By Nick McClintock
BLOOMINGTON – After much debate and talk concerning what was seemingly a small portion, the Bloomington City Council voted to approve a $214.1 million budget Monday night.
The vote was by an 8-1 margin, with the lone dissent coming from Alderman Kevin Lower.
The spending plan is balanced, but marks a $6.5 million increase over the current budget.
PODCAST: Listen to Patti Penn’s interview with Bloomington City Manager David Hales.
Alderman Scott Black spoke against a $300,000 sewer expansion project near the Grove Subdivision on the east side of Bloomington. He said the improvement was being done for future development of the east side, when people already living in the city limits could use that money for existing sewers.
“To me it’s a question of priorities, do we want to be spending money on a project to help future residents?” Black asked. “My perspective, our historic core has been waiting for new sewers in some cases for over 100 years.”
After all the debate, Black conceded to vote for the budget as requested, however multiple members on the council voiced concern. This lead Mayor Tari Renner to say more debate could be had, and an amendment could be added taking away that money at a later date.
Other items discussed at the meeting included a heavy truck ban at Clinton Boulevard in Bloomington, and the approval of a reduced speed limit on a residential portion of Fox Creek Road.
Nick McClintock can be reached at [email protected].
