Bloomington committee previews 2026 budget, flags 18.4% health insurance spike

The Village of Bloomington Finance & Purchase Committee reviewed the initial draft of the 2026 budget at its Sept. 23 meeting and agreed to use a 4% placeholder increase for most expense lines while awaiting final revenue figures.

Clerk/Treasurer Shawna Atterbury presented the packet, saying the committee had entered the state-shared revenue amount and personal property tax aid but that many other revenue items were still unavailable. She told members that she and Jay Bennett had cleaned up accounting entries and that Bennett had offered to help calculate revenue related to water meters. Atterbury also reported that Medical Associates health insurance rates were set to rise 18.4%, increasing the monthly premium from $2,233 to $2,633.19; she noted deductibles would increase (single coverage from $6,000 to $6,500; family coverage to $13,000) while primary care visit copays would fall from $35 to $20.

With revenue projections incomplete, the committee prioritized expense-side decisions. They agreed to increase the police services line from $5,300 to $6,000 for 2026 to reflect contracting about four hours per week of service. Office and clerk-related adjustments included budgeting $2,500 for clerk miscellaneous expenses (conferences and memberships) and reducing general office expenses to $7,500. The library books line was raised from the amount already spent ($5,200) to $7,000, while library miscellaneous was trimmed to $8,000 and the history room allocation set at $550; the committee flagged confusion about reimbursement between the history room and library accounts for future clarification.

On capital and maintenance items, members agreed to keep street maintenance and sidewalk/lighting at $10,000, increased parks miscellaneous to $7,500 to cover recent concrete work and an upcoming roof project, and discussed purchasing a new lawnmower priced at $12,500 with plans to finance $10,000 of that cost. The committee noted Republic had purchased the village's prior garbage provider and said garbage and recycling budgets would need updates to match contract terms. Jay Bennett reported estimated fire protection and hydrant rental costs of $68,000 for 2026.

The committee debated whether snow-removal contractor Roy Quick's agreement was one or two years and decided to contact him to confirm whether he would continue at the same rate of $150 per hour per machine. Clerk Atterbury also outlined the budget timeline: employee wages will be discussed at the October board meeting in closed session; the proposed budget must be submitted to the newspaper by Oct. 13–14 to meet the 15-day notice requirement for a public hearing; the public hearing could be incorporated into the Nov. 3 board meeting; and the budget needs approval by Dec. 1 so property tax notices can be mailed by Dec. 15.

The committee approved the meeting agenda at the start of the session and adjourned after concluding budget discussion. The Finance & Purchase Committee will return to specific line-item numbers after outstanding revenue figures are received and after follow-ups on reimbursement processes, the snow-removal contract, and insurance-representative information are completed.