The Bloomington City Council unanimously approved a $370.5 million fiscal year 2027 budget Monday night, the largest in the city's history.
The city council also approved an agreement to transfer the Market Street parking garage property to Connect Transit that will convert it into a new bus transfer center.
And, the council took a detailed look at the Bloomington Police Department's 2025 annual report that showed significant drops in gun violence alongside rises in sex crimes and drug offenses.
Budget
City Manager Jeff Jurgens called the budget historic, driven primarily by roughly $82 million in water capital projects that are largely state and federally mandated.
"If we did not have to do these water projects, our budget would actually be decreasing from last fiscal year," Jurgens told the council, emphasizing the rate structure to fund those projects has been in place for years as part of a long-term plan.
Beyond water infrastructure, the budget prioritizes public safety. More than half of the general fund is earmarked for the fire and police departments, including a 6% spending increase and two new firefighter positions.
The city will spend nearly $1 million toward neighborhood revitalization and a 25% increase in asphalt and concrete spending, with total streets and sidewalks expenditures approaching $17 million.
Administrative and support departments, including IT, HR, legal and finance, account for just 4.2% of the total citywide budget, Jurgens said.
Council member Sheila Montney flagged concerns about long-term fiscal pressure. She noted that since 2021, the city's budget has grown from $230 million to $370 million, more than 60%, while inflation over the same period was less than half that.
She also pushed for completion of a deferred maintenance inventory, a request she said she's been making for years. Jurgens acknowledged the report is in progress, with a dozen pages drafted so far.
Connect Transit
In other business, the council unanimously approved a purchase and sale agreement with Connect Transit for a new transit transfer facility at 202 W. Market St., selling the existing parking garage to Connect for $10.
The aging garage will be torn down and street-level parking will be added. The city also has secured parking elsewhere in downtown to account for the public spaces that have been removed with the closing of the Market Street garage.
The city will lease about 90 public parking spots, with a portion of those for Connect Transit's use.
Designs on the project are about 60% complete. Demolition and construction are projected to begin in early 2027, with a target opening of summer or fall 2028.
Deputy City Manager Billy Tyus noted the city's financial investment in the project that includes paying for part of the designs, will be $358,700. He noted that's less than what the city had budgeted.
Connect Transit has scaled down the project due to cost concerns.
Police report
Earlier in the meeting, Police Chief Jamal Simington presented the department's 2025 annual report, telling the council the city "remains a very safe place to live, work, worship, play and learn."
Officers responded to 70,770 calls for service, up 3.5% from 2024, and made 55 more DUI arrests than the prior year. The Criminal Investigations Division handled 1,403 felony cases, resulting in 387 arrests.
On the crime trends themselves, the picture was largely encouraging. Shootings dropped 46% — with just 20 total incidents recorded for the year — while burglaries fell 30% and vehicle thefts dropped 26%. Crimes against persons and crimes against society both decreased as well.
According to the department's crime data, sex offenses rose 14%, from 119 incidents in 2024 to 136 in 2025. Drug and narcotic offenses saw a far more dramatic jump, tripling from 86 to 347 cases, a 303% increase year over year.
Council member Abby Scott pressed the chief on two trends moving in the opposite direction. "I saw there was an increase in sex crimes," she said. "And is that partly because folks are either feeling more comfortable to report those, or is there increase in our abilities to find those folks with cyber crimes, etc.?"
She also flagged the spike in drug offenses. "There was a big spike there. Do you have any knowledge?"
Simington said the rise in sex crimes is likely a combination of factors. The department receives proactive leads from the Illinois Attorney General's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, an investigative group targeting internet-based crimes involving images and videos.
"We're finding that that's trending up, the proactive reporting to us so we can follow up on those kinds of unfortunate crimes," he said. On drugs, he credited proactive patrol work, an anonymous tip line for the public, and coordination with Illinois State Police task force officers.
The department also received Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Program (ILEAP) Tier 2 status Monday, placing it among the only 5% of agencies statewide to hold the distinction.
Other items from the meeting:
— An ordinance amending the FY27 budget to include a contribution to the McLean County Museum of History passed with council member Cody Hendricks recusing himself.
—One public commenter, Joe Blaney, of Eagle View, asked the council to address deteriorating conditions around a city-owned retention pond in his neighborhood, including algae blooms, eroding banks and maintenance gaps. Jurgens noted the detention basin work is projected for the first quarter of FY27.
— The Bloomington Police Department was recognized with ILEAP Tier 2 accreditation, meeting or exceeding 181 standards. Lt. James Clesen received the Meritorious Service Award for leading the accreditation effort.
— The city proclaimed April 24 as Arbor Day. Bloomington is in its 40th consecutive year as a Tree City USA designee and its ninth year receiving the Growth Award.