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Engineering, transit and utilities outline staffing, facility and infrastructure investments; council presses for more transportation capital
Summary
Engineering asked for staff funding to address retention and to leverage federal safety awards; Bloomington Transit seeks federal match for a new facility and capital to expand microtransit; City Utilities asked for a rate case and listed multi‑million dollar water and sewer projects including sewer relief and booster station upgrades.
Three departments presented capital and staffing needs tied to city infrastructure and services.
Engineering: City Engineer Andrew Seabor said the engineering department’s 2025 budget proposal is roughly $2.9 million and emphasized staffing as the top priority. Seabor asked for roughly $330,000 to convert and recruit personnel and to improve processes and tools; he said limited staffing has forced reliance on consultants for some work. Seabor highlighted that the department had secured about $940,000 in federal safety funding that will require local match to implement pedestrian and accessibility projects.
Bloomington Transit: John Connell, general manager of the Bloomington Public Transportation Corporation, outlined a capital plan driven by fleet replacement and the need for a new operations and maintenance facility. The BPTC proposed setting aside $2.5 million as a local match for a large federal 5307 grant (a project he expects to exceed $12 million), budgeting $1.1 million for buses and support vehicles, and $500,000 to expand Blink microtransit operations. Connell said the transit authority is updating a facility needs assessment, pursuing site suitability work and hopes to advance a location evaluation by mid‑2025.
City Utilities: Director Catherine Zager presented a combined water, sewer and storm budget of about $56.5 million for 2025 and described major capital projects: West Booster Station upgrades ($2.2M), South Central Booster Station upgrades ($5.4M), Monroe Water Treatment Plant chemical feed line replacements (~$3M), a sewer relief project from Rogers Street to Dillman (design ~$2.9M; construction estimate ~$15.1M), and improvements to treatment plant controls (SCADA/HMI upgrades ~$560k). Zager said the water fund is tight and the utility plans a 2025 rate case (legal/accounting costs ~ $489,000) and may consider a temporary loan from sewer to water to cover urgent projects. She also proposed increasing the customer assistance program from $50,000 to $100,000 to try to reduce shutoffs.
Council members applauded the staffing and asset‑management focus but repeatedly expressed concern that the administration’s 2025 budget underfunds several previously identified transportation projects and sidewalks. Seabor and Connell said many projects will depend on leveraging federal grants and on multi‑year funding strategies; CBU said a rate case and CIP review will inform long‑term funding.
