Correction: http://blnnews.com/2015/02/09/sorry-i-know-what-it-is-now/
By: Diane Benjamin
VERY Transparent Mayor. You must be afraid to have your potted plants vote in public right before an election! All the citizens surveys said NEEDS before WANTS. You want spending downtown regardless of how bad the streets and sewers are. What the citizens say is immaterial! All your meetings and surveys were just for show.
Last month the Council vote 2-7 against an amendment by Kevin Lower and Judy Stearns to only allow David Hales to spend $30,000 without Council approval. Instead the Council voted 7-2 to approve letting Hales spend $50,000 without any discussion!
Now we know why the Council voted to make themselves immaterial. Renner wants to divert your tax dollars to downtown without YOU knowing about it. He wanted to a avoid an embarrassing vote right before an election that could produce enough anger to get his pots kicked off the Council!
This payment is included in the Bills and Payroll to be approved tonight. Normally nobody questions the spending, it should have been easy for the City can bury this expense.
http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8179
150 AREA CONVENTION & VISI 00001 20150003 EFT 02/09/2015 FEB 2015 107037
1 10019170 75010 Econ Devel To CVB 41,666.67
Invoice Net 41,666.67
CHECK TOTAL 41,666.67
Note: Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. Why the weird amount? Multiple it by 12 = $500,000 per year! The tip-off FEB 2015. It was not paid in January!
Funny how the payments started right after Hales was given permission to spend $50,000. Funny too how Bills and Payroll wasn’t posted until my previous post this morning.
Funny too that ANYBODY believes Renner is transparent. Wait for the Council meeting tonight, they will have devised an explanation by then. It should be good.
When the potted plants votes for $50,000 spending by Hales, did they know they approved $500,000 divided into 12 payments?
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.
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I tried to read some of this and it made my head spin. I can tell you there are many places just in THIS report that I can see money being thrown away. I am sure none of the Council will bother to read it and just say “approve” and move on.
When will the madness stop?
Go speak tonight! It will end when the potted plants are thrown off the Council!
What exactly does it means that Hales can spend 50k? Is that per invoice, per month, per account? If it’s per check or per invoice, then is it possible he could write multiple checks or ask for multiple invoices? If so, presto, he can spend as much as he wants!
Also, will there be a way to find out what he is spending the money on without a FOIA?
He can make any purchase up to $50,000 without a council vote – other than approving bills and payroll. It used to be $20,000. It’s already spent by the time the report comes out. The Council usually rubber stamps it. Anything can be bought on a payment plan is the seller agrees. He can pay $49,999 a month and hope nobody notices. I wonder if negotiations are underway for the Sugar Creek Packing property. They couldn’t be that stupid, could they?
“He can make any purchase up to $50,000 with a council vote”
*without
Odd that an organization would proceed to a half a million dollar agreement without any formal document specifying terms. Even if I were CVB, I’d want something to document my interests…
They may have a contract nobody knows about. I’m sure we will find out tonight. They will have a perfectly good explanation.