Council rejects change to Public Safety & Community Relations Board composition; youth-seat requirement remains

The Bloomington City Council considered an ordinance amending Bloomington City Code, chapter 35, section 75, to change the Public Safety and Community Relations Board’s composition language so that two seats "may" (rather than "shall") be reserved for youth. The council voted to reject the proposed amendment, leaving the existing requirement for two youth members in place.

Chairperson McFarland and staff described persistent recruitment challenges: youth members who served previously attended inconsistently, and outreach efforts to school officials, resource officers and youth groups had repeatedly yielded few applicants. McFarland said flexibility would allow the board to fill seats with adults if youth could not be recruited and help the board reach quorum more reliably.

Council member Ward opposed removing the requirement. Ward said an application from a young person had been submitted but “slipped through the cracks” and argued the problem was the city’s application processing and not the ordinance language. Ward moved to deny the ordinance change; the motion was seconded and carried. The chair read the four “no” votes for the motion (which would have accepted the change): Michael Mosley, Sheila Motney, Nick Becker and Kent Lee. By council procedure a successful motion to deny the change means the code remains as written, retaining the two required youth seats.

Council members on both sides emphasized they want youth input on the board but differed on whether changing the ordinance or improving recruitment and application processing is the right fix. Staff and board leaders said outreach to schools, resource officers and community partners would continue.