At a meeting of the Bloomington Environmental Commission on April 16, 2026, representatives from the city legal department told commission members that boards and commissions are now prohibited from essentially doing anything, including advising the City Council or other commissions, without explicit approval from the Office of the Mayor.
This policy is short-sighted, undemocratic and antithetical to the very purpose of our community boards and commissions.
The City Council should be gravely concerned about this new interpretation of the city code. As a co-equal branch of city government, the City Council appoints dozens of community members to various boards and commissions, from the Arts Commission to the Utilities Services Board. By removing these bodies’ ability to advise the City Council, the Office of the Mayor and City Legal have essentially neutered the purpose and objective of these boards and commissions. For example, the Environmental Commission currently has nine members — three appointed by the mayor and six appointed by the City Council. Why does the Office of the Mayor get the final say on what these commission members work on, speak out about or advocate for or against?
The reasoning for this influence, Bloomington’s legal department said at the meeting, is that boards and commissions are housed under the executive branch. This logic is tenuous, however. After combing through the city code, I was only able to find one potential clause to that effect. City code section 2.02.050(12) states that office space and staff for boards and commissions shall be “at the discretion of the mayor, subject to common council appropriation approval.” Even Chapter 2.08, which concerns the executive branch, does not mention boards and commissions, other than to reference their approval of certain department heads and their submission of an annual budget to the City. The thin connections between the executive and boards and commissions are not enough to support the weight of the City’s overbearing policy.
The mayor and legal department’s heavy-handed approach is flawed from its conception. It does not appear based on any long-standing policy or tradition. Rather, it appears to be a preemptive strike against our community members who volunteer their time and expertise to help craft and shape local policy.
The potential implications of such a strike are staggering. For example, for years, the Environmental Commission has advised the Plan Commission and City Council on the amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance and various petitions for development. Under this new policy, the Environmental Commission would only be allowed to speak on matters where they are “in line” with the Office of the Mayor’s position. With one internal city policy change, Mayor Kerry Thomson has effectively co-opted boards and commissions, turning them into her puppet bodies.
Our boards and commissions have long been centers for debate and policymaking in this city. As laboratories of democracy, they have advised each other, the City Council and the Office of the Mayor on all issues of policy. Even the previous mayor, John Hamilton, allowed boards and commissions to speak on issues they found important for the success of the city, even when their stances conflicted with those of the administration.
Indiana University students should also be concerned about this policy change. Oftentimes, appointees are students who want to give back to the Bloomington community. Now, they are hamstrung by the whims and wishes of the administration, effectively eliminating the appeal of serving.
It is clear that, for whatever reason, Mayor Thomson is afraid of boards and commissions having a healthy debate about the direction our city is headed. A true leader would work with these volunteers and experts to make our city a better place. Instead, mayor Thomson has chosen to pull the rug out from under the bodies designed to advise her and other policymakers.
Everyone, especially the City Council, should worry about this undemocratic strike against community engagement and involvement in our policymaking system.
Andrew Guenther is a 2026 JD-MPA candidate at Indiana University and a former member of several local boards and commissions.
