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City holds public hearing on proposed FY 2026 budget; finance director outlines $318 million plan
Summary
The council held a public hearing on the city’s proposed FY 2026 budget, a $318 million plan that prioritizes capital projects and public safety; a resident urged the council to examine property-tax impacts on rent and homelessness.
The Bloomington City Council opened a public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget at its March 24 meeting and heard a presentation from Finance Director Scott Rathbun before accepting one public comment.
Rathbun summarized the proposed budget and related materials staff have published online. He said the citywide budget totals about $318 million, including a $137 million general fund and about $81 million in capital projects. He highlighted that roughly $70 million funds police and fire and roughly $48 million supports utility operating budgets for water, sewer, storm and solid-waste services. Rathbun described materials available on the city finance web pages and said staff will present the adoption ordinance at the next step in the budget process.
During public comment, Jackie Beyer — sworn for the record — praised finance staff and thanked the council for keeping the tax levy flat, but urged officials to consider links between property-tax increases and rising rents. "There does appear to be a correlation between the significant increases in property tax bills and the significant increase in rents," Beyer said, and she urged the city to press school districts (which receive a large share of property tax bills) to be more accountable for tax-driven housing-cost impacts. She also asked whether the city has considered selling one of its three golf courses to raise revenue and questioned the value of branded merchandise purchases.
Rathbun and council members answered technical questions about line items and said staff will continue to refine projections. No formal adoption vote on the FY 2026 budget occurred at the hearing; the public hearing is a required step prior to possible adoption at a later meeting.
Clarifying details: Rathbun noted capital infrastructure totals of about $81 million and a citywide budget near $318 million; he said public safety (police and fire) accounts for roughly $70 million and utilities for about $48 million of that total. Staff also said budget exhibits and two budget books, explanatory videos and an annual report are available on the finance web pages.
