By: Diane Benjamin
Yesterday I wrote about the exchange at Monday night’s Council meeting between Alderman Lower and Public Works Director Jim Karch. Numbers to fix the roads were revealed, much higher than the current budget. http://blnnews.com/2015/05/12/13-7m-9-5m-what-tari-didnt-want-to-hear/
Karch referenced a report on the City website, I looked for it. I couldn’t find it, so I emailed Jim. Last night he sent me the report. He confirmed the report is not on-line, today he is going to ask that it be put back up. If Jim Karch is suddenly out of a job it will be obvious that transparency is only something the City claims – not practices.
Roads and pensions have been under-funded for many years. The City of Bloomington has long spent money on Quality or Life instead of essential services. Last year they passed a pension funding plan that devastates the budget, so they raised taxes. Roads are now ONLY funded by the new gas tax passed last year.
Taxpayers think essential services should be funded first. Instead, you are expected to dodge bikers and pot holes while driving to the new downtown. Electing the wrong people has consequences.
Below is the history of spending tax dollars on roads:
Below is how much it will take PER YEAR to just get the roads to a rating of 4 out of 10:
A 4 rating means Fair-
Renner’s secret budget committee will say taxes must be raised. Instead of destroying the poor and future economic development, they should be defining what the role of government should be instead of what they want to be.
This presentation was made to the City Council in 2011: 2011PavementPresentationToCouncil
City Manager David Hales and the Council IGNORED this report. Renner and the current Council continue to ignore this report.
Taxpayer priorities are not the same as the City of Bloomington, but then they are so much smarter than you. Just ask – I’m sure Renner will tell you. Once he re-develops downtown, the City will have tons of money for roads.
Thank you Kevin Lower for asking the questions about the roads of which Jim Karch was straight up and honest about the answers. Something that when it is in opposition to the Hales/Renner agenda is not acceptable. Surely Hales was squirming in his seat while Jimmy was talking. Oh no! How is Nora and the bird cage liner going to spin this one? Thank you BLNnews for publishing this and providing the video links. Keep up the good work.
Hales was conveniently on vacation.
….. and 20 million Route 66 tourist will be using the new hotel too. The money will be rolling in.
I think they should erect one of those wind turbine generators instead for revenue. Let those tourist climb up it from the outside and inside.
The City Council ignores almost all reports and many ordinances. Even minimum effort to review the material would guide them to wiser choices. A single uninformed vote has a ripple effect with unintended consequences. One would expect this behavior from adolescents but not from educated adults.
Jim Karch is a class act, he was prepared and did not appear to judge in any way. We are lucky to have a smart guy like that working for Bloomington. I have had some questions for Jim in the past about things and contacted him directly and he has always immediately responded and I truly felt as though he legitimately cared about the community. He does a pretty good job with what little support he is given. I was floored when they had more of discussion about whether or not drinking areas on sidewalks should be roped off than they did about the road situation. Our city government was extremely dismissive of what Jim was presenting.
I agree, Jim is one of the good guys. He sent me the information I requested because he wants informed citizens.