparatus, water tankers and rescue equipment. The council approved the resolution in a 8-0 vote.
The council wrapped up the meeting by sorting out the council schedule, cancelling the night's committee of the whole meeting.
