Page last updated on September 16, 2022 at 2:05 pm
Each week, Mayor Hamilton and Deputy Mayor Griffin provide video updates on recent news and key initiatives.
John Hamilton:
Hi, I'm Mayor John Hamilton
Don Griffin:
And I'm Don Griffin, the Deputy Mayor for the City of Bloomington. The 2023 budget is upon us. Today, we're going to talk about the new local income tax and its impact on sustainability.
John Hamilton:
This new local income tax is a huge deal, it's really helping us invest in new ways, and we thought it might be helpful to jump through what it can do a little bit for the budget.
Don Griffin:
Okay. One of the first things we could talk about is the $1.6 million going to the Climate Action Plan.
John Hamilton:
Look, we have a really big, robust climate action plan. It's a great document, it's gone through tons of public comment, and it's got dozens and dozens of recommendations. But for the first time ever, now with the local income tax, we have money committed every year to implement that plan. That $1.6 million is going to be used every year to advance us in all kinds of ways, investing in energy efficiency and mobility and all kinds of things. We hope to move forward with a Green Ribbon Panel, for example, that's going to assemble people in government, out of government, maybe regionally, to explore how we advance this critically important climate action movement. But, to me, the most important thing is we have earmarked money to advance the Climate Action Plan, and that's what the local income tax lets us do.
Don Griffin:
Okay. Now, we also have $3.8 million going to the Bloomington transit.
John Hamilton:
This is transformative. This is a really big deal, and I know it was important for people who pass the tax. We're going to be really changing and improving what is already a great transit system. We're looking at a major enhanced east-west corridor, with the equivalent bus rapid transit, which means frequent buses, very nice stops, really helping people get into the transit system to get to work, to get to shopping, and all kinds of other things. It's looking at enhanced weekday service so that no bus is more than 30 minutes apart.
Don Griffin:
That's awesome.
John Hamilton:
It's looking at micro-transit, another big thing for people who don't live right on the fixed route, but maybe have off-hours or off-area service. So we're going to enhance that. Sunday service. We're going to add Sunday service, which we haven't had in all of our routes. And finally, we're able to offer some more subsidies. For example, I think seniors are going to ride for free. We just want to make it easier for people to ride this great transit system. Again, we're the most per capita riders in the whole state. This is going to take us to the next level, and it's the local income tax that lets us do it.
Don Griffin:
As a city, we take sustainability and climate issues. We make that a very important step in everything that we do.
John Hamilton:
We do. And now the money's going where our mouth is in a very specific way, and every department budget that you're going to see in the 2023 budget has a sustainability section. The Council wants us to do it, we want to do it, and the community wants us to do it. So, it's a really important step forward.
Don Griffin:
Fantastic. More to come. See you soon.