The theme of the 2025 State of the Bloomington Regional Economy is preparation and flexibility.
Speakers at this year’s panel, presented by the Bloomington Economic Development Corp., urged civic and community leaders to understand that local governments will be adjusting to tariffs and property tax reform for years, which may necessitate more long-term strategic economic plans.
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Matt Eckerle, principal with Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors, works with local governments across Indiana on their economic challenges. He said business leaders need to prioritize their own data analysis on items such as local income taxes, budgeting processes, debt caps, and assessed property values to better understand what communities may face in the next five years.
“So, understand that you don’t want to hem yourself in to a circumstance now that you can’t adapt further down the line,” he said.
Eckerle warned that state government leaders are already looking to adjust property tax legislation next year, further emphasizing the need to build flexible economic investment plans.
Phil Powell, executive director of the Indiana Business Research Center, said while tariffs and property tax reform are long-term obstacles, Bloomington has its own economic challenges that civic and community leaders can address now.
According to Powell, low wages lead to low productivity. He said between 2017-2022, Bloomington productivity levels grew just 1.7 percent. Indiana grew 8 percent, while cities such as Kokomo grew 41 percent and Columbus grew 12 percent. Powell also said the number of young adults between 25-44 years-old in Bloomington shrunk 7.7 percent since 2019. He also addressed Bloomington’s average housing price being $200 per square foot, about 33 percent higher than the rest of Indiana.
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“Those three statistics make Bloomington a negative outlier in the state of Indiana,” he said. “A state that is gaining momentum, but a state that is behind the national average.”
Powell said the civic and community leaders can start fending off those negative impacts by embracing a dynamic economy. Expanding the Bloomington Convention Center and Trades District are steps in the right direction, according to Powell.
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