By Adam Studzinski

NORMAL – The Town of Normal has responded strongly to Bloomington’s move this week to unilaterally terminate the Metro Zone tax sharing agreement.

A statement from Normal Wednesday said all intergovernmental agreements with Bloomington are now under review “to ensure that they are in the Town’s best interests.”

Mayor Chris Koos said Bloomington seems to have a culture where they don’t seek Normal’s input.

“In 2004 it was MetCom, a unilateral pull out without discussion,” said Koos. “Last year we tried to have a discussion about the idea of shared sales tax and we were told we would not have that discussion.”

Koos hoped the town’s decision will not fracture the Twin Cities’ relationship even more.

“But having repetitive behaviors like this, the City of Bloomington, we’ve just got to be vocal and public about how we feel about this issue,” he said.

Normal’s statement, which was attributed to Koos and the Town Council, added:

“The actions of Mayor Renner and the Bloomington City Council provide indisputable evidence their pledges to cooperate and collaborate with Normal and others are hollow and disingenuous.”

The town said it also must identify future funding to account for the loss of $1.2 million which Normal stands to lose due to what the town views as an “unethical and self-serving action.”

A message has also been left with Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner seeking comment.

This story will be updated.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].