Bloomington bus driver around 7:15 pm near 3rd and Smith wasn't wearing a mask, was around down on his neck. Didn't look like anyone was within 6 feet of him, but shouldn't he always have one on in a confined bus? Can't remember tag. Think ended in 22. 85722, something like that, but couldn't be certain.
We're trying to slow traffic in our neighborhood on e Morningside. Can Bloomington transit set a better example and go a reasonable speed please
I witnessed a man getting sucker punched in front of blue bird nightclub shortly before 12;30am on June 22. Officer 67 arrived within a few minutes and placed handcuffs on the man who was sucker punched. I immediately told officer 67 that I saw the perpetrator walk down the alley, but officer 67 told me to get back and would not listen to me... while I was watching the perpetrator walk down the alley. Other witnesses were also telling officer 67 the perpetrator was getting away. Officer 67 acted emotionally in arresting the victim. It was wrong. I could identify the perpetrator. Dane Bohnert 317-473-3623
I'm tired of being solicited by homeless people anytime I walk around downtown. I love this city and I love living downtown but I am hesitant to even walk a few blocks away from my apartment because I'm relentlessly confronted by homeless people. I have no problem with homeless people and I'm willing to pay my part of the taxes to get them steady jobs and homes, but soliciting hard working residents should not be tolerated and the authorities must step in
Can the city bus please go slower down Morningside. Was biking and zipped past way too quickly. Let tell staff. Thank you. It's a neighborhood and bikeway
Homeless people are again living in People’s Park. They’re using drugs, fighting, leaving trash everywhere, screaming and yelling, urinating and defecating and have taken over most of the benches and tables. It also appears that they are sleeping there overnight. We bought ice cream across the street and expected to have a nice Sunday afternoon in the park for thirty minutes or so… we tried sitting on the steps of a business on the opposite side of Dunn Street but the shrubbery nearby was probably soaked in urine based on the stench. We simply left at that point….. No other Indiana city of the same size and population has a homeless population of 1 % of that of Bloomington and that is directly attributable to the fact that Bloomington attracts these people by virtue of feeding them and enabling them unlike anywhere else in Indiana. I’ve lived in and near Bloomington since 1974 and this has simply gotten totally out of hand.
When is the city going to match the County for work hours/hours worked? Closing at 4pm makes public meetings available to start earlier in the evening, reduces traffic stress on roads as a major employer (remote work accomplishes this too), and creates less confusion on need of City versus County services and what hours they can be reached.
Some comments ahead of budget approval: Are staff members being considered throughout this budget cycle? This question comes up frequently from the employee perspective, but it does not seem to be at the forefront of council, the administration, or even HR’s agenda. Staff are continually told how valuable their benefits are while being grossly overworked and underpaid, often carrying the duties of multiple positions because this organization cannot keep a full staff employed. Employees and citizen onlookers watch this dance every year as the mayoral and department head staff continue to get inflated wages while the vast majority of workers are severely underpaid with high expectations of their output. Yet promises are made during the approval of each budget for things that will benefit staff, however staff never reap the benefits. The staff health clinic has yet to have even a proposed plan discussed to internal staff but was promised last year, a compensation study was to commence yet the results have not been provided internally to staff and the amount allocated is laughable seeing as there are still LARGE wage gaps between the work performed at the same pay grade level accross roles within the organization let alone just in individual departments (pay data is public after all), the bonuses were delayed in getting released to staff via paychecks let alone the other health benefit reimbursements that are constantly delayed in processing, and alleged “progressive” benefits such as paid parental leave (in which the city is just behind in offering such a benefit) are still currently a “trial” so no one employee can actually calculate the value of the “benefits” because they don’t exist or do not apply to them (i.e. the bike cash out program that the majority of staff members cannot even use due to location of where they live, yet this is the topic of concern?). It seems that the organization is constantly asking how can we get people to stay in their roles, when the answers are right in front of them every year - skills based hiring, retention pay incentives, and adequate market/competitive pay. Our municipal counterpart in the County and federal roles work less hours (often closing at 4pm), have more paid holidays, have remote and hybrid work options without repercussions, retention incentives, higher pay rates, larger bonus incentives, and continue to float higher cost of living adjustments than the City. When did it become the case that City civil servants should bare the brunt of public backlash and demand, yet make so little that they cannot afford to live in the city they work for? It is very concerning to watch on every year as the average worker in this organization falls off of the organization’s top priority list. After all, how are citizens’ needs and demands going to be met if there are no people running the city each day? It’s really sad to see that the only individual throughout this process so far to discuss the employees’ treatment is the Clerk. This organization should be doing better than this, and set the same priorities for employees with the newly incoming administration. Someone truly needs to address the large pay gaps, the systemic staffing issues, etc. because it has yet to be accomplished.
Can someone from the city comment on what private property owners can do with scooters abandoned, left, or staged on their property? Calls to the scooter companies to have these moved are not often met with a prompt response.
County is getting 16 paid holidays and discussion of 8.5% COLA raise with starting salaries already at a higher wage than most comparable positions within the City, in addition to many roles working 8am-4pm. Will this continued deficit in pay and benefits be addressed in the upcoming budget decisions for City staff?