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Bloomington council introduces three 2026 appropriation ordinances, refers them for public hearing
Summary
At a Sept. 24 special session, the Bloomington Common Council introduced three appropriation ordinances for 2026 — the civil city budget, Bloomington Transportation Corporation budget, and the water and wastewater utility budget — and referred all three to a Committee of the Whole public hearing scheduled for 6:45 p.m.
Seeing as we have a quorum, I'm gonna go ahead and call to order the special session of the Bloomington Common Council on, 09/24/2025, the presiding officer said as the council convened for a short special session Sept. 24, 2025, at Bloomington City Hall.
The council introduced three appropriation ordinances for 2026 and referred them for public hearing and council discussion at a Committee of the Whole meeting set for 6:45 p.m. that evening. The ordinances were introduced by voice vote to allow for first readings to be entered into the record.
The first ordinance read by the clerk was appropriation ordinance 2025-11, described by the clerk as “an ordinance for appropriations and tax rates, establishing 2026 civil city budget for the city of Bloomington.” A council member moved that 2025-11 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only; another council member seconded the motion, and the motion carried on a voice vote.
The council then introduced appropriation ordinance 2025-12 for “appropriations and tax rates for Bloomington Transportation Corporation 2026.” The clerk noted there was no synopsis available for that ordinance when read aloud. That ordinance also was introduced by motion and approved by voice vote for first reading and referral.
Finally, the clerk read appropriation ordinance 2025-13 as “an ordinance adopting a budget for the operation, maintenance, debt service, and capital improvements for the water and wastewater utility departments of the city of Bloomington, Indiana for the year 2026.” The clerk added that the ordinance had been approved by the Utility Service Board in August 2025. That ordinance likewise was introduced and referred to the Committee of the Whole by voice vote.
Council members were explicit that the Committee of the Whole would discuss the three ordinances in a different order than they were introduced: first the water and wastewater utility ordinance (2025-13), then the Bloomington Transportation Corporation ordinance (2025-12), and lastly the civil city budget ordinance (2025-11). The presiding officer closed the special session and the council adjourned until 6:45 p.m.
The actions taken at the special session were procedural: each ordinance received a first reading and was referred to the Committee of the Whole for the public hearing and further council consideration. No substantive budget debates, amendments, votes on final adoption, or public comments on the ordinances occurred during the special session itself.
