This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, December 11th, 2024.

Later in the program, the Bloomington City Council held a public meeting on the 2025 salary ordinance which would increase the annual pay for the mayor, the clerk and the city council. More in today’s headlines.

Also coming up in the next half hour, “Giving to the Gonifs” on Better Beware – your weekly consumer-watchdog segment on WFHB. More following today’s feature.

But first, your local headlines:

Long-Time Elected Official Cheryl Munson Passes Away at 80 Years Old 

Yesterday, County Council Member Cheryl Munson passed away at 80 years old. The County Council was scheduled to meet on Tuesday, but postponed their meeting out of respect for her passing.

According to the B Square Bulletin, Munson had been sick and unable to attend council meetings for several weeks.

The Monroe County Council rescheduled their meeting to December 17.

Funeral arrangements are being made through Allen Funeral Home. Location and time are still pending.

Bloomington City Council Meets for Public Meeting on Salary Ordinance

The Bloomington City Council met yesterday for a special session to discuss the 2025 salary ordinance for elected officials.

This ordinance would determine the salaries for the mayor, the clerk and city council members. According to the legislation, the ordinance would increase the mayor’s salary to $151,410, the clerk’s salary to $129,780 and city council members to $45,423 per year. This represents about a 66 percent increase in total salary expenditure for these selected offices.

During the special session, Parliamentarian Hopi Stosberg said that state law allows for the city council to determine the salaries for these positions.

Council Member Sydney Zulich, who was the chair for the ad-hoc committee said they came up with five guiding principles to fix the salaries for the proposed offices.

Zulich asserted that the committee wanted to ensure that elected officials were compensated equitably compared to other Bloomington elected officials and department heads. Meanwhile, Council Member Courtney Daily said she’s hesitant to support an ordinance that would increase her annual pay.

At-Large Council Member Matt Flaherty responded that he wants to see more competitive salaries in the city of Bloomington.

Then, the council heard from the public on the matter. Former city councilman Jeff Richardson said elected officials tend to work beyond 40 hours per week.

On the flip side, many local residents expressed frustration that council members themselves are voting to increase their own salaries by over 100 percent. Local resident Renee Miller said she supports the salary increase for the clerk but not the council.

Another member of the public criticized the scope of the ordinance calling the move “tone deaf.”

The salary ordinance is slated to be voted on during the city council’s meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m.

Feature Report:

In today’s feature report, we revisit an episode of Deep Dive where we looked into Indiana’s controversial new diploma requirement proposal and how the state is hoping to fund more internships for high school students. We turn to that episode of Deep Dive on the WFHB Local News.

Credits: