The Normal Town Council has adopted a new strategic plan for the next three years. The document notes 80% of the jobs in Normal are held by people who commute into the town from somewhere else. And more than 75% of town residents commute to work outside the town.
Mayor Chris Koos acknowledged that does say something about the community's economy.
“In the sense that you have to take a look at the jobs we're talking about, high-tech manufacturing, education, things like that. If you take a look at it as a region, Peoria, Champaign, Bloomington, Normal, then it — then it's not so surprising,” said Koos.
Koos said those characteristics do not necessarily mean the employment base within the town needs a lot of growth. He said unemployment is low.
“The issue we're always concerned about is the quality of the jobs that we have. We don't want a lot of our jobs to be predominantly low-income, entry-level jobs. We want career jobs,” he said.
State Farm, Caterpillar, Rivian and Illinois State University are all regional employers, he said, because of the skill sets needed to work there. And those enterprises recruit globally.
Koos acknowledged a tongue in cheek label for the town as a bedroom community for Bloomington may have validity.
“There's probably some truth to that with State Farm. I wouldn't say that necessarily we're a bedroom community [because of] how many people come into our community. I think you have to look at it regionally, not just by city by city,” said Koos.
Aging population
Overall population levels have remained relatively stable and become increasingly diverse. There's an aging population, a decreasing white population and growth among all other racial, racial and ethnic groups.
Koos said that shapes what the town should be doing to position itself for those groups. He also questioned the validity of the last census, which he believes undercounted college students who live off campus.
“And talking to other mayors and university communities, they feel the same way,” said Koos, adding data from Illinois State University about the student population cuts against census numbers that show there is a lower number of students.
“We may undertake a mid-census recount of our census to see if, in fact, that really holds up,” said Koos.
The town made a mid-decade recount after the 2010 census that resulted in greater federal funding allocated by population-based formulas.
He said the town would have to be certain that paying for an expensive recount would pay off. Extra funds would typically go to road work and infrastructure projects, he said.
The rising average age of residents reflects an increase in the number of retirees who are choosing to remain in town.
“We're paying more attention to ADA issues in the built environment. I think encouraging the type of housing in the community which would address that population's needs. I think those are the things we can do as a community,” said Koos, noting this is a national trend.
Childcare
The strategic plan identifies a lot of strengths and a few weaknesses or challenges for the town, among them rising childcare costs and lack of availability.
Koos said that should be dealt with at the state and federal level because it, too, is a nationwide challenge. He acknowledged municipalities may play a role with subsidies or incentives to create new childcare slots, as Michigan has done with a state and local partnership.
“That's something the town should look at,” said Koos.
The childcare subsidy proposal had been championed by the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council [EDC], which recently went through a change in leadership. Koos said the EDC should continue to spearhead and explore such an initiative once a permanent new EDC director is chosen. He said the City of Bloomington and the McLean County Chamber of Commerce also need to be involved.
“I think it's core that we look at that,” said Koos. “That is economic development where we can attract people to work in our community, to businesses that want to expand in our community or locate in our community. If they know that there's quality and readily available childcare and affordable childcare, that's a big plus for them to be here.”
Going it alone
A suggestion by town staff that made the final strategic plan is to put more effort into combating a “public perception that Normal goes it alone.” Koos said the town should work hard on reversing that image, denying the issue is anything more than a misperception.
“I see that we do things differently than, say, the City of Bloomington. But cities all across the country do that. We try to be as collaborative as we possibly can. There are friction points in collaborations like that. It's probably incumbent on us to be at the table and try to fix those things,” said Koos.
He said making the extensive dialogue with Bloomington at all levels of town staff more visible to the public is important.
“There's a saying in communications that when you're putting a message out there and you're sick of saying the message, the public is just beginning to hear it. I think we have to be steadfast and talk about the successes we have as a community and collaboration between the units of government, because there's a lot of it there,” said Koos.
On that same theme, members of the public and residents of the town who were interviewed for the strategic plan talked about processes such as budget workshops, capital planning discussions and pre-council briefings as “points where clearer or more consistent information flow could support shared understanding and transparency.”
Koos acknowledged that is a call for more transparency and to seek input on important community projects. At the same time, he said he does not want municipal government to devolve into a town hall in which everyone gets a vote on every project.
He said council members are people elected by the community to make policy choices. And often, when the town tries to engage the public, there’s not a lot interest except for people who are directly impacted by a choice.
He said such issues of perception of government and better communication are eternal.
“In the Town of Normal in the late 1800s ... the town's first issuance of bonded debt was for a project the town fathers wanted to implement. It had very, very strong pushback…Most of the residents didn't see the value in it, and of what was done,” said Koos.
That bond issue brought running water to the community.
