By: Diane Benjamin
Funny how the Wildwood property was redeveloped without any incentives from government. Probably the only place in Bloomington where capitalism still reigns. (From the Pantagraph story)
The huge east-side TIF will get approved. It will create a slush fund for the City to use however it wants – in the TIF district. Friends of government will be lining up for handouts.
Kroger is getting tax incentives to move from Normal and build in Bloomington!
All the rest of you chumps get to pay higher taxes since you aren’t on the “best friends” list.
David Hales is going to present the 2017 budget. Funny how that’s all the packet says, no details. It must be a surprise. Anybody think it will balance? Maybe Tari will claim again that expenses go up 2% every year. (Nothing can be cut!)
In case anyone proposes raising sewer fees, somebody might want to mention rates were increased 20% in 2012.
On more item:
Tari is claiming roads have been neglected for a generation. Karen Schmidt has been on the Council since 1999. David Sage has been on since 2007. Fruin was on the Council from 1995-2003, then came back in 2007. Did Schmidt, Sage, or Fruin ever say the budgets they approved didn’t spend enough on roads?
The truth is the City chose not to spend money on roads. It’s much more glamorous to “gift” citizens with things they don’t want.
Blame to REAL culprits Tari. Of course, your legacy will be raising taxes for things citizens expect government to do – like roads.
Past Council just didn’t have the guts to gouge citizens for essential services.
Tari, citizens would at least have a little faith in you if you fired the Coliseum management. If you sign a new contract with them, announce soon that you aren’t running again.
Do you remember if Bloomington city council ever cut ANY of the budget last year? What ever happened to the special budget committee suggestions?
Lots of talk, no cuts.
Are you talking about the one that Renner chose 5 of the participants and the Chamber of Commerce chose 2 others? What a joke that committee was. Doomed from the get-go with insider kiss asses.
It’s good to be reminded now and then of how bad the roads are, when you drive them all the time you start thinking of the condition as just normal (small n) It’s a bit sad really to hear them all giddy about a hotel that will be empty most of the time or maybe 1/5 occupied while the roads we drive on every day get a little patch here and there – of course when they DO actually “repair” one or resurface it the work is so shoddy it’s bad again in a year.
Then leading into downtown Blm. from Nml. one travels N. Center St. between Emerson and Locust. Yeah that’s a real shoddy section when trying to impress anyone. This city administration is a real joke. The infrastructure here gets the shaft! FIRE HALES!
Traveling North on Veterans from Springfield or St. Louis makes a horrible impression. The road and curbs are crumbling and there are no lane markings or street lights. Driving at night or in the rain is awful.
Reading the Pantagraph is getting TOUGHER every day, I can’t tell the comics from the funnies, IF I go color blind, I’ll be screwed, as the comics are in color! The Daily “tree waste” reports that the NEW budget is up 11% or $21 MILLION from last year, and HALES says this is leading us down the right road!! And help pay for mental health, Buses with WIFI and “community development” ( insert HOTEL) I believe that a LOT of farmers already think there’s TOO MUCH development, and WHY does Garden of Paradise need to be in a TIF? Does the council get a discount there? Also, Tari must hail from a biblical family of long living people, as our roads have been in bad shape since I was young! And that’s a generation.
There was a preview of the budget in the Committee of the Whole packet for the approval of the 1/19/16 Council meeting: “Mr. Hales: the FY budget for 2017 incorporated $1.7million in sales tax revenue going to the BCPA. It is up to the Council to look at providing greater or less funding. These recommendations came before the sales tax vote. Since that vote, a quarter percent of the tax is going to mental health, a quarter percent to street resurfacing and the other half percent is to help offset the need to eliminate personnel. Without the other half percent of the tax the City was looking at significant potential for layoffs and elimination of personnel. Mr. Hales stated that FY 2017 has the potential for a good, strong balanced budget.”
https://blnnewsdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/ca-02-16-16-cow.pdf Pg. 12
There will be no tax cuts–as most predicted–even though the Council members committed to them at the September 2015 meetings–they lied. According to today’s Pantagraph, there will be an adjustment to the Police/Fire pension contribution–most likely a reduction which will create problems when the city has to play catch-up in order to meet State statute requirements.
There will be more spending on Economic Development–tax abatements, Empire TIF District and Downtown Hotel–all of which will require issuing of bonds. As a Home Rule Municipality, the Council can raise taxes 2X/year. Rates for everything will go up. Make no mistake–these decisions have already been made.
^ meant to say “spending cuts” not “tax cuts”