By: Diane Benjamin
Below is another chart from the BNWRD financial statements. Since the source is the Economic Development Council, all local governments have the same information:
Unit 5 has almost 300 more employees now than they had in 2014. That would make sense is they had more students. They don’t!
https://blnnews.com/2023/11/01/unit-5-has-lost-1447-students-since-2016/
For the 2013-2014 school year Unit 5 had 13,550 students. This year Unit 5 has 12,363: https://blnnews.com/2023/11/03/unit-5-enrollment/
914 fewer students, 298 more employees.
Source: The chart above is on PDF page 177. The 2 previous charts are on PDF pages 113 and 176.
Great info Diane!
Just looking at $ that I pulled out of thin air but it gives some kind of perspective.
Not based in any facts just a kind of what if scenario.
298 employees times $40,000 (average yearly salary made up) = $11,920,000/year additional cost.
All the while –
1. Student achievement is embarrassing.
2. Cost per student increases.
3. Education focuses on graduating angry social activists that aren’t college ready.
4. Unit 5 pats themselves on the back after a minor post lockdown academic recovery and declares that it’s because Equity works!
5. Enrollment decreases.
6. Unit 5 employees get pay raises.
7. Tax payers left wondering, how am I going to survive?
The Financial State of Bloomington/Normal 1991-2011
By Victor Connor
My research clearly shows that the financial burden of our Twin Cities is not sustainable. Bloomington and Normal local governments are making it almost impossible for the poorer half of the people to afford to live here and it’s getting worse.
Most people complain about property taxes, but that is now a small part of a home owner’s share of the total cost of local government. Adjusted for inflation, property taxes for home owners have gone up 37% in the twenty year period of 1991 to 2011. At the same time, the remaining local government costs in Bloomington went up 190% and for Normal it went up 130%. These numbers are both adjusted for inflation and population growth. What makes this particularly bad is that the percent increase of the median worker during those twenty years has gone up only 4%.
4%!
What this means for a Bloomington family of four with both parents working owning a modest $154,000 home and making two median salaries is as follows and all amounts are adjusted to 2011 dollars:
1991 2011
Income in 2011 dollars $51,900 $54,100
BLM govt. costs $3,450 $10,560
Property tax $2,660 $3,660
% local govt. costs 12% 26%
And for a Normal family of four it is
1991 2011
Income in 2011 dollars $51,900 $54,100
NOR govt. costs $3,540 $8,510
Property tax $2,660 $3,660
% local govt. costs 12% 23%
But this isn’t the total amount of taxes citizens pay. For that, you’d have to add about 20% for state and federal taxes. Thus, in 2011, the respective shares of government costs paid by citizens for the above families of four would be about 46% of their income for Bloomington citizens and 43% or their income for Normal citizens.
Now the above is for the median salaries, which in 2011 was $27,050. Some may say this is not realistic because there are hundreds of State Farmers who make $100,000 per year or more which is true, but there are a lot more retired people, children, cashiers, store clerks, waiters, cooks, roofers, yard workers, babysitters, etc who make less than $27,050. I’ve met dozens of people going door to door who told me they are going to have to leave Normal because they can’t afford to pay the increase in property taxes, when, in fact, they are getting much more hurt from skyrocketing town taxes, fees, fines, etc.
For instance, the biggest single source of income now for Normal is the 1.5% added sales tax. It now brings in over $10,000,000 per year. That tax did not exist in 1987. WJBC and the Pantagraph state that things are great in the town of Normal because they are in the black, which is true. WJBC and the Pantagraph do not tell you that the town of Normal is constantly raising the rate of taxation, adding new taxes, adding new fees, increasing the amount of taxes, increasing the amount of fees, adding new fines, etc. every year. So yes, they are in the black because they are taking more and more from us!
The question needs to be asked, why are Bloomington and Normal governments so inefficient? Why do they have to charge far more than they did twenty years ago? Are they unable to learn from what they’ve done and become better?
Unfortunately, their inept and inefficient ways are continuing. The next twenty years will crush over half the citizens of Bloomington and Normal, unless we have meaningful change.
The above data comes from four government sources: the Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports for Bloomington and Normal, the Five Year Budget planning documents of Bloomington and Normal, the US Census Bureau reports and talking to the county tax office personnel. The raw data is attached in an Excel spreadsheet.
Stay tuned for today’s story! Same theme with proof!
Thanks Vic!
You have to wonder what these Bloomington, Normal and McLean County officials will think of themselves when they come to the end of their careers and face retirement on a fixed income. Will they be able to accept what they’ve destroyed. Will they be able to face their peers?
Will they even live here then? I doubt it.
They aren’t on fixed incomes! Pensions increase every year. In 10 years they make as much as they did working. They get social security too.
All Government employees receive a 3% annual increase in their pension. Since almost all retire earlier than in the private sector with full benefits, most receive more income in retirement than they were paid by the government entity for which they worked. I have yet to meet any private sector employee who has their pension increased ever. The total lifetime income of government employees greatly exceeds that of a private sector employee that was paid similarly while employed.