By: Diane Benjamin
This meeting lasted almost 1 1/2 hours, 4 people spoke at Public Comment.
Mayor Mboka always reads a prepared statement before public comment. That statement is incorrect. Public Comment isn’t for the Council, it is for citizens. The Council regardly ignores what citizens say, that happened again last night via Mollie Ward. More on that in Part 2. Citizens find out other people think like they do or that some people don’t. (in Normal citizens are intimated not to speak)
The first video below has a clip of the mayor’s statement and the first two comments. The first lady (Jackie Beyer) mentioned the failed gun safe giveaway and asked if the City would be responsible for rusty guns. She also asked if the grant that paid for them is in jeopardy since they aren’t gun safes. Yesterday the MSM finally reported the fiasco after the police department issued a statement admitting the safes aren’t for guns. Of course she got no response to her questions. She also mentioned the Council pay is ridiculously low. Since they can’t raise their own pay all they can do is increase it for anyone elected in two years.
The second speaker was Tom Kirk. The Council NEEDS to listen to him since he is a local developer and entrepreneur. He plans to attend every meeting for a year. Tom makes it very clear he must decide if investing in Bloomington is worth it since the labor unions are demanding prevailing wage for receiving any project rebates from the City. He mentions 3 Council members voted against his interests and the interests of the vast majority of citizens. He also states the labor unions are a business and preferential treatment should not be given to any business.
A clip of Tim Gleason is also below. He plans to survey developers, the business community, and labor to hear their thoughts on mandating prevailing wage. He will hear the exact same opinions from them as he heard from Tom Kirk but he will waste time anyway.
The City has choices:
- Quit giving rebates/incentives so prevailing wage isn’t an issue
- Realize government can not tell private developers who to hire even with rebates
- Go full communist and demand prevailing wage and end all investments in Bloomington
They do not understand Kirks business logic. Nor will they even try. Regardless if they could or wanted to it would go against their fundamental programming as progressive socialists to view capitalism as positive and constructive. Let alone keep the government bureaucracy/regulations out of it in capacity.
Folks voted, those who bothered, for their own destruction
Yes they sure did. I’m reminded everyday.