Several Bloomington City Council members were pleased by the budget changes Controller Jessica McClellan proposed at the special meeting Wednesday.
The changes include an expanded public transportation budget and a $500 increase to the city council president’s bonus. The mayor’s office made both amendments in response to complaints from council members at the Sept. 4 budget meeting.
Council president Isobel Piedmont-Smith requested Sept. 4 that next year’s president’s bonus should be supplemented, giving the $500 increase as an example.
Council members Hopi Stosberg, Sydney Zulich and Kate Rosenbarger all expressed gratitude for the cooperation from the mayor’s office.
“It does feel like pleasant collaboration,” Rosenbarger said.
John Connell, Bloomington Transportation Corporation general manager, attended the meeting to advise the council of any changes to the transportation budget. Councilmember Dave Rollo asked Connell whether Bloomington Transportation planned to offer transportation to the new Monroe County jail.
The potential jail locations have been criticized by some members of the public for being too far away. Connell said Bloomington Transportation has considered this fact and that an hourly bus route is pending approval from the county.
The Monroe County Board of Commissioners is considering plots of land for a new jail to replace the outdated one downtown. The board was scheduled to vote on the purchase of a property Wednesday, but information regarding the property’s sewer system delayed the vote.
During public comment, Bloomington resident Joe Davis said the “gleaming beacon of justice” should be built in the current location of the Monroe County Convention Center.
Rollo said Davis had an “excellent point.”
“We need to think about collaborating with our county friends and see if we can place this facility somewhere central,” Rollo said with agreement from council members Matt Flaherty, Zulich and Rosenbarger.
Rollo abstained from the vote regarding McClellan’s recommendations to change the budget for this reason, resulting in an 8-0-1 verdict.
The budget will undergo a final vote before Nov. 1.
