By: Diane Benjamin
Bills and Payroll: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=20301
Ending Sick Leave Buy Back and the penalties that go with allowing employees to spike their pensions is not going to end anytime soon. What the Council passed recently was a dog and pony show designed to make you believe they heard your outrage. Monday night you will be paying more:
You work hard for your money so the City can enrich employees with what they steal from you! Taxes are theft, especially when they are misused.
This is one of my favorites:
The Chamber of Commerce wants something so they invite people to view their desires and force them to pay for the privilege:
Have you noticed Tari doesn’t do his “free lunches ” since he lost his PCard?
Doesn’t the change in Renner’s behavior with tax dollars prove all those lunches weren’t City business?
Bloomington City Council for Monday night:
http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=20313
PDF page 320:
Bloomington is anything but business friendly unless you are “right fit”. Keep in mind the council recently decided to license every business and charge them for the privilege.
The new city Manager was well-known in Decatur for raising taxes on everything he could think of. He was hired to do the same thing here. Monday night that continues:
If you want to open a business in Bloomington, a SIX page guide is available: http://www.cityblm.org/home/showdocument?id=16080
It is filled with requirements to stop you if you aren’t the “right fit” and don’t want to hire lawyers, engineers, and architects. You have to use city approved contractors too.
Everyday entrepreneurs on a budget aren’t welcome.
The EVEN number precincts will be elected early next year. The filing deadline is rapidly approaching: November 19-26, 2018
If you are running, time is running out!
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This is NOT transparent AT ALL! Anyone who has an inkling of starting a business, is usually under capitalized, and therefore can’t afford EXTRA expenses like hiring MORE lawyer time, and paying license fees, etc. Then to ADD a packet to follow on top of all that. I wouldn’t open a business here if I knew I had to go through all this mumbo-jumbo! And then IF you’re NOT ‘the right fit” you’re STILL in dutch. And exactly WHAT is the right fit anyway? One UPTOWN? Yeah, that’s a profitable business… Rivian? Portillos, Tell me Tari.. Koos?? Council members??
This is absurd! (I’m sure Tari and his pals will provide exemptions for Downtown or Westside businesses.) At this point, beggars can’t be choosers…we need new employers in BN. State Farm is not growing here and is moving good paying jobs elsewhere. You’d think we would try to incentivize new businesses to start, grow, or relocate here. I heard the Chamber opposed the licensing, but you wouldn’t know it from their silence. Wish they would grow a set and stand up to attacks on the private sector and small businesses in particular.
Exactly, with our two economic drivers being disrupted and in decline, if our leadership had any brains, they would be calling for an “all hands on deck” drive to bring in new businesses to this area. Those who know we are in trouble will not speak out for risk of being excluded from the club and damage their money train. The rest are just clueless and living in an imaginary world that doesn’t exist. While each day the wave of technological disruption is eroding the economic foundation our towns with clock like precision.
There is nothing about either one of these towns that is business friendly. Unless you are willing to kiss the rings (and other things) of the Chamber, you will not be accepted into the club. You must “network” all the time with them at the before hours, after hours and between hours backslapping, glad handing and social media photo op lunches, brunches and dinners while they stuff their faces with expensive food and drinks. I don’t know any young people who want to waste their time talking to a bunch of 20th Century oriented old white people when they could be working on their business and making money. It’s a new world and the “leadership” here (business and city government) is still operating a 1986 imaginary world that exists only in their minds.
“Class “PBP” (Packaged Sales – Beer and Wine, On or Off Premises) primary licenses authorize the retail sale on the specified premises of beer and wine in original packages for consumption on or off the premises where sold. This class of license shall only be available to establishments where the sale of packaged or prepared food is the primary source of revenue for the establishment. This class of license shall not be available for any establishment at which motor vehicle fuels are sold. (Ordinance No. 2018-69)”
This license was created specifically by request of Green Top Grocery. Other liquor licenses have been increasing annually for several years. The recent change in liquor license fees was to pay for police overtime buyback due to downtown bars. The cost of the overtime buyback at the time was estimated at $130,000 annually. It would be interesting to know if the new liquor fees produce excess revenue and what that revenue is used for.
Why don’t the bars provide security?
The bars provide security within their establishments. BPD provide for safety on the sidewalks and streets.
There was much discussion about this 2-3 years ago when Renner/Hales increase the fees. Remember the incident at Denny’s where the young woman sued the City. The disturbance was alcohol-related. Renner claimed the massive increase was justified because of the million dollar lawsuit.