2026 City Budget

I don't think the city should even be contemplating spending many millions to put in a dedicated bus lane on American Boulevard, or contemplating reducing NON-BUS traffic lanes to ONE in each direction. All this will do is push more traffic into residential neighborhoods as traffic on American Boulevard gets backed up due to just ONE lane of traffic for them. On top of that, American Boulevard was constructed only about 20 years ago,.The road surface is in very good condition. Finally, there aren't enough buses along American Blvd to justify a dedicated bus lane, and there never will be enough bus riders to justify it. East of 12th (most buses), there is max 12-13 buses per hour. West of Lyndale, there is max of 7 buses per hour in the stretch from Lyndale to Penn; and a max of 3 buses per hour in the stretch west of Penn. From Portland to Penn, there is a max of 8-9 buses an hour. That the city is even contemplating a dedicated bus line along American Blvd is quite frankly, an example of all that is WRONG in the city. The city council and various advisory committees have little respect for taxpayers if their plans including spending millions to reconstruct a road that is in perfectly good shape, and creating a dedicated bus line which will have at most 13 buses per hour traveling on the eastern most stretch of it - that is a max of ONE BUS every 4.5 MINUTES. Reconstructing a perfectly good concrete road is also BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.

Bloomington City Council needs to be much more cautious about spending taxpayer money, and stop increasing the property tax levy and stop increasing/imposing fees in other ways such as the franchise fee. With shifting the fire department from a volunteer to a paid department, this will start to cost taxpayers a lot more money. Over the last few years, grants have paid for some of those costs, but those grants are not guaranteed into the future. Fire department employees will have to be paid, regardless of whether grants are available, and taxpayers will be on the hook for that. These salaries are obligatory if residents want a fire department (now that the volunteer model is no longer with us), and will undoubtedly cause the city to further raise the property tax levy.

With this in mind, the city council and mayor needs to be taking steps to cut unnecessary expenses at the city, NOT spending millions on reconstructing a perfectly fine 20 year old road. The promoters say this will lead people to take the bus more, but quite frankly, it won't to any significant degree. Few people go ONLY from point A to point B without stops in between, without taking their kids with them, without needing to haul things like groceries. If you have to do just ONE of those things, taking the bus simply becomes a huge exhausting hassle, compared to driving a car (and, you can consolidate trips to cut down on miles driven and improve your carbon footprint - the city should be promoting trip consolidation). It becomes even more of a hassle in the winter or during hot humid days.

The city council acts like a kid in a candy shop, spending money unnecessarily (and in the case of American Boulevard, wastefully), and in ways that don't benefit the city as a whole. That needs to stop.

I am grateful for the robust community services. However, I would urge the counsel to please be extremely mindful to reduce non-essential spending as the property tax increases we have recently experienced are unsustainable. I know the city is under financial pressures, but so are the residents. Please do not assume that we can continue to pay more and more each year

Bloomington briefing announcing this feedback process was received today 9/9 one day after the levy was set on 9/8. That tells me feedback isn’t valued. Nevertheless, I agree with the comments that when tax base is tightening so does the belt need tightening on city expenses, and elective interest programs need to be scrutinized.

When funding sources are shrinking or disappearing our budget needs to reflect that. It appears there has been an attempt to do that but there is still a significant increase of over 9%, some of which can't be avoided. However, that can also happen when the city supports "interests" that are not a benefit to the whole community and that area then continues to expect funding in the future. Special interests (other than ADA, required) might need to come up with their own creative funding. If it does not benefit the entire population don't put it in the budget, keep to strict city function support and development. I know there are positives about many interests but when funds are tight draw the line.

I would like the city to set money aside for a full time Accessibility staff person. Having an ADA coordinator is fantastic and very very needed, but I think having someone whose job it is to consult with city departments about their projects and events as well as work to build lasting relationships with disabled residents can help create a more inclusive city and bridge gaps where they may be occurring (especially with agencies running group homes in the city). This position would greatly improve quality of life for seniors as well!

It's important that the city keep investing in ADA transition plans for right of way, parks, and buildings. The work being done ot make every park at the very least accessible is so important and it should continue.

I don't think the city should be funding the Hatch Bloomington $100,000 prize or covering the administrative costs of this program. Taxpayer money should not be used to give ONE business any of the $100,000 prize money. I haven't seen any evidence that the return on this investment to the city, from the winning business, justifies this expenditure of taxpayer dollars.

As I understand it, Bloomington funds a large majority of the prize money, I believe over 80% of the $100,000 (I believe some small amount comes from the Port of Bloomington, but that's still a government org of Bloomington). As an aside, Bloomington needs to be MORE transparent of how this prize is funded - I've looked and found it difficult to find clear, precise information online, but I'm certain Bloomington is funding the majority of the prize. (Suggestion: Place this information on the Hatch Bloomington page, clearly and transparently.) There's also a not insignificant administrative cost to this program, and as I understand it, Bloomington pays all those costs.

This expenditure is one of the first that should be on the chopping block as Bloomington looks for ways to reduce expenditures. It's a risky investment (many new businesses fail) and unlikely that overall, Bloomington will recoup the costs through revenues Bloomington receives from the winning business. In fact, the winning business, if it succeeds over time, likely would have succeeded without the prize money. One suggestion: the money could be redirected to cover some of the costs for snowplowing of sidewalks.

If private money can be secured to fund the prize, that's fine.

Make cycling and pedestrian friendly routes to school/work/shopping/recreation a priority! We are facing an environmental crisis and having alt transportation options in place now will help.

I agree with the person who stated that expanding bike (and pedestrian and transit) infrastructure should be a priority in the 2026 budget. This closely aligns with Bloomington’s strategic plan goal of cultivating an enduring, remarkable community where people want to be, as well as comprehensive plan Transportation strategies 1.6, 3.1, and 4.2. This should be done not only through regular PMP projects, but also by boosting capital bikeway projects like the I-35W and Xerxes bikeways, and increasing local match for projects like Nicollet, Portland, and 494 to enhance bike infrastructure on those projects as well.

I would like the city to expand the public works budget so they can add more biking infrastructure into Bloomington's cycling network. The city currently adds biking infrastructure through reconstruction efforts like the PMP Program, but I think we can be more ambitious, and really take advantage of our construction season, and make this a city where residents can walk, bike, and use public transit just as much as they can use personal vehicles.