By: Diane Benjamin
Lately the City of Bloomington has been raising every fee possible under the theory of “users” should pay for the service. It doesn’t matter that decades of previous spending paid for the service with taxes already collected.
Obviously the goal is to Tax more so they can Spend more.
Tonight the Council will most likely raise liquor license fees because the Council represents the City, not the people who elected them. The City thinks they shouldn’t pay for police downtown even though they collect exorbitant taxes and liquor fees already. A few years ago the City got NO income from video gaming, but what they get now isn’t nearly enough.
Funny how Connect Transit is getting even more of your tax dollars next year, but users of the buses aren’t fleeced like the bar owners.
Only 12% of Connect Transit’s total budget will be paid by riders. https://blnnews.com/2016/04/24/a-socialists-dream/
Remember that when your garbage fees are raised again. Just a decade ago the taxes you already paid covered solid waste. Now they need to collect enough to cover costs.
Connect Transit it exempt however. I’m sure you aren’t suppose to know that.
12%?
Only government could create a plan THAT unsustainable! Fleecing everybody because government wants buses is just another incoherent example of government’s finest at work.
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And, a new franchise will be coming to town. The City charges franchise tax paid by consumers.
The reason given for raising liquor and gaming fees is to pay for administration of ordinance violations and Police/Fire pensions. Remember when the Task Force was trying to find tax dollars for the Downtown Police “buy-back.” Well, that exploded into the current fee increases. Property taxes for Tax Year 2014 increased by 2.15% to pay for Police/Fire pensions. The Utility Tax of 2014 was earmarked for Police/Fire pensions. The Task Force recommended a FY2017 property tax increase of 1.35% for Police/Fire pension. Now the Video Gaming fees are to be earmarked for Police/Fire pensions. I absolutely support Police and Fire and funding their pensions but it seems the Mayor is using pension funding as emotional blackmail.
Didn’t they decrease the pension funding plan after Renner accepted an award for passing it? He must be trying to keep it from getting repossessed.
They decreased the pension funding as a result of the $7.4M budget crisis.
Tyranny Tari says that the liquor license holder must pay for the downtown hireback of police officiers which costs $130,000 per year. In 2015, the city received $700,000 in video gaming cut. Well,,,there it is with much more to boot.
Where does it go? No body knows!
Sure they’ll earmark that money for pensions but then take from another area to get the same amount back to reward to their good old boy network of cronies.