By: Diane Benjamin
The video below is Stan Nord making comments at the end of Monday’s meeting. He is followed by Kathleen Lorenz who is distraught about the tone of this meeting. In other words: Shut up Stan. Animosity on the Council is caused by Lorenz’s lecturing Stan while the rest of the Council snickers.
Discourse on the Council is because Trustees refuse to listen to Stan Nord and frequently try to claim he is out of order when he mentions items they deem aren’t related to the agenda item being discussed. The HUGE example from Monday was the $1 lease for the Brady/Davis space. Acting mayor Kevin McCarthy ruled property taxes had nothing to do with the lease agreement on the agenda.
Of course property taxes did since the Town is paying them to shovel more money to the Uptown TIF. It makes the TIF look better while merely redistributing tax dollars to a pot the Town can use to claim Uptown is a rousing success.
Kathleen is VERY difficult to listen to since everything has to be dramatic in her world. She speaks slowly, maybe she thinks that makes her look deliberative. She wants the Council to act like a Board of Directors and stick to policy/direction and stay out of the weeds. In other words: Don’t question staff.
Problem identified Kathleen: Staff runs the town. What Council says is immaterial. Want an example Kathleen?
The Council told the “professional staff” to do something about the ridiculous rent at 1 Uptown Circle. Remember that one Kathy? That was over a year ago, see the note Pam Reece sent to Stan Nord last June in this story: https://blnnews.com/2020/06/12/more-property-taxes-normal-doesnt-owe/
If the Council is the Board of Directors, their “professional staff” is insubordinate since nothing has been done to reduce the $36,000 a month rent a previous Council only passed to get a building to fill a hole in Uptown. What’s the penalty for insubordination Kathy? Salary increases?
Kathy and the rest of the Council had no problem Monday with Parks spending $87,000+ on a vehicle to assist with trash pickup when they STATED they don’t know if it will work, they just want to try it. Nord was vilified for simply asking if a 1 year lease was possible instead. The response was it was a single source and supply was limited, Nord’s motion to table the purchase to investigate didn’t get a second.
Evidently the Council has no problem experimenting with taxpayer money and therein lies the problem. Only Stan Nord cares citizens had to work for their money, the “professional staff” abuses them with the consent of the Council. According to Kathy: Stay out of the weeds Stan, don’t question decisions made by staff.
Kathleen thinks the Council can’t continue as they did Monday. Listen to Nord and Lorenz and decide for yourself which one represents taxpayers:
In addition to Chatty Kathy we have Scott “room service” Preston who according to the Pantycrap is baffled by Stan Nord’s questioning. There you go Normal, Preston is showing his true colors. “Acting mayor” McCarthy is soon to be the appointed mayor when Koos steps down if he doesn’t die first and Preston is setting himself up as the replacement for Dan Brady when he retires. Isn’t local politics a great show, especially with the Normal elite. They make me vomit.
Keep in mind Lorenz and Preston are examples of Republican representatives.
Mrs. Benjamin, I don’t know why you bother with the Clown Circus that is the Koos Administration and Town of Normal. The Town voters elected and approved a continuation of this Clown Circus in April. As much as you try to inform and educate Town of Normal residents, you simply can not fix stupid. But, good luck with any continued efforts.
Few people bothered to vote, it’s up to readers to get those numbers up with facts
Ms. Benjamin needs to keep on going with the truth.
Exactly right. Chances are nothing changes because the locals are fine with the status quo no matter how terrible it is. When you have a majority of people in this town working at jobs where they are totally unaccountable and moving up in the world depends on who you know rather than what you know and a work ethic, this is what you get in local government, service, etc. Instead of voting at the booth vote with your feet. There are numerous better places to live than BN/McLean County where its best days are in the rear view mirror.
If town wants to lease property $2 / year to our state reps, fine, but I don’t get why anyone would refuse to lessen the financial burden on taxpayers?
As far as relevancy…because of who is leasing the space IS the justification for the property tax exemption….Therefore the property taxes are relevant. Nord was right.