McLean County Times

The Bloomington City Council was presented with the proposed budget for fiscal 2024, which Finance Director Scott Rathbun said is the largest in the city's history, during the council's March 13 meeting.

Rathbun spoke to the council to present the budget, which will take effect May 1. The total budget is $290.1 million, $70 million of which will be dedicated to capital projects such as roads, sidewalks and utility infrastructure. Since the last time Rathbun presented on the budget, the estimated fund balance for the end of fiscal 2024 increased even more, up to over $43 million. The city also has more than $7 million set aside as cash for equipment, he said.

"We're down the homestretch of the FY24," City Manager Tim Gleason said. "Our budget cycle is May 1 (to) April 30 of every year," adding that a public hearing on the budget is scheduled for March 27, and the budget will be voted on during the first council meeting of April. 

"April 10 is what the tentative schedule is for approval and adoption, and then implementation on May 1," Gleason said. "We're stewards of the taxpayer dollars. This is the largest budget that this community has ever had. And it's not because we can, it's because this is the vision of the elected officials. This is input from the community. And we're very fortunate as a community. And I like to think that the community is in very good hands with the elected officials and the staff that are in place to carry out this vision and the desires of the community."

Rathbun said the city’s budget has had a 3% annualized rate each year since 2016, including a boost after sales and utility taxes went up in 2016. A lot of these increases went into building the general fund, which they are also doing by rolling over some of their overages from fiscal 2023, trying to keep tax rates down, he said. The city also received unexpected boosts in some of these areas after COVID-19 and due to inflation.

Rathbun showed the council a schedule of its current bonds and their payoffs. They were scattered across different departments, with two being completed in the next fiscal year and some rolling as far off as the 2040s. Two large bonds from 2014 are scheduled to be paid off in 2035, and a couple other bonds are set to be done before 2030. Similarly, the city has committed $3 million a year to asphalt and road infrastructure, along with the debt payments.