Bloomington City Council meets remotely Feb. 8, 2021.
The Bloomington City Council on Monday agreed to keep City Manager Tim Gleason on contract until March 2025, nine months longer than his current contract, and the earliest time he’s eligible for retirement.
Also at Monday’s remote meeting, the council voted to start its $4.3 million, Phase 2 water main project on Locust Street; and to add two youth members to the city’s police advisory board.
Gleason’s contract, in which his annual base salary is just over $197,000, had been set to expire July 1, 2024. The decision, presented as part of the council’s consent agenda, passed unanimously, with no discussion.
Breanna Grow / WGLT
Council members voted 5-4 at Tuesday night’s Committee of the Whole meeting to direct staff to draft an ordinance to bring to the council for a future vote.
Council member Jenn Carrillo submitted the latest proposal, written in conjunction with fellow alderman Jeff Crabill.
In 2017, before winning the Ward 6 seat, Carrillo was one of the lead organizers behind the Keep Families Together Coalition aimed at passing Welcoming Cities ordinances in Bloomington and Normal.
Carrillo said the past and current iterations of the proposal in Bloomington have the same goal: “protect our undocumented residents by establishing a very clear separation between ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and local law enforcement.”
Blooomington City Council meets remotely Monday, Dec. 14, 2020.
Next month, Bloomington City Council will hear a proposal on whether to research a national program that helps communities build an inclusive culture for immigrants and other populations.
Ward 2 council member Donna Boelen presented the proposal to further study the Welcoming America Initiative during Monday s remote meeting. Despite passing 7-2, some on the council, as well as local immigrants-rights advocates, spoke against the idea.
Instead, they support first addressing the local push for a Welcoming City ordinance. That grassroots campaign calls for more direct city protection of Bloomington’s immigrant residents, supporting an ordinance limiting cooperation between Bloomington police and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).