Bloomington City Council, October 7, 2026

The Bloomington City Council’s October 7, 2026 meeting focused on 2027 budgets and appropriations. Council adopted Bloomington Transit’s budget (Appropriation Ordinance 2026-03) after discussing funding pressures, including the end of EDLIT support; the new general manager was introduced, and officials said they would not raise fares because of the likely effect on ridership and lower-income riders. The 2027 water and wastewater utility budget (Ordinance 2026-04) received a first reading and was continued to October 14; staff agreed to follow up on a question about the $4.9 million depreciation-fund entry. The council also passed amendments to the civil-city budget (Ordinance 2026-02), but continued the ordinance to October 14 for a final vote after the amendments are entered into the budget system. Among the amendments, a proposal to withhold housing-development funding pending a public discussion of strategy passed 6–1, while a proposal to remove funding for corridor and subarea planning studies failed. Planning staff said the studies were estimated at about $265,000 and could support future federal funding applications, including potential 80% reimbursement for transportation-related work through Safe Streets for All. A proposed $2.5 million across-the-board budget reduction did not pass. The council also adopted the 2027 salary ordinances for city employees and City Clerk employees.

Other budget discussions included a proposed $272,000 fleet safety/vehicle-monitoring system, with council members raising questions about cost, coverage, privacy, and data handling; no vendor or contract award was identified in the transcript. The council considered reducing the sanitation subsidy from $1.6 million to $1 million in anticipation of proposed rate changes, and reducing the mayor’s budget by $10,000 for branding; the transcript’s vote records for these items are incomplete. No RFPs, vendor selections, or contract awards were identified.