Commissioners remove $30,000 BEDC item from claims docket after public comment

Summary

The auditor presented an accounts payable docket totaling $113.78 million. Commissioners removed a $30,000 Bloomington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) item because it had not been heard at a commissioners' meeting; BEDC interim president Clark Greiner asked the board to reconsider the organization’s funding in January. The amended claims docket was approved.

Monroe County’s auditor presented an accounts payable claims docket totaling $113,777,463.57 at the Dec. 18 commissioners meeting. A commissioner moved to remove a $30,000 line item for the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) from the docket because the payment had not been presented at a commissioners’ meeting.

Clark Greiner, interim president of the BEDC, spoke during public comment and urged the board to reconsider funding. ‘‘The BEDC has been instrumental, particularly over this last past year with the, SIMTRA, tax abatement. We led the way on that, worked very closely with the county on this,’’ Greiner said, noting ongoing projects at the airport and other business-attraction activities.

Commissioners characterized removing the item as a technicality and said the BEDC request would appear on a future agenda in January. The board approved the amendment to remove the $30,000 item (motion carried 3–0) and then approved the amended claims docket (vote 3–0).