Council discussion over proposed salary increases for elected officials ended without a final decision Tuesday night as the Bloomington Common Council agreed to seek more input and schedule follow-up meetings.

Council members spent nearly two hours debating recommendations from a special fiscal committee and an earlier ad hoc salary study as they weighed whether to approve pay increases for the mayor, city clerk and council members for 2026. The committee chair said the group reviewed consultant work and a prior council amendment that reduced earlier recommended increases.

Councilmember Piedmont Smith, who led the fiscal committee discussion, said the panel wanted “to get to a rational, logical basis for setting these salaries” before acting and noted timing issues tied to the city budget cycle. Councilmember Daley said she was “highly uncomfortable with the idea of increases for elected officials right now,” citing tight budgets and fiscal pressure.

Several members pressed for clarity on whether the mayor’s administration would support any increase. Councilmember Asari referenced a prior episode in which the mayor told council to act but later declined to support the committee recommendation, and urged administration input before council expends further time.

Councilmember Rosenberger and others said they favored delaying until more council members could participate; Rosenberger said, “I’d rather have a different kind of discussion” and suggested a work session or committee-of-the-whole. Piedmont Smith proposed several scheduling options and agreed to check with absent members before confirming an approach.

No ordinance or pay rate was adopted Tuesday. The council directed staff and the fiscal committee to continue work and pursue a meeting that would allow broader council participation; members discussed holding a special session or work session in October and possibly attaching further deliberation to the council’s October schedule.

The conversation also included debate about the metrics used in the ad hoc study, with some members noting the study compared salaries to other cities and one council member urging a clearer, transparent methodology so that future councils have a stable process to follow.

The council did not vote on any salary ordinance during the Sept. 30 meeting; members agreed to reconvene and provide additional public notice so the full council can consider the issue before year-end.