City Budget | City of Bloomington, Indiana

Page last updated on August 3, 2026 at 12:51 pm

Each year, the Controller's Office gathers City department budget requests to prepare the City's annual budget. Expenditure and revenue estimates are compiled, and the Mayor with input from the Common Council makes decisions regarding spending priorities. Individual departmental budgets are presented to the Common Council in mid to late August. The official budget proposal, which may include changes from the initial presentation, will be formally advertised to the public via the state’s Gateway portal. The Council's public hearing on the budget occurs in late September with final adoption in mid-October. Once approved, the budget is submitted to the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) via the Gateway portal. The DLGF will then issue a final budget order.

2027 City Budget Process

The City of Bloomington's 2027 budget is designed to maintain the high-quality municipal services that residents rely on while preparing for significant fiscal challenges in the years ahead. Changes to Indiana property tax law enacted through Senate Enrolled Act 1 (SEA 1) have already begun to reduce local government revenues beginning over the next several years with even larger impacts in future years. In response, the City has taken a conservative approach to the 2027 budget while continuing to evaluate long-term financial strategies that will help preserve essential services and support the community's future needs.

Within those financial constraints, the 2027 budget focuses on delivering the core services that municipal government provides, maintaining and protecting the City's infrastructure and other public assets, and directing available resources toward Bloomington's highest priorities, including housing, homelessness, public safety, and economic opportunity. The budget reflects careful consideration of community priorities, the condition of existing assets, and the need to balance immediate service demands with long-term financial sustainability. The goal is to invest public resources where they will provide the greatest benefit while supporting a safe, well-maintained, and welcoming community.

The Mayor has submitted the official budget proposal to the Council

Budget presentations to the City Council will take place over two weeks:

Monday, August 17, 2026, 5PM: Opening remarks from the Office of the Mayor and the Controller, followed by Fire, Police (including Dispatch), Community and Family Resources (CFRD), and Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND)
Wednesday, August 19, 5PM: Planning & Transportation, Engineering, Street, Parking, and Utilities
Monday, August 24, 2026, 5PM: Parks, Economic & Sustainable Development (ESD), Public Works Administration, Animal Shelter, Facilities, Fleet, and Sanitation
Wednesday, August 26, 2026, 5PM: Capital Improvement Board (CIB), Clerk, Common Council, Office of the Mayor, Office of the Controller, Legal and Risk Management, Human Resources, and Information Technology Services (ITS)

Once the proposed budget is officially advertised to the public (early September), it will appear on Gateway.

The official public hearing for the budget is scheduled for Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 6:30PM.

The final budget adoption is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7, 2026 at 6:30PM.

All budget presentations are open to the public and available for livestreaming on catstv.net or Zoom. The Zoom links will be published on the City’s public meeting calendar at bton.in/7uecI.