Bloomington splits Economic & Community Development Department

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — The Bloomington City Council voted to split its Economic & Community Development Department into two other departments on Tuesday.

During the meeting, the council approved the split unanimously.

The split divided the department into the Development Service Department and the Department of Community Impact and Enhancement.

According to Senior Deputy City Manager Billy Tyus, the Economic & Community Development Department was too big to fulfill its purpose.

"Our goal with this is to create two different departments, that can give the intentional attention to both of those areas, both economic development, but also neighborhood and neighborhood vitality," Tyus said.

The Department of Community Impact and Enhancement will focus on improving local housing stock and decide how to use grant funding. The Development Service Department would be a one-stop shop for those who want to build and develop in the city.

The council also unanimously passed a resolution to ask the Illinois General Assembly to protect the Mahomet Aquifer from CO2 storage and pipelines.

They joined municipalities in Dewitt, Champaign and McLean Counties that recently passed similar resolutions. The Mahomet Aquifer is the biggest in the state.