By: Diane Benjamin
Yesterday a Meet and Greet was held for the three remaining Bloomington City Manager candidates. The paper failed to report a crowd was expected but didn’t show up. The below is from reports by two people who did attend. Citizens can vote for their choice at a link below.
People who did attend:
Six reporters, various City staff, 6 of 9 Aldermen (Sage, Painter absent), Tari, Jesse Smart, Kathleen Lorenz (Normal Trustee), the usual downtown supporters, 3 regular watchdogs for a total of around 50. Two hundred were expected. Cookies and drinks were provided, but few were consumed.
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My notes based on research:
- Decatur has SEVEN TIF districts. The 2018 budget didn’t balance by (6,567,823)
- See PDF pages 5 and 6 https://www.decaturil.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/2018-budget-consolidation-FINAL-council-approved-12-4-2017.pdf
- The budget is presented by Fund Balance, so it’s difficult to dissect. PDF Page 7 shows the General fund has a deficit balance of (3,195,000)
Bloomington already has a spending problem, Tim Gleason hasn’t proven he can balance a budget.
- Washington Il has a total budget of $31.7 million. http://ci.washington.il.us/department/index.php?structureid=15
- Bloomington’s is over $200 million.
- Washington’s population is 16,566 – same link as above
Jim Culotta doesn’t have the experience to manage a much larger budget for a City with MANY more people.
The Decatur City Manager was the City Manager in Washington. It’s a small, small world.
All three candidates are working in Illinois! I wonder if no candidates applied from successful states with successful cities.
The Council in Joliet wasn’t told about Hales involvement with the Coliseum prosecution before they hired him. What doesn’t Bloomington’s Council know about the other candidates? They know Steve, I wonder who was behind looking for somebody else. The rumor is Tari.
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The Pantagraph reports none of this. They give glowing evaluations of the outside candidates and say very little of Rassmussen’s accomplishment of trying to fill a multimillion dollar budget gap. Steve has been working in Hales’ shadow—under Hales’ thumb—since 2014. It is only since November—7 months—that Steve has been in the position of Manager. He continues to function as Assistant Manager as well.
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What time was this party held? How well was it advertised or was it by invitation only? There are several involved citizens who were not aware. The Mayor and Council can now claim that the citizens chose the manager. BS!!
Don’t know, did you know about this? http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=17882
They questions are rhetorical. I would guess the Special Meeting was for the Council to meet the candidates. Public comment @ 8:30 am on Tuesday—Meet & Greet @ 5:00 pm. Really convenient for those who have to be at work.
Steve has my vote. I believe he’s done a good job, and will continue to do so.
The other two, I have issues with, which were mentioned above.
@mittenpaws – that’s right plebs, stay over time and make more taxes, we the city government needs more tax money from you,,,we’ll figure how to spend your money,,,move along now, Tari.
A little bird from Decatur told me the Decatur guy is horrendous – I told her he will likely be a shoo-in here then.