By: Diane Benjamin
Attn: Bloomington Budget Task Force, McLean County Board, and Normal City Council
Illinois has the second highest property tax bills in the country! https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-homeowners-pay-the-second-highest-property-taxes-in-the-u-s/
People are leaving both Bloomington and Normal: https://d2dv7hze646xr.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Population_Change_JobsGrowth.png
Just because you have some project you want to do doesn’t mean you can raise taxes to do it.,
If it’s that important – cut something else to pay for it.
We’ve had enough. Many more will leave if taxes are raised again!
News Flash:
You are NOT entitled to our wallets.
I’m moving to Hawaii, 0.28%.
I was just talking to someone the other day and they bought outright a home at Country Acres south of Bloomington and they told me the yearly taxes is $2900. I about dropped to the floor in Barnes and Noble when I heard that.
Not that the homes there are big by any means and many built in the 1960’s and maybe early 1970’s.
I thought geez burn it and collect the insurance and find a cheap apartment.
Gosh maybe early 2000 something someone told me what they were paying for an east side McRanch estate home and it seems like taxes alone were $600 a month. I thought are you crazy or what. You’re paying on something that you never probably have paid anything on the principal. About all they could have been paying for was the taxes and interest. That is crazy.
Redevelopment through a TIF is coming at the K-Mart shopping center. Apparently another Dick’s Sporting Goods–just what we need.
I believe that Illinois is number 2. Surprised it’s not number 1. My wife’s uncle lives in Massachusetts (not exactly a republican stronghold). He has a 750k house on 10 acres of land. He pays the same amount of property tax as I do on our 200k home sitting on a small city lot.
I really like our community, I actually like living in Illinois. I like the people here, I love our church, I like my job. I like the change of seasons. I enjoy taking my family on weekend trips to Chicago to enjoy the rich culture. Chicago is a beautiful, world class city (although, maybe not for long). We enjoy trips to St. Louis and Indianapolis with Bloomington nicely located geographically it makes for really easy road trips while enjoying the luxury of raising my children in a community that enjoys good schools, low crime, and plenty of things to do. Some of the shorelines of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior rival those anywhere in the world. We really do have it all. Except the selfishness…the self-serving, morally bankrupt politicians in this state have ruined it all. I had a very good conversation last night with some folks at the Bloomington Beer Fest (yes, I even enjoy our local culture and quality of life…but I’m a firm believer that it needs to be a public/private partnership). Anyway, the person there, a retired county official asked if I was still involved in politics. As I pondered the question quite disgusted, I said I’ve decided I’m either going to run for office myself or I’m going to move out of this state (I haven’t decided which to do yet). You see, I have young children and it saddens me to watch them grow and think they don’t have a future here…Illinois is #1 exporter of college student talent (none of which ever return), now we’re the #1 exporter of jobs and #1 exporter of residents in the mid-west as well. Yet, we have legislative leaders who won’t even acknowledge there’s a problem. Although the majority of these problems are the result of incompetent and corrupt state government bureaucrats and leaders, the City has to step up and do it’s part. Seeing the only solution as raising taxes and fees is really not a solution at all. It will undoubtedly drive more people away. What really troubles me, is that even those who are supporting higher sales tax rates and property tax increases are not doing so to help solve current problems…they are supporting increased taxes to sponsor NEW programs. I’m at a loss, they are talking about new programs when we can’t even figure out how to pay for the programs we’ve already got? By the way, my property taxes last year were $9,000 and no, I do not live on the east side and no I do not live in a McMansion.
If you plan to run let me know!
You have very eloquently expressed the concerns of many Bloomington citizens like myself. There needs to be more public outcry from these voices before it is too late. All city meetings have 30 minutes for public comment–calendars can be found on cityblm.org There is a combined ward meeting–open to the entire public– for Ward 2,4,6 & 7 at 6:00 pm on September 1, 2015 at the BCPA.
Ward 1 has an open meeting at the Miller Park Pavilion on August 25, 2015 at 6:30 pm. Bring your friends and speak your mind.