By: Diane Benjamin
If you need evidence that Public-Private partnerships mean taxpayers lose, look at the Coliseum/Grossinger Motors Arena. The City of Bloomington pretended to oversee operations, they failed the taxpayers.
The “private” part of these partnerships think they don’t have to disclose where the money goes. A far better plan is to outsource entire operations which mandates “private” pays their own bills. If they can’t figure out how to do that, the venture isn’t worth doing.
The latest case is the Ecology Action Center. This “private” group gets money from the County, Bloomington, and Normal but we have no idea what they do with it.
EAC has created a 20 year 100 page plan for you: https://ecologyactioncenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2017%20ISWMP%2010.3.17%20HD.pdf
A HUGE problem with this “private” partnership is they plan to grow: (PDF page 23)
The closest things we have to the EAC financial information is this: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/371157100
From 2011 to 2015 their Revenue more than doubled. They do take donations and have memberships, but the majority most likely comes from taxpayers. How much isn’t readily available.
Although recycling and proper disposal of hazardous waste is an admirable goal, transparency is also admirable and vital to citizens having confidence their money isn’t being thrown away. Again, see the Coliseum.
See PDF page 8 and following. Part of their “Action Plan” is to get ordinances passed. If the citizens won’t voluntarily recycle etc, they want laws to achieve the goals they want.
The Ecology Action Center plans are a threat to your freedom to make your own decisions. Fees have already been increased more than once for waste disposal, EAC should have a limited voice is forcing compliance. They aren’t elected and can’t be held accountable by citizens. If high fees aren’t enough to get citizens to comply, the message is the problem. Mandating compliance through ordinances is unnecessary tyranny by an unaccountable contractor. Will the people you elect see it that way? They need to be told you didn’t elect the Ecology Action Center to make decisions for you!
(I wonder if EAC has a “brown shirt” army ready to act?)
The “stakeholders” can be found on PDF 28. Interesting group.
Fazzini! Also not elected.
Mike M. and Trish Stiller!?!
I’m not sure any of these “stakeholders” can do any work without government money (read: taxpayer money).
These public-private partnerships seem to skew long on “public” (i.e. government) and short on “private” sector. Skunk – “Stakeholders” is a BN euphemism for government cronies and friends of.
” “Stakeholders” is a BN euphemism for government cronies and friends of.” – Exactly – They also dream up positions to employ their friends and make sure they are well paid so they can afford to dine at the preferred locations when the taxpayers aren’t footing the bills that is. You know assistant to the assistant type of jobs or other paper shufflers who sit at a computer all day and act important while they play their games or chat on FB or tweet or text on their phones.
And ecology was such a noble concept in the 70’s. Screwed by the government again!
Yep. I was “green” before it was cool to be “green.” No littering. Walking instead of driving. It was my choice. FYI, the Council drinks from plastic water bottles. Do they recycle their waste? What is their individual carbon footprint?
I would like to express my support for the 2017 twenty-year waste management plan. As a McLean County resident, I understand that there is a desperate need to improve upon our current waste management. The plan creates positive solutions for our stagnating recycling rates, and reality of the imminent closure of the McLean County Landfill. We need everyone to do their part to limit the expenses of shipping our waste after March 2018, and this plan achieves that end.
Sincerely,
Michele Carroll
Bloomington, IL