By: Diane Benjamin
Both Bloomington and Normal have been governed for many years by people who want to build monuments to themselves and call it Quality of Life.
Roads are too boring to fund, so are pensions. Valuable tax dollars can’t be used for what isn’t their priority. Instead they raise taxes to fund them because they DON’T WANT TO SPEND CURRENT MONEY on your priorities.
Worse they lie:
Tari failed to say he meant in 66 years!
https://blnnews.com/2018/02/20/losing-money-on-purpose/
The Council has had no problem taxing you to death.
The last .04 a gallon gas tax: Yes votes of those still on the Council: Mwilambwe, Schmidt, Painter, and Black
4% Amusement tax: Mwilambwe, Schmidt, Painter, and Black.
Increased Utility taxes: Mwilambwe, Schmidt, Painter, Sage, and Black.
Source for above: https://blnnews.com/2014/09/15/renner-will-want-more/
The 1% Sales tax was increased on September 21, 2015. This was the vote:
Minutes: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=10138
So far Painter, Schmidt, and Black are 100% we need your money more than you do! Four for Four!
Buragas and Hauman weren’t on the Council for the first three votes.
In September of 2017 they voted to raise your sewer and storm water rates: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=14740
PDF page 288: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=14716
This tax increase doesn’t go into effect until May 1, 2018.
This was the vote:
Black is still 100% for theft, Painter and Schmidt finally voted NO.
2015 is when the Budget Task Force met and supposedly proposed cuts. If they ever had any cuts, they were not allowed to seriously present them.
The City Council has been a disaster for your wallet.
Tari Renner is their leader.
He now wants more tax increases.
Real cuts need to be made, the roads actually need fixed. Under Tari the roads are worse because funds are not made available for the #1 priority of citizens.
Possible cuts:
Communications Director
Return to MetCom
End Bloomington Election Commission
Hire an in-house lawyer instead of Sorling Northrup
End the Administrative Court – it obviously failed to hold slum landlord accountable
Fire one building inspector – EVERY apartment does not need to be inspected – go after the bad landlords
Dispose of the properties Tari bought just so he could control development
Cut funding for the Economic Development Council
Cut funding to Connect Transit, empty buses are a waste of money
Cut funding for BN Advantage
Put a moratorium on all travel except police and fire training
Put a moratorium on all pay increases
Put a moratorium on all hiring
Increase contributions by employees for health insurance
Cut Administration Budget
Mandate the Coliseum and BCPA break even in two years or be shut down
Give the Creativity Center to the non-profit without any further funding
Put a moratorium on ALL consultants
END Pension Spiking
End Sister-Cities program, it has no benefit to the majority of citizens
Your ideas?
Did I miss any tax increases?
I did leave off video gaming and solid waste increases! Probably others.
Hershey Rd is a disgrace. I wonder if Tari ever drives on it and what he thinks about his utopian empire.
Have the democrats done anything for groups who vote over for them? Same thinking!
Does anyone here know the difference between Utopian and dystopian? That’s a rhetorical question, BTW. No need for an answer.
Hopefully, the same thing happens to both Tari and Chris that happened to the Chicago mayor Michael Bilandic back in the late 70’s. We had an incredible amount of snow that winter, and Chicago failed at keeping the streets open. That swept Jane Byrne into winning the next year, because she promised a better response.
The roads here are going from bad to worse. I’ve lived here since 1982 and I have never seen such potholed filled streets. I understand weather plays a part. But after being out and about today, the few that have been resurfaced in the last few years, still look great. I was out by old farm lakes. East Oakland and Ireland grove Road are beautiful. I wonder who why those have been kept up?
Because Tari uses them?
Defund not-for-profits.
Defund Employee “social activity” fund.
A reader on Facebook added to cancel the Employee parties.
End bike lanes on streets since nobody uses them. Washington alone will cost $40,000 a year to repaint.
1. If there are two or more companies that offer any given service, outsource it from local government to one such company. 2. Moratorium on Downtown funding 3. No new TIFs 4. Require a majority vote on all tax increase 4. Place a field on all tax forms that enable individuals or companies to pay a higher tax rate. (We get to call out the hypocrites!.) 5. Cut 10% from each department’s budget, no exceptions.
Do you mean a unanimous vote on all tax increases?
Nope. I meant a majority of citizens must vote “yes”. Each tax increase would need to be ut on a ballot and voted on. Pretty sure tax increases would grind to a halt.
Great list Diane, but the 20 items suggested would take the current council at least one year to discuss and another 6 months to vote I would add sell the pink flamingos at market prices but this would damage the quality of life too much here in Bloomington.
Where do they go when the exhibit is closed for the winter?
The flamingos are kept in a small building in their exhibit, but there are no viewing windows so you can’t even see them in cold weather! Who was the stupid exhibit designer? At least you can watch the turtles thru glass in cold weather!
How about the city not hire a BCPA Director while acting as though the “friends” will pay for it? Didn’t we already try a similar thing with with DBA? $250K a year in DBA expenses.
One Voice. Nope. It’s obviously not doing us any good.
Fire Farnsworth!
No more TIFs so the “friends” make money and the poor pay for it.
We don’t need a pool. Normal isn’t that far and they were considering closing Anderson. Why on earth don’t we get an agreement with Normal Parks and Rec going instead of competing?
It’s not competition if there’s enough demand and both pools are full. Maybe you’d like those kids hanging around your neighborhood looking for something to do?
I am that neighborhood Rich…and when my children were young we went to Normal. My son is 18 and he goes to Fairview. Never been turned away because they a full. Without scholarships most of the kids in my neighborhood won’t be going to the new pool either. And the kids do hangout at my place. I don’t fear poor people. I care about them.
Rich, if the City wants a real economic driver, they need to find a company who will provide something that can’t be found within a 100 mile radius.
The DBA is no longer funded at $90K/year by the City. Instead, the director and assistant were hired by the City at $250K/year. What a savings!! NOT!!
Extra building inspector has led to inspecting small office complexes. We’ve never been inspected until this year. We have no customers coming to our building and only myself and one other worker, but we had to get our emergency lights replaced and several other issues resolved. Plus they suggested we hire Getz when they wrote us up. Best comment ever – I will be back next year. Really, why waste time on us. Our insurance company doesn’t even require inspection every year to keep the policy in place. It would be better for the inspector to go house to house and check fire alarms. Hello – I don’t sleep at the office.
Don’t give them any ideas about going door to door! Black will want everyone to buy permits annually for their home and a whole new government entity will begin. Sound like something that would never happen? Give this Council another 10 years, probably less.
Scotty wants to raise taxes and fees on the poor and charge more for bulk waste due to eviction and complain about the homeless downtown. Scotty, this is not the upper middle class Chicago suburb you grew up in. 🐥
In due time, Angela. The City Council is busy working on an air tax, tollways on Veterans Parkway, and Friday morning fee.
Fire as many city, town, county “employees” as possible.