Residents gathered at Miller Park Pavilion Tuesday night for a discussion on Bloomington's budget. (Adam Studzinski/WJBC)

By Adam Studzinski

BLOOMINGTON – Citizens on Bloomington's west side had a chance Tuesday night to offer their thoughts on what the city might do to better balance its budget.

Aldermen Scott Black, David Sage, and Karen Schmidt hosted the meeting at Miller Park Pavilion. The trio explained to citizens Bloomington is looking at about a $5 million structural deficit in next fiscal year's budget.

To help reduce the deficit, Wes Newport Sr. believed the city could start by working harder to define the difference between "wants" and "needs."

"As far as I'm concerned, the entire parks and rec department is 'wants.' Now, I realize you can't just dump it, but I really think that could be reduced," Newport said.

Newport, along with several others, said Bloomington could do a better job enforcing city ordinances. Robert Bosquez even had an idea for a new ordinance.

"Monthly we see people move in and out, landlords just dump all the stuff on the side of the street, people start going through it, it's a mess," said Bosquez. "Why can't we put a fee or an ordinance towards landlords, especially for this bulk waste? I believe the use it more than just a regular citizen. I could be wrong."

Lea Cline said the city could offer certain incentives to increase revenue.

"In another city where I lived you paid one cost for trash collection if you recycled and another cost, which was higher, if you did not," Cline said.

Additionally, several citizens said they would be accepting of an idea to only collect bulk waste once per month, which would help to reduce internal costs.

Black, Sage, and Schmidt have planned another public budget meeting in March. The city council will likely adopt the final budget in late April.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].