Bloomington City Council is scheduled to vote on Mayor John Hamilton’s proposed 0.25-percent local income tax increase Wednesday night.
It’s part of his “Recover Forward Bloomington” initiative to help fund pandemic recovery efforts and support the local economy through climate change and social justice.
"The only way a city can generate more revenue is through a county-wide tax, the state legislature sets up pretty complicated voting rules for that, but we’ll follow all those rules," Hamilton said.
READ MORE: Bloomington Mayor Wants Tax Increase For ‘Recovery Forward’ Investments
Hamilton presented the initiative last week, but council members decided to wait another week to vote saying they needed more time to understand the exact goal of the tax.
Councilmember Susan Sandberg said it’s too much of a kitchen sink approach, making it hard to convince constituents.
The tax would generate $8.7 million; $4 million would go to the city, the rest to the county. But Bloomington’s city council holds 58-percent of the county’s vote giving them the majority.
Hamilton says eight votes out of nine are needed from the city council to pass the measure due to a change in the state’s Local Income Tax Council metrics this past March.
