Annexation

About Annexation

During 2021, the City of Bloomington resumed the process of annexing eight areas adjacent to the City's boundaries. The City had initiated the annexation process in 2017, but the state legislature intervened and suspended the process. After the City fought the legislature's actions, the Indiana Supreme Court determined that the state legislature's intervention was unconstitutional, and during the first half of 2021 the City was finally able to resume its annexation.

Upon resuming the annexation, the City Council updated fiscal plans for the annexation, held a public hearing to review the proposal, took steps to reduce the size of the annexation, and ultimately voted to approve seven annexation ordinances on September 15 and September 21, 2021. In February 2022, following a 90-day remonstrance period during which property owners could sign petitions to contest the annexation, the County Auditor published the total number of owners who remonstrated. However, the Auditor's published numbers allowed some property owners to remonstrate despite the existence of a remonstrance waiver on their property. The Auditor was responding to a 2019 law passed by the state legislature that attempted to retroactively invalidate the majority of such waivers. Bloomington has now challenged this second intervention into the annexation process, and that challenge is ongoing.

Although the areas annexed last September are already part of the Bloomington community, they are not within the city's municipal boundaries at this time. The proposed annexations allow for the long-term planning necessary to accommodate a growing community and facilitate the planning, budgeting, and delivery of services and infrastructure. 

Areas annexed into Bloomington receive enhanced services including policing, trash and recycling curbside collection, street and sidewalk/path construction and maintenance, stormwater management, access to Bloomington Transit, safety inspections for rental housing, neighborhood grants, trails, playgrounds and parks, and more. Sewer service may be provided to those not already receiving it. Those receiving sewer services now will experience a reduction in their rates. 

For much of its history, Bloomington regularly used annexation to keep pace with increases in population and development; however, the city’s last annexation took place in 2004. As a result, the city limits no longer correspond to the developed extent of the community, which has experienced substantial growth outside the existing boundaries over the last 17 years. The Annexation History Map shows how annexation has shaped the map of Bloomington over the years.

Updates

March 29, 2022: City Files Lawsuit Challenging Constitutionality of Statute Voiding Sewer Contracts–Click here.

February 8, 2022: City Submits Final Batch of Remonstrance Waivers to Auditor–Click here.

August 31, 2021: An Interview with Mark Figg about Annexation–Click here to view the full video.

August 10, 2021: Mayor Hamilton Recommends Removal of Area 7 from Proposed Annexation Map–Click here.

August 10, 2021: An Interview with Tomi Allison about Annexation–Click here to view the full video.

July 30, 2021: An Interview with John Fernandez about Annexation–Click here to view the full video.

July 23, 2021: Answering Your Annexation Questions on Facebook Live–Click here to view the full video.

May 19, 2021: Mayor Hamilton Remarks to City Council on Annexation–Click here.

April 28, 2021: City Annexation Process to Resume in May, After Illegal Termination in 2017 by Legislature–Click here.

December 15, 2020: Indiana Supreme Court Decision–Click here.

December 15, 2020: City Press Release, Indiana Supreme Court Finds For Bloomington in Declaring State Statute Unconstitutional–Click here.

April 18, 2019:  The Monroe County Circuit Court rules in favor of the City of Bloomington, finding state legislation terminating the 2017 annexation process was unconstitutional–Click here.

August 29, 2018: Brief of Appellee–Click here.

May 24, 2017: City Press Release, City Files Lawsuit Challenging Constitutionality of State Legislation–Click here.

April 30, 2017: Mayor Hamilton's Remarks to City Council on Annexation–Click here.

Frequently Asked Questions, updated on October 22, 2021, about the current annexation process are answered here.

Some comparisons between the City's fiscal plan for annexation and a county-led analysis of it are shared here.