By: Diane Benjamin
Saturday the Pantagraph cried in an editorial wanting to be relevant. Today they printed the City talking points. They don’t understand that regurgitating what government buddies want you to say doesn’t drive people to read! See:
The packet for tonight has very little information on the new budget – See PDF page 183 and following: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=15652
The paper has lots of detail!
The Budget is expected to be $214 Million, but the City can’t find $8 Million just to keep your roads in poor condition!
They have lots of other priorities though, like expanding the Library, an Aquatics Center, and buying property.
The City of Bloomington is run by a Council and Mayor who don’t care about roads.
All of them said they have a plan to fix them, but the ONLY money going to resurfacing is the increased Motor Fuel Tax and 1/4% of the increased Sales Tax!
Does that sound like anybody cares?
New employees with lavish benefits and pensions are more important. Allowing employees to retire even richer by spiking their pensions is the priority.
A DEAD downtown is a priority! Since businesses that aren’t bars continue to close, reviving downtown will only happen with a bar on every corner. The lawyers can stop after a hard day in court. The kids can run wild at night spending money they don’t have to spend for transportation to shopping since you subsidize Connect Transit for them. The Food and Beverage taxes will pour into the City! Require the bar owners to pay for security however.
If you want your roads fixed:
The article suggests this Council might just double your gas tax!
You fools have to pay for what you want, all the other money is spent. So much for priority based budgeting, unless they mean their priorities come first.
Meanwhile they throw money at Connect Transit to run heavy empty buses that further hurt the roads.
Don’t expect improvements for at least a year and a half. Spending is tied to elections: https://blnnews.com/2017/05/16/the-media-must-have-left-early/
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It’s funny…the more government throws at downtown, the more businesses leave downtown. It’s as if the market isn’t responding or doesn’t care about what government tries to do or forces on them. Wow! Imagine that. Don’t let that hold you up from wasting a few more million dollars, Tari. By the way, is the Council aware that there’s more to Bloomington than the Downtown? It’s maybe 1% of the economy but gets 99% of the attention from City Hall. Me thinks its a distraction from the full-scale downsizing of State Farm. Pay no attention over there.
The Council doesn’t have the guts to make cuts. The increased gas tax will be funding brick streets.
At the expensive of the rest of the streets! Instead of the Coliseum, Judy should have done them when times were good.
The plan is passed. Restoration is vital. Monroe St is scheduled for repair. It is part of the plan.
everything they do raises taxes ,, taxes cut into spendable income , pickling their wants over needs let needs fall behind , soon needs need more funds to reach poor standards , taxes are raised ,, they don’t see the stupidity of their wants vs needs , or the vicious cycle of it and how it drains even more , driving out folk and businesses who can’t handle it . when fools are in charge , things never get better .
“When government continues to appear completely stupid to the masses, perhaps they are masking their sins of greed and dishonesty.”
SAD state of affairs but they ARE leaving a legacy! Sitting with no less then 4 people at lunch, ALL ready to retire or leave, they ALL said Bloomington in their rear view mirror was their retirement plan, as the taxes here are ENOUGH!
And as for planning, YEP, they are planning, hotel, aquatics, bricks, flamingoes-WHAT STREETS!
WE ride bicycles or the bus..
Welcome to the machine!