WFHB Local News – March 27th, 2024

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This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, March 27th.

Later in the program, candidates for the Monroe County Council-At Large race faced off in a forum discussing the new jail, the cost of childcare, affordable housing and more. More in today’s headlines.

Also coming up in the next half hour, Better Beware – your weekly consumer watchdog segment on the WFHB Local News.

But first, your local headlines:

Candidates For County Council-At Large Face Off In Forum

On Saturday, candidates for the Monroe County Council-At Large race participated in a forum at the library auditorium.

The four candidates running for county council include: City Environmental Commission Member Matt Caldie, County Councilor Trent Deckard, former Election Board President David Henry and County Councilor Cheryl Munson.

The forum was hosted by the League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County. Laura Rusk, Maurer School of Law student, moderated the forum.

Candidates fielded questions about the new jail, the cost of child care, the county’s relationship with the state legislature and housing affordability.

Moderator Rusk asked the candidates about how local income tax would play into the conversation around the new county jail. Munson brought up annexation and said there are other resources for financing the jail.

Henry discussed bonds and said the county should sell off properties it doesn’t need.

Deckard said affordability is a concern and the county should think twice about raising taxes on residents.

Caldie acknowledged the expensive endeavor of building a new jail. He agreed with other candidates about being careful to raise income taxes. In addition, he said if funded appropriately, taxes would not need to increase in order to fund the jail.

Moderator Rusk mentioned the problem many residents face with affording childcare, and asked what steps the candidates would take to reduce these costs. Deckard said he believes that the solution will require a partnership of county, city, and private organizations.

Caldie responded that he is excited to look into possible solutions for the childcare costs.

Munson stated that she has been concerned about the issue of childcare expenses for over 50 years; however, she thinks the issue will persist until corporations are impacted by a lack of employees.

Henry suggested that the county should oversee that new corporations moving into the community prioritize benefits including childcare for their employees.

Throughout the forum, multiple candidates mentioned dissatisfaction with the state legislature. Moderator Rusk asked the candidates how they thought the Indiana legislature could improve or assist the local government. Caldie said he thinks the state would be most helpful by returning power to the county government.

Munson agreed with Caldie and added that she thinks the state should help with school funding.

Henry said that the state needs to allow the locality to make fiscal decisions for itself.

Deckard discussed the ways that the state legislation has acted in direct opposition to the beliefs of Monroe County.

Then, Rusk posed a question to the candidates about what they would do to improve access to housing. Caldie said first and foremost, the county needs more housing.

Munson discussed how housing issues span both the city and the county. She praised the Sudbury housing project, which would bring upwards of 4,000 housing units to the Southwest part of Bloomington.

Then, Henry offered ways the county can attempt to solve the issue of housing affordability and stagnation.

Deckard expressed disappointment in the increased housing costs in recent years. He also said realistically, the county council cannot solve the housing crisis but needs to work together with other entities to tackle the issue.

To watch the full candidate forum, click here. Early voting is slated to begin on April 9th. Primary Election Day will happen on May 7th.

Better Beware:

Up next, Better Beware – your weekly consumer watchdog segment on the WFHB Local News. For more, we turn to host and producer Richard Fish.

Credits:
You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News,
Today’s headlines were written by Elyse Perry and Kade Young, in partnership with Cats – Community Access Television Services.
Our feature was produced by Zyro Roze.
Better Beware is produced by Richard Fish.
Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.
Engineer and Executive producer is Kade Young.