By: Diane Benjamin
The Town of Normal has done the same thing with Enterprise Funds that Bloomington did. Segregate funds, like water, and then insist the fund pays for itself. These essential services were formally funded by taxes you already paid. You continue to pay all the old taxes, but new taxes are levied for the Enterprise funds. Those rates are continually raised to balance the fund.
Here’s the problem. They can tell you the fund doesn’t balance with no proof. They can throw as many expenses in the fund as they want, in Bloomington’s case the Enterprise funds are charged Administrative fees that are constantly increasing (hundreds of thousands of dollars). I haven’t had time to check if Normal does the same thing.
Last night Normal raised water rates again and they are planning to do another rate study in a year or two which will of course say the rates are too low.
Before the Town took that action however, they transferred the cost of two employees to the Water Enterprise Fund. Those two employees inflated expenses for the fund. Because THEY increased costs in the fund, you must pay more.
In theory, Enterprise funds can be a tool for looking at costs verses revenue. In practice both Towns are forcing you to pay more while claiming revenue doesn’t cover the expenses they chose to put in the fund. Since no transparency exists, they can transfer General Fund expenses to a fund they created and force you to pay more.
Thanks to Trustee Kathleen Lorenz for bringing it up, Just hit play:
these robber barons know the surfs are clueless to them and there dastardly deeds .. i wish there were more accountability and honesty , instead of shifting shiftiness
Well, good luck with that. Just heard from a co-worker who’s husband works at State Farm. They just announced today that 1100 new layoffs are coming in her husband’s department.
I find it somewhat amusing that both the Town and City blame the State for the City’s revenue shortfall because the State is charging them administrative fees to distribute the tax revenue owed the City. The Town and City are doing the exact same thing to the Enterprise Funds which result in the Fund shortfall. Either ignorant or hypocritical?!?
When will these elected officials recognize that everything the City owns, including the Council chambers and chairs they sit on, are a result of the taxes and fees paid by the residents? They claim the residents should shoulder the burden for the services provided.
THE CITIZENS ALREADY SHOULDER THE BURDEN FOR EVERYTHING!
Well said #paws
“That’s a different pile of money” has to be one of my most favourite political sound bytes. Hahaha!
Portillos WILL save us! But only if we ride our bicycles or drive an electric car there!
Just DODGE the craters in the streets…