By: Diane Benjamin
The Bloomington City Council is meeting Monday night. The ICE hater s will be out in force because Donna Boelen’s council initiative is on the agenda. The far left doesn’t think laws are material to any conversation. http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1098&Inline=True
At last Monday’s meeting the City auditor stated Bloomington is paying more than necessary into pension funds.
Not according to this story: https://wirepoints.org/will-covid-19-lead-to-pension-intercepts-and-cuts-to-core-city-services-across-illinois-wirepoints-special–report/
To see how Bloomington and Normal stand funding pensions, click on this link in the story: Click here for the full list of city contribution surplus/shortfalls to local public safety funds in 2019.
Since the chart is microscopic, I reproduced both for you:
Both the Bloomington Police and Firefighter pension funds show a funding shortfall. These numbers had to come from the State, I wonder where the auditor got his?
Even though Bloomington is more than $800,000 behind, they are in better shape than Normal:
This report shows Normal over $1.5 million behind in funding police and fire pensions.
If the Police pension funding keeps falling the state will just seize money to fund it. Read the original link.
This report is from long before any recent crashes. It is for FY 2019 which means it was for the State year ending 6/30/2019. The Bloomington auditor was reporting on financial statements for the period that ended 4/30/2020.
More current numbers would be nice, the State of Illinois evidently doesn’t have any. Didn’t Normal short pension funding last year so they could hire a communications person? Is is worse now?
Bloomington reported as of 4/30/2020 Police pensions are 52.6% funded. Fire is 50.1% funded.
Normal reported as of 3/31/2020 Police pensions are 43.1% funded. Fire is 47.2% funded.
Experts have claimed once funding is below 50% the fund can not recover. Both municipalities have little hope of reaching 100% funding by 2040.
How far behind are the pension payments for the real decision makers, the professional staff? I bet they have let the pensions of those who put their lives on the line lapse while theirs is almost fully funded.
Theirs are fine, what does that tell you?
So first responders don’t come first. Pencil pushers to the head of the line!!!
Different pension plans. The city staff’s plan is with IMRF. Public safety has a single payer plan through the State.
If I were a police officer, I’d be ticketing Koos and Renner for everything i can think of to get more cash in the kitty to help get those pensions caught up. Oh but it’s a just a drop in the bucket but you gotta start somewhere.
Of course the funding levels are much worse than what these numbers show. What’s shown is before COVID. This is all part of JB’s strategy. In fact, it’s already in the works. He’s looking to the federal government to make pension payments for Illinois by making the case that Illinois has been especially hard hit by COVID. So here we sit in tier three, with no sign of getting out anytime soon. Meanwhile local governments like Bloomington and Normal are trying their best to draft ordinances to throw their support to JB, hoping that his handout from the federal government trickles down to them. With Trump out of the White House and Sen. Dickie Poo in senate leadership, JB just might get what he wants.
And you’re being told this is all about public health and protecting human life. Yea right! From JB Pritzker, no less, who vowed to make Illinois the most progressive abortion state in the nation.
just lookin for someone to blame.
Discussion on Welcoming America –
If you have about an hour you should skim through Welcoming America’s website. Especially the part about being certified as a Welcoming America community. Looks like a full-time position or two will be needed as the tentacles of the certification reach every area of local government and the community. Reminds me of becoming certified for ISO 9000. Anyone that has been involved in that know the massive amount of manhours required. If the intention of our council is not to move to certification, I don’t know what the purpose would be.
The requirements include specifics in –
1. Government Leadership
2. Civic Engagement
3. Equitable Access
4. Connected Communities
5. Education
6. Economic Development
7. Safe Communities
Then of course you can progress to Welcoming International, Welcoming Refugees and of course Welcoming Cities as part of or as further goals that are connected to Welcoming America.
https://certifiedwelcoming.org/
The idea of control is big in these Welcoming initiatives just as it is in the “never let a Covid crisis go to waste” initiative.
All personal values will be superseded by the government for the good of the collective. You can no longer just say “welcome to our city my friend”, your government will represent, express and incorporate your values for you. And if you don’t agree with letting government have that much control or disagree with add-on values that are included, you will be singled out and no longer welcomed here my friend.
The pensions will get funded and to do it every fee, tax, and expense will continue to skyrocket to cover it under the guise the funds will be used to cover the reason (roads, water). Then each year they’ll look at the list and find the oldest increase and pick that one again.
Eventually all those receiving unsustainable retirement plans will be off the books – either 40+ years from now or once the percentage of public pensioners is minor enough that the state changes the constitution.