By: Diane Benjamin
Make sure you read to the bottom!
http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1069&Inline=True
Monday there is an ordinance up for approval to prorate refunds paid for video gaming licenses since these businesses are closed. See PDF page 374. Anybody else hold a license you can’t use? Demand a refund too, equality supposedly matters.
PDF page 372 has this statement:
Normal thinks all bills are approved in the budget and therefore are not up for discussion at meetings. See the difference between tyranny and transparency?
On the consent agenda is a ton of infrastructure and equipment spending. One item is being delayed – planting trees. See the items on PDF pages 5 & 6.
Since the budget for next year has already been passed, the council won’t be wasting time on it. Instead they will hear the current facts as to the status of assistance for those affected by COVID-19.
First up are Patrick Hoban, CEO of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council and Camille Rodriguez, McLean County Administrator.
Next is Karen Zangerle, Executive Director of PATH followed by Phani Aytam, Chairman, United Way Board; and David Taylor, Executive Director, United Way.
These are all people that need to be heard before the City contemplates handing your money over as requested by Jeff Crabill.
If a local emergency exists, why did this meeting take so long to organize?
Evidently the Mayor plans on violating quarantine: PDF page 98: https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=24372
Maybe the Sister Cities trip has been cancelled. I wonder who was going with him? I wonder if he ever got a refund for missing One Voice? Is this cost being refunded?
The One Voice bills are in addition to those previously posted.
Renner’s comments on the stay-at-home extension by Chicago Chubby give a realistic example on how his mind works. He basically said the city could get through it because of reserves and Bloomington was in solid financial shape versus other state municipalities. Nothing about how it would effect businesses, people out of work or future taxes. The guy might have a grade school understanding of how an economy functions.
Article in today’s Pantycrap about Normal going through on a matching grant, $20,000, I believe, on a tree inventory.
What a lineup! I’m sure Patrick Hoban will take a victory lap for Rivian and Brandt making their benchmarks for incentives. Of course, they’ll be no reference to the surplus of automobiles and the sharp decline in consumer demand. Also, I’m sure he won’t bring up the negative disproportionate economic impact to BN, given it has the highest per capita number of restaurants in the U.S. Any proposed solutions would likely be the City (i.e. taxpayers) cutting the EDC a check to figure out what to do. Not to be outdone, it looks like the non-profit industrial complex gets to present as well. I’m sure their donations have plummeted, while needs have increased. That, of course, is sad. While it would be great to help our neighbors, some (not all) local non-profits seem to exist more to serve themselves and their egos. Also, I can’t believe the United Way is still operating in BN.
Diane, have you been following the furloughed city brush collectors situation? I have heard the folks on furlough are being paid while they stay at home. Like the rest of county, I doubt they are staying at home. It seems each crew may rack up an additional 4+ weeks of paid leave with one crew working and one on furlough. When the furlough period ends each of these workers will have several days of unused vacation they will have to take or be paid for.
As I understand it each member of brush crew is either in a dump truck or a huge front end loader. When I see them, they have not been in our neighborhood for at least a month, they is little reason for them to break social distancing rules. Surely there is one smart city management person who can figure out how to get all these working while using social distancing. Maybe they are making a strong case for only needing 1 crew. After all we are becoming accustomed to seeing brush in our neighborhood for weeks on end.
The city needs to be reminded that garbage and refuse collection must pay for itself. When it doesn’t they get cute, they don’t raise taxes, no, they rise our fees. Paying people to stay home because no one currently at city hall can figure this out is not a fee increase citizens should incur. Why don’t the all the folks at city hall who decided this be given a permanent non paid furlough.
It has been reported the city has a 20+ million dollar surplus. Why do we have these enterprise zones with yearly increases? It seems there is enough money without the fees. Did they not demote the Public Works Director who helped usher this one in and the city manager moved on.
Get Outlook for iOS ________________________________
Garbage will increase again automatically it’s theft. The surplus is from over taxation!