Thanks to expected modest economic growth, the City of Bloomington will hold property taxes steady again next year.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, the City Council unanimously approved a $20.5 million tax levy estimate with a virtually unchanged rate.
Mayor Tari Renner said the city tries to avoid tax increases whenever possible and is currently in solid financial shape.
“We’re doing really well to the extent that if we get any new revenue, it’s because of new businesses coming in and not because anybody’s paying a penny more in property taxes to the City of Bloomington,” said Renner.
Projected growth of the tax base is expected to give the city an additional $225,000 in tax money, which would be used to defray rising infrastructure expenses. A vote on the final tax levy will be held next month.
Barring unforeseen changes, the city’s estimated tax rate will drop slightly from $1.0860 to $1.0839 per $100 assessed valuation. The rate has been close to $1.08 for five straight years.
City Manager Tim Gleason said keeping the property tax rate unchanged “speaks volumes about the economic and financial stability” of the city. He noted that over the past 10 years, Bloomington has put off spending on some needed infrastructure improvements.
“It really is a story of growth for the community but also in some cases expenses that have been delayed. But overall, we're in good shape,” said Gleason.
The council’s approval also included a $4.94 million levy for the Bloomington Public Library, slightly dropping the current tax rate based on projected growth of 1.3% in equalized assessed value (EAV). The vote came after the council heard a presentation on the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the 2019 fiscal year.
Renner said holding taxes steady remained important even when the city faced tough financial times. He credited Bloomington’s diverse community and economy as the biggest factor in keeping property taxes steady.
“We’re not necessarily subject to one industry or another that might have a downsizing,” said Renner. “We’re steadily seeing growth; it might be slow growth, but that's really important.”
Public Comments
The public comments portion of the meeting was extended 20 minutes beyond the normal half hour when 18 people requested to speak. Among them were 11 speakers from the Climate Action Campaign, who discussed topics including poverty, how the weather impacts the homeless and the need for heating and cooling centers in the city. Joel Studebaker urged the council to “own the problem” and Joe Kennedy stressed that “now is the time for action.”
Seven speakers discussed the upcoming legalization of recreational cannabis, five of whom suggested the city consider opting out of allowing marijuana businesses. The Bloomington Planning Commission will hold a public hearing and take action on an amendment to the city’s zoning ordinance in relation to cannabis businesses at its Wednesday meeting, scheduled for 4 p.m. in the council chambers.
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