If the early look at Bloomington Aldermen is a guide, outsourcing golf courses and recovering costs from the downtown police hireback program for high volume nights in the bar district will be priority items as the city cuts its budget. Whether or how to fund the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts also came up as a potential cut during an informal discussion of prioritizing budget task force recommendations. Alderman Scott Black says it's important to look at the BCPA early in process even it it makes it more likely to be cut.
The four aldermen who attended the discussion are recommending all council members list their top ten priorities from the task force list. The top tier of choices would then go to staff for further research and then back to the council for debate.
Alderman Karen Schmidt acknowledges it's not easy to decide how to decide.
The four alderman also listed priorities including reducing use of consultants, across the board 5% budget cuts, reducing printing costs substantially, stopping spring fertilizing and summer watering in parks, and finding a lower cost way to dispose of city leaves.
