By: Diane Benjamin
Budget Task Force report:
- 4 meeting focused on cuts
- 1 meeting focused on Revenue
The ONLY cuts discussed were cuts that have been discussed for YEARS:
- Make schools pay for the Resource Officer
- Make downtown pay for the Police Hire Back program – David Hales was charged with doing this years ago. Since he CAN’T make a decision – nothing has been done.
- Solid Waste – How many years is this going to be on the table? Why aren’t the new trucks and cans cutting the costs? David? How many MILLIONS did you spend David?
- Golf – Sell, raise fees, outsource management
- BCPA – sell it, cut funds,
4 meetings on cuts and they didn’t have an original thought in the group?
They discussed creating a Park District. ABSOLUTELY the WORST idea EVER! More bureaucracy, more government agencies that need citizen oversight, more accountants, more more more. Park Districts all over Illinois have been caught scamming citizens – see the Edgar County Watchdogs website! Illinois has MANY more government agencies than any other State. This is merely a way to levy another tax against citizens while not cutting what the City already takes.
One glaring statement that Renner and Hales will ignore:
No new Revenue for New Programs
Tari, are the Master Plans considered new programs? You forced the Council to approve plans while telling them “it’s only a plan”. Then magically, flamingos must be funded because the plan said we would. Is that why your projections for the future are Millions and Millions of Dollars more every year?
The Budget Tax Force only spent one meeting on Revenue, but most of the recommendations are Revenue!
- Raise garbage fees
- Pay for the services you consume (even though they used to be included in taxes you already pay)
- New sales tax
- Raise licenses/fees
Tari led applause for the HARD work done by the Budget Tax Force. 9 meetings without an original thought from the group. Maybe David Hales in attendance and directing conversations kept them from difficult decisions. He keeps everybody else from making decisions!
Get some participation trophies Tari. Just like the team that came in last place, hand out meaningless statues (of you?) so their feeling aren’t hurt.
More on last night’s meeting next.
I watched them ‘agonize’ over raising our taxes. No cuts. So disgusting!
This council should be FORCED to watch themselves from the live stream replay. Maybe they could see, no strike that, can’t see with those libtard blinders they wear, how f*#^*ed up they are. How hypocritical, how inept, how spineless, how dumb they as individuals and as a group of eight that they are. That although they are holding a couple of aces with another ace on the table, fold at the imagination that the tyrant might be holding a suited 2 & 5, about to pull off an inside straight flush.
As the Committee of the Hole started Alderman Black gave the usual canned presentation regarding “months” of meetings. As noted in the above article nothing new here, just basic bullet point recommendations disguised in paragraphs as though more had been accomplished. Black speaking at 100 miles an hour; October staff should tweak, high level, task force consensus, blah, blah, blah. A short Q&A session follows with no substance worth mentioning except Hales noting that, “Study is critical to recruit and retain outstanding employees.” Continued to refer to “What public sector is paying as it becomes more difficult to pay these people.” Note to Hales, the public sector isn’t hiring. A good financial manager would know that 40% of people eligible to work in this country are not working due to lack of jobs. This unfortunately is a climate of hiring employees on the cheap as they are just happy to have a job. Employers most definitely have the upper hand. Also Mr. Hales 17 of 18 department heads have retired in the last couple of years. Many of these people were long term employees with years of experience and many were outstanding. You let them get away. Maybe you suggested that they get away.
As the Special Meeting gets underway a handful of citizens speak. Mostly the consensus was in opposition to raising taxes. Matt Sorenson gets up and says, that he has nothing further to say and leaves the podium to sit down. Really Matt? Do you do this often?
So the hand wringing begins. The fake concern for taxpayers begin as Sage and Fruin note that they should have more time for this, but at the end votes to approve the tax. As usual guys, why do you bother? You most always go along to get along. Must be that retreat-consensus-brainwash, koom-by-ya, let’s have a group hug socialist indoctrination that you do not understand.
Notably Black nails it when he says, “This council has never had the stomach,” as he lays on the guilt trip. “Unless people come to (him) for major cuts, it’s not happening.” At about 47 minutes Black says, “I want to put my money where my mouth is.” Your money, Mr. Black is not your money but the citizens money that I think you are referring to. That’s right Mr. Black as this council being the group of eight, you, Sage, Schmidt, Fruin, Mboka, Painter, Haliman, Buragas, have no guts! You said it. You people follow the Renner/Hales agenda as if your lives (or your jobs) depend on it. It’s sickening that you all being reasonably intelligent human beings that you march lock-step to follow these two. Followers you are, independent ward representatives you are not!
As usual the one lone voice of Mr. Lower speaks up and says that he is the guy that will make those cuts. As money is spent on the zoo, downtown lighting (again) bike paths, numerous plans, etc., there are many cuts that can be made by prioritizing.
Fruin goes on to note that, “That 1% is really impacting small business. We can’t keep piling on small business.” Sage says, “So that’s a yes from you?” Uh, yeah it was a yes and he votes for the 1% tax increase.
Ending Black challenges Lower to get four of your colleagues to go along with you. That’s funny Mr. Black. It’s a done deal to follow the Renner/Hales agenda. If you had the stomach Mr. Black maybe you could be the first colleague on this council to break rank with your fuhrer and work with Mr. Lower to make those cuts.
Yeah this meeting was a real show of no stomach for cuts noted by Mr. Black from the group of eight. No stomach, no brains as I would cap this rant off with a few words from Alderwoman Painter: Seems like everything is always at the 11th hour and we really need to move on rather than kicking the can down the road. Go with what Patti-Lynn recommends. We have to do something, “we have no assets except the animals in the zoo. I don’t think our state legislature could organize a one car funeral. 1%. What is that $10 on a hundred?”
Ugh! The Bloomington City Council in action folks. It’s no wonder it’s such a mess!
Want to be a guest columnist?
LoL!
The picture on the firewood starting paper website points to two big problems at city hall.
“Bloomington City Manager David Hales, right, and Assistant City Manager Steve Rasmussen discuss the tax rate hike.”
Unfortunately changes won’t take place until the mayor and many of the present council members are gone and home rule eliminated. Along with Hales and his assistants out the door too.
Now maybe the voters in Bloomington will wake up and VOTE!
This Council is at fault for much of the current mess but won’t admit it. In order for them to be willing to cut expenses, they have to accept the responsibility for their past actions.