A survey of Bloomington residents found strong support for improvements to four City facilities funded by a local option sales tax. A Bloomington sales tax would be a half cent added to sales tax charged within the boundaries of the city. The tax would only apply to items that are currently taxable, meaning things like clothing and groceries would remain untaxed. The revenue collected through a Bloomington sales tax would be used for capital projects that are regionally significant.
The Morris Leatherman Company conducted a statistically valid, random sample phone survey between July 27 and
August 11. The survey asked respondents for their opinions on constructing a new community health and wellness center and improvements to the Bloomington Ice Garden, Bloomington Center for the Arts and Dwan Golf Course.
The survey found strongest support for a community health and wellness center with 76% of respondents backing construction of a new facility. Expansion of the Center for the Arts was close behind with 72% support.
“All four projects have support from majorities in the community, two of them have extraordinarily strong support approaching three-quarters in favor,” said Morris Leatherman’s Peter Leatherman.
The survey also asked respondents for their opinion on the use of a local option sales tax to pay for these projects. Sixty-seven percent of respondents supported the sales tax increase if the majority of the revenue came from people living outside
of Bloomington.
Based on these survey results, the City Council is likely to ask the state Legislature for its approval of a Bloomington local option sales tax during the 2023 legislative session. If approved by the Legislature, Bloomington voters would be asked to approve a local sales tax before it could be implemented. Voters would also weigh in on each of the four projects individually if a local option sales tax is approved.
For more information, visit blm.mn/bst or watch Mayor Tim Busse discuss the survey online at blm.mn/cmbst.
