City Council - Regular Meeting

Hello Bloomington. I'm Mayor Tim Busy and this is the council minute for the week of April 26th. At this week's meeting, Bloomington city assessor Tim Bulier presented to the council Bloomington's 2026 assessment report. It's an annual report that always provides interesting context about the city and I want to take a minute to go through some of the highlights. Overall, Bloomington is in a steady place right now. Our total market value, that's the value of all the property across the city, went up about 1.5% this year. That's not a huge jump, but it's a good sign. It tells us that the market is stable. And the dollar figure for that total market value, $18.1 billion. That's an impressive amount for a city of our size. For homeowners, we're still seeing strong demand, especially for more affordable homes. Single family home values went up about 3% and town homes saw smaller increases too. If you've been following the market or maybe even trying to buy, you've probably felt that demand firsthand. On the flip side, condo owners are dealing with something different. Values went down a bit this year. And a big part of that is the result of rising insurance costs and HOA fees. Condos have always been a good option for firsttime home buyers, but that's become less so over the past few years. It's something we'll continue to pay attention to, but the bigger concerns need to be solved at the state level. We're also seeing a slowdown in apartment construction. A few years ago, there was a lot of building happening. Now, with higher interest rates and construction costs, that pace has dropped off quite a bit. For our local businesses, the story is mixed. Restaurants and retail are holding steady or even growing a little, but hotels are still working through some tougher challenges. Even with all of that, Bloomington continues to move forward. We added about $93 million in new construction this year, which is a strong investment in our future. At the end of the day, what I see in this report is a community that's steady,

resilient, and adapting to change. And a reminder, if you have questions about your property value notice, or if you just want to understand it a bit better, please reach out. Our assessing team is always happy to help. Also on Monday, the city council voted to repeal Bloomington's earned sick and safetime ordinance. It's not often we repeal a significant program like that, but in this case, it makes good sense. Back in 2022, Bloomington adopted our earn second safetime ordinance. We were one of the first cities in the state to do so. The goal pretty straightforward. Make sure workers here had access to paid time off when they needed it for health reasons, for safety, to take care of their families. The ordinance met that goal and the program in place to support it was very successful. But since then, things have changed at the state level. Minnesota now has a statewide earn sick and safe time law in place. It's fully in effect and it sets clear, consistent minimum standards across the entire state. In fact, Bloomington staff even helped train state investigators as that law was being rolled out. So since the state law went into effect, the core purpose of our local ordinance was being met at the state level and the state law is clearly effective. We've seen a big drop in earned sick and safetime complaints locally and that's consistent with what other cities are experiencing too. At this point, keeping a separate Bloomington ordinance didn't really improve enforcement in a meaningful way. What it did do was create some duplication and in some cases confusion for employers who were trying to follow rules that are very similar but not always perfectly aligned. And in the future, every time the state law would change, it would require staff time and resources to review and update our local ordinance to match. So staff recommended and the city council agreed that repealing our local ordinance made sense. Now, this is not a roll back of

worker protections. Employees in Bloomington still have earned sick and safe time guaranteed under state law. Those rights do not go away. The main difference is that it's a state requirement rather than a city ordinance. And finally today, I am proud that the city of Bloomington was named a 2026 USA Today top workplaces winner. This is our second year in a row on that national list. And to see that continue says a lot about the kind of workplace we're building here. And what makes that especially meaningful is that this recognition comes directly from our employees, the people who keep this city running every single day. You've heard me say before that city government is in the service industry. We don't make widgets, we provide services, and those services are provided by people. And when we have a strong workplace culture at the city, it means we're able to attract and to keep great employees. People who are experienced, engaged, and committed to this community. It means when you call the city, come in with a question, or need help with something, you're more likely to work with someone who feels supported in their job and takes pride in what they do. It also means more consistency. Lower turnover leads to better service, stronger relationships, and a deeper understanding of the community we serve. And just as important, it helps us stay accountable. This recognition is based on employee feedback, on whether people feel heard, respected, and connected to their work. That kind of environment leads to better communication, better teamwork, and ultimately better outcomes for residents. So, while this is something we're certainly proud of internally, it really does extend outward. It reflects the kind of organization we are and the kind of service we aim to provide every single day. That will do it for this week's council minute. Thanks so much for tuning in. Until next time, stay safe, Bloomington.