By: Diane Benjamin
Bills and Payroll:
https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=22497
Indoctrination camps, the Illinois Municipal League represents cities, not taxpayers:
The Coliseum continues to bleed taxpayers:
This is year THREE for the Small Business Development Center. Is anybody asking what has been developed? https://blnnews.com/2018/01/03/knuckleheads/
Option 1 (50/50 split): That the Resolution approving the Small Business Development Center funding agreement between the City of Bloomington, Town of Normal, Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council, and Illinois Wesleyan University, in the amount of $9,709 in 2017, $26,068, and $26,068 in 2019, be approved and the Mayor and City Clerk be authorized to prepare the necessary documents.
Donna Boelen was right at the last meeting, the City already spends a fortune for “mental health”. No need for gambling addition funding, sales tax was raised to fund this:
One month of legal fees shipped to Springfield:
https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=22501
Gleason’s raise is on the Consent Agenda! The Council is too chicken to vote individually. It needs to get pulled and discussed, the minutes from the Executive Session will never be released.
Gleason is getting a 3.5% increase to $$191,475.00
Another Liquor store – strip mall a little east of Jewell that already sells alcohol: (Economic Development?)
Regular Agenda
May 14, 2018:
https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=17728
The Council approved preparing a lease, how did it move to SALE?
Video Gaming is back.
popcorn required
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Details, details….we serfs are not supposed to notice such. Sell / lease…….
somebody just trying to slide something thru figuring nobody would notice no doubt.
But seriously the city should not be allowed to sell anything like this below the assessed market value of land surrounding it. It steals from the tax payer as the money collected can be used for paying city expenses and maybe lessen the burden some on the tax payer. Or if they can not get a comparable price and elect to sell then those owning land comparable in the same area should all challenge their real estate assessment land value. If the land is worth 1 dollar in the city sale then …..
….and all of you saying….have a heart and give to charity…..who decides which charity is worthy? Plus when you get down to it giving to charity should only occur at the personal level. We do not need the city forcing us to give to charity by making us pay taxes which they then distribute as they see fit. (Of course they would NEVER do that…..bazinga) Sounds like the United Way, but at least with them they can’t take your possessions by law if you don’t pay.,
WordPress.com / Gravatar.com credentials can be used.
The IWU Small Business Development Center is just another regurgitatated effort of various local SBA programs that have been attempted locally. One will never know what the real value of the program is. The old SBA program used to be staffed by local retired business execs from various fields. The “value” of the program was gauged by how many monthly or yearly appointments they had, never by actual business start-ups or a measured monetary or customer increase of the business assisted. There is nothing on the new website with any information on successes just general listing of services with contacts. As usual, IWU claims the director is a professor, even though she does not have a doctorate degree. IWU’s standard operating procedure for many of their instructors.
Yup. It’s comfortable and “safe” to those in local leadership. There’s nothing coming out of the IWU SBDC, just administrative money for friends of local government and a sense of “we’re doing something” among our so-called leaders. Appointments are a terrible metric. Venture capitalists meet with several 100s of entrepreneurs, maybe even 1000s, and email/read over 1,000s of entrepreneurs during the course of a year. Maybe they’ll do 5 or 7 investments each year. Of those, maybe 1 or 2 of turn out to be a solid investment. What are the odds that the next halfway decent startup goes through the IWU SBDC doors? They need a more appropriate metric. Of course, that would mean showing results. Not sure they have anything worth showing off. There’s also no local private money like venture capitalists, angel investors, or others investing in startups in Bloomington-Normal. Entrepreneurs will relocate if they don’t have access to talent, money, and/or community support.
The SBDC is a joke! They give rah-rah presentations about small businesses and supposedly help “entrepreneurs”, though it’s mostly people starting cupcake shops, dog walking services, homemade jams, or other non-scalable small businesses. Despite touting their “free” services, all or at least nearly all of their events cost money to attend. The SBDC concept on a national level is in part funded to the chapters via a formula that includes how many entrepreneurs take out a loan from the Small Business Administration, a federal government agency. One of the worst things you can do when starting a business is to start with debt. Finally, most of the resources they tout are readily available online. True entrepreneurs are problem solvers and will find this information on their own and through their own networks. Do we really think the next high-tech company is coming through the SBDC? Of course, since it involves government, the elitist leaders of this community, both private and public sectors, who have no idea about business, economic development, or entrepreneurship are in love with the concept.
https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=19874 PDF page 195
The Council voted on Sept 10, 2018, to change from lease to sale of the property near Sunnyside Park
Thanks. Still not sure it’s legal to give away public property. Every non profit will want their share.