Inside City Hall with Bloomington City Manager Tim Gleason
On episode #39 of the Building BN podcast, BNEDC CEO Patrick Hoban sits down to speak with Tim Gleason, Bloomington City Manager. Gleason, a veteran of the U.S. Army and former law enforcement officer, was appointed city manager in 2018. Gleason had previously served as city manager for Decatur and Washington, both in Central Illinois, prior to filling the position in Bloomington. Gleason is originally from Morton, Illinois.
A day in the life of a city manager, Gleason explains, is almost always unique — which he compares to his time working in law enforcement. He says, “One thing that I like about this job, which is very similar to law enforcement, is there's no given day that's the same as the other.” Gleason is committed to remaining “plugged in” and — he explains — “very responsive to my elected officials, to those in the community, other partners, to my staff.”
Aiming to improve the city’s customer service and experience, the City of Bloomington recently cut the ribbon on a new service called The Hub. From the website, “The City Services Hub (The Hub) is a centralized location to service your City needs. Most transactions can be completed over the phone, online, or at The Hub located at the Government Center, 115 E. Washington Street, Suite 103.” This service is meant to serve as a one-stop-shop for residents to access city services. Located in the former Parks and Recreation offices, The Hub features specially trained staff from various departments, who can assist with many common needs. “We hope to be able to meet the needs of any given resident. And if we're not able to, we hand them off and ideally, we will walk them up to the appropriate department and hand them off to an actual human being. And we try to do that on our phone calls as well,” Gleason explains. The Hub is open Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and includes staff from the legal department, public works, parks and recreation, finance, and the city clerk’s office.
Listen to the entire conversation with Bloomington City Manager Tim Gleason — which includes his ‘can’t miss’ destinations in Bloomington as well as his philosophy on how successes in other communities often include a win for Bloomington — here. For more information about the Hub, call 309-434-2509, option 0, email TheHub@cityblm.org or click here to visit the website.
