By: Diane Benjamin
Documentation for the 7:00 pm meeting is 648 pages: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=16030
The 5:00 pm meeting is only 35 pages: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=16026
This item is on the agenda for discussion at the 5:00 meeting:
Another City employee complete with benefits and pension!
Then it gets funny because approval is on the Consent Agenda for the 7:00 meeting:
A FIVE year agreement ties the hands of future councils with more non-essential spending.
What if the Council says NO at 5:00 pm? Roads can’t be fixed, but more downtown employees are hired. Mental Health intervention should be mandatory!
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Remember the Wire Transfer for buying property?
It looks like the city paid cash for parking lots and now want to finance the purchase.
It’s almost like Bloomington doesn’t believe economic conditions are spiraling down! This item is on the Consent Agenda meaning no discussion.
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Bloomington is holding:
PUBLIC HEARING AGENDA ITEM NO. 8A
FY 2019 Proposed Budget
The budget isn’t final as evidenced by the workshop Saturday but they are holding a hearing.
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The Towanda-Barnes/Ireland Grove Intersection is back:
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Approval of the minutes from February 12, 2018 pulled from approval at the last meeting is NOT on the agenda. Alderman Bray pulled them for not accurately reflecting the Renner kerfuffle. Details: https://blnnews.com/2018/02/13/when-it-happens-to-you/
Is somebody afraid to put in writing what actually happened?
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The Consent Agenda has 23 items listed. Spending without discussion – except the Farnsworth items Alderman Buragas will need to recuse herself from.
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WAIT A MINUTE, look what just caught my eye:
“Strategic Plan Link: 1) Financially Sound City Providing Quality Basic Services”
How in the shell does this fit any part of the agenda we’ve seen this mayor and his minions on the council ever pursue or achieve? If the demoncrats “deceive to achieve” mantra and actions weren’t so blatant and disgusting I might have to laugh.
Stealing $$ from the cookie jar (Reserve Fund) requires special creative financing to repay the account thereby making the City Financially Sound.
All of the agenda items include that “Strategic Link.”
But the city is not financially sound.
When has it become standard practice to have a private citizen representing a not-for-profit allocated 15 minutes for a presentation to solicit funding in the form of a full time City employee to do fundraising? Ms. Tilton is being given that privilege when others are not.
The City Council thinks that the Downtown is the center of the Bloomington economy and bows to the old hens. If you’re in Downtown, our city government thinks you are inherently superior to all other business owners, citizens, and organizations in Bloomington. Of course, as more businesses leave, all that will be left is a centrally planned,quasi-government downtown. The City Council is not minding the rest of the store, which is to say, all of Bloomington except Downtown. Where are the priorities?! Any talk about pro-business policies or cutting bureaucratic licensing processes to drive new and continued private sector investment in Bloomington to balance the losses from State Farm? Of course not! We prefer instead to talk about the BCPA because that’s where the “cultured” and “beautiful people” go. Why hire someone anyway, Ms Tilton is probably just going to tell that person what to do. Seems to be her M.O.
I’m just gonna watch, I don’t even know where to start, but I KNOW how these people operate, and it’s not pretty. (seems most here know as well)
I thought we already hired a Manager for the BCPA? Who are members of the ‘Friends of BCPA’? Are they an actual entity that qualifies for an MOU? How can the city just create a position – doesn’t the city have a list of FTE’s whose roles are included in a budget and if they want to add a new role doesn’t that have to be approved and budgeted for long before someone is hired? This city doesn’t seem to be run very well at all. Maybe an outside audit of the city finances is needed.
This person would be a fundraiser for the BCPA and the Creativity Center.
Seems the “Friends of the BCPA” s*ck at their stated mission of raising funds and awareness for the BCPA. So hey, why not stick taxpayers with the tab. It worked for the Downtown Business Association, right Trish?