by: Diane Benjamin
Tari Renner and David Hales continue to proclaim the City has cut staff. Judge for yourself:
From the payroll report in Bills and Payroll for approval at Monday’s Council meeting: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=9024
Bi-Weekly Payroll shows 448 employees
Weekly Payroll shows 423 employees
That’s a total of 871 employees. Some are seasonal, so compare that number with January:
January: 335 Weekly, 458 Bi-Weekly Total 793 http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8072
August shows 10 less bi-weekly employees than in January.
August shows 88 more weekly employees – those are most likely seasonal.
The early retirements to cut staff were offered in 2008.
Payroll was not listed on Bills and Payroll like it is now. The only number for Total Employees I found was in the Financial Statements issued as of 4/30/2009.
Page 195: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=2069
4/30/2009 total City of Bloomington 836 employees
2015 total employees is between 793 (without seasonal) and 871 (with seasonal).
There is no way to tell if the 2009 number included seasonal employees.
Regardless, the City hasn’t “shed” nearly 100 jobs. Maybe personnel is in the wrong place. In 2009 the City didn’t have a Communication Director or nearly as many Administrators.
Truth matters, citizens aren’t getting it. The local media needs to stop letting Renner and Hales spread mis-information.
Chicago Tribune, Sunday August 16, 2015 page 9
“Remaining city officials said they’ve had to absorb the extra cost in a tightened budget, after years of cuts and the elimination of nearly 100 positions.
I wonder who the Tribune quoted this from. Let me guess, Hales. Another lie? Cuts in the budget. News to me because the budget keeps growing under Hales.
Here’s the part about Bloomington in the Tribune just in case others haven’t read it.
$385,000 penalty
In downstate Bloomington, City Manager David Hales calls what happened over the past three years an “operational failure.”
The city didn’t get an exemption from the accelerated payments for end-of-career pension increases. Through a spokeswoman, Hales told the Tribune that he was relatively new to the job, dealing with massive budget issues and would have relied on the then director of human resources, Emily Bell, to help coordinate any policies needed to qualify for the exemption.
Records show Bell retired in 2014, using the perk to boost her starting pension from about $92,000 a year to nearly $113,000.
Her spike caused the highest penalty statewide under the 2012 law – $385,000. Records show that 15 other Bloomington retirees got pension boosts that prompted an additional $1 million in combined penalties, including for a deputy city manager who retired five months before Bell.
When reached at home, Bell declined to comment.
Remaining city officials said they’ve had to absorb the extra cost in a tightened budget, after years of cuts and the elimination of nearly 100 positions.
One thing they haven’t done yet: Change the policy that allows the pension boost.
The city manager said it’s now a priority.
Hire date for David Hales:
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/colleagues-have-high-esteem-for-bloomington-s-next-city-manager/article_6aa2d17c-ae29-5a7e-8965-caf1efcb3098.html
Just ANOTHER example of manipulating figures. Not sure how this affects their claim of shedding employees. Beginning in 2013, the city changed the reporting of the number of employees from FTE to FT thereby now comparing apples to oranges. Renner is parroting Hales who can’t be trusted. The Mayor and Council are complicit with spreading lies. The workload has changed from productive to collecting data for Master plans and 50 page monthly Managers reports that nobody on the Council reads. No wonder employee morale is so low.
Yep, it’s real easy to engage a rank and file employee and ask them how things are working for the city. The consensus is, “it sucks!” Fire Hales and send the professor mayor back to school.
I agree. We need to rid of both. It would be interesting to know why Hales resignation is sealed by Bend, OR where he was a city manager. After he left, the city thrived. Would I have hired someone with their records sealed – no.
Found this while looking for something else–wonder if it entails a salary increase.
http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=18&recordid=2409&returnURL=%2findex.aspx
“While not a new position, the PR&CA Assistant Director role has remained vacant since 2009. ”
This position has been vacant for nearly 6 years. It should have been eliminated. That should have been the right choice rather than fill it. This is more wasteful spending under Renner and Hales.
This sounds like a position move just in case the BCPA is dumped by the city and likely the person got a big pay increase too.
I don’t get it. Bloomington has far too many Assistant’s than is needed. Just exactly what do these people do, serve tea and cookies to the Director above them?