Election preview: City Council District 1 candidates on dissension, firefighter pay

City Council District 1 incumbent Kate Rosenbarger cannot defend her seat because redistricting has moved her into District 2. But the race will feature a current council member, as Isabel Piedmont-Smith, who now represents District 5 but because of redistricting has been moved into District 1. Piedmont-Smith, a former fiscal officer and department administrator in the department of French and Italian at Indiana University-Bloomington, will face off against Joe Lee, a graphic novelist, teacher, historian and former cartoonist for The Herald-Times.

Early voting begins April 4. Primary election day is May 2. A map of the new council districts: tinyurl.com/5n8szcm7.

Q: Which problem facing the city is the first you would want to see addressed if you get to serve on the council?

Lee: The biggest problem facing some on the city council and the current administration is the seemingly absolute refusal to listen to the expertise and learned experience of many of their constituents. Time and time again – upzoning, forced annexation, dangerous transportation planning and execution, moving the police into the Showers Building and on and on - decisions are made that are easily shown to be mistaken and real alternatives are cast aside without being allowed serious discussion. And too often the thoughtful and learned statements of the dissenting public are met with name-calling and ridicule.

It is time that the council and city government once again engages with the enlightened, compassionate residents of Bloomington and with them make the decisions that will effect all of our lives.

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Piedmont-Smith: The City has many problems that we must face simultaneously. Some short-term issues that I plan to pursue are adequate pay for our firefighters (with possible early contract negotiations) and removing blockages such as parked scooters and waste/recycling containers from our sidewalks.

More:Bloomington firefighters: Low wages, staffing shortages imperil public safety

Longer-term, housing is very important (see next question), as well as support for the Heading Home project through United Way to reduce homelessness. We must also implement the Climate Action Plan expeditiously.

Q: County officials are reluctant to allow dense housing developments on the city’s fringes. The city council has allowed small steps for densification in core neighborhoods, but builders have not responded by building many duplexes. Instead most new units being built are expensive high-rise apartments. What legislation would you propose that would increase the availability of affordable housing units in Bloomington? How much would that cost? How would you pay for it?

More:After duplex discord in city, density debate stirs in county

Lee: Housing and especially affordable housing is a serious issue in Bloomington that is often mischaracterized. Firstly, this situation is not just local but regional and national. Secondly, Bloomington’s specific circumstance is the failure of Indiana University to provide anything close to adequate housing for its students. Bloomington’s population of around 80,000 is made up by almost half transient university students that are here for several years and then depart to other places. Students need to be housed and this has created a robust rental market that begs for temporary big-box housing. Students that prefer renting single family housing in the core neighborhoods squeeze out wage-earning families by their willingness to pay more.

The move to build duplexes in areas that already suffer from woefully substandard and sometimes nonexistent infrastructure given the costs of property, building materials, and labor offer very little to speculating contractors, so big-box developments we get.

The “to-be-built” Hopewell neighborhood offers the city a real opportunity at securing affordable housing opportunities for families. It must be done not through libertarian ideas of build enough and the prices come down, but with real intention and securing builders willing to build at very definite price points. It also (Editor’s note: The answer was cut for exceeding the word limit.)

Piedmont-Smith: The city should facilitate the development of cooperative housing, either through the existing Bloomington Cooperative Living or a new limited equity cooperative model, which has seen success in other cities. We could use TIF funds if the housing is within a TIF district, or funds from our existing Housing Development Fund. Staff time would perhaps be the most important investment, as interested residents would need guidance on how to set up such a housing network.

As far as legislation, I am in favor of chipping away at the exclusionary single-family zoning that covers most of our residential areas. The Biden administration and several state governments are allowing more housing density in cities based on economic models that show a decrease in prices.

Q: Both police and firefighters have said they are underpaid and that low salaries are prompting experienced colleagues to leave for other departments that pay more. What legislation would you propose to increase retention in police and fire departments? How much would that cost? How would you pay for it?

Lee: As the HT reported Sunday, March 19, 2023, Boomington is down by 23 firefighters with more departures to come, and firefighters base pay is $5000.00 less than our county neighbor, Ellettesville. The police department finds itself in the same state of lower than adequate pay. Certainly, salaries must be raised if Bloomington is to retain the well-trained, professional public safety officers we need and deserve. As, if have yet to work on a city budget I do not exactly know where these monies will come from, but I am sure there is money to be had in the city revenues for this vital purpose.

I would add the recent disregard for the police rank and file that stood completely against the move into the Showers Complex for the most valid reasons of safety and efficiency surely cannot inspire loyalty to the city of Bloomington. The city administration and those members of the city council that oppose their constituents well regarded arguments need to actively listen and act with the best information provided by the expert opinion of those constituents and not to ill-fitting ideology.

Piedmont-Smith: This is not a legislative issue, as salaries and union negotiations are the domain of the executive branch.

Public safety must be adequately funded. Police officers and firefighters are just some of the city staff that help keep the public safe, but it is these staff who are leaving city employment at a disturbing pace. I would support higher salaries as part of the mayor’s budget proposal, and I urge the mayor to put pay increases for the firefighters into the 2024 budget proposal. (Police officers recently negotiated a new contract with significant pay increases.)

I always reserve the right to vote against the mayor’s budget if I feel it is unsound. Funding could come from our reserve funds, which are quite healthy, and/or through negotiated small cutbacks from other programs.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: City Council District 1 candidates discuss dissention, firefighter pay