By: Diane Benjamin

The City of Bloomington is looking for Revenue Enhancements. Cute words that mean they need more of your money. It’s hilarious that government has their own language so you don’t notice what is being done to you.

The same government that built a never used fire station and a never used water tower wants you to trust them to spend hundred of millions on the water system because Flint Michigan officials screwed up and poisoned people with lead in their water. Evidently unelected bureaucrats in DC are issuing new regulations for the entire country. Meanwhile even newer neighborhoods experience water main breaks when it isn’t cold – know anyone who lives in Laesch acres? (less than 40 years old) Why was Airport Road by Hawthorne Hills recently subject to large holes for what appeared to be water main work? Those pipes shouldn’t have qualified as aging infrastructure. It’s really hard to “catch up” replacing old infrastructure when newer pipes need replaced too.

Besides voting to raise your water rates OVER 100% in the next 3 years, your sewer, storm water, and solid waste will increase more than 3% every year because those will be tied to the Consumer Price Index. Only Alderman Montney and Lee voted no. Discussion was limited because YOUR government sets time limits for discussion, there was one vote to extend discussion for 5 whole minutes. Mayor Mwilambwe INTERRUPTED Sheila Montney to vote on extending time. He didn’t want her to speak, likely because their 3 on 1 meetings with the City Manager already made her position clear. He didn’t want you to know.

Sheila Montney participated by phone, just hit play to hear some of her comments. She had more before this point in the video. The presentation made by the 2 month employeed Water Director hired from Washington Il isn’t very exciting, the limited council comments are. They prove the City is creating lots of “savings accounts” so they don’t have to borrow money in the future. The citizens of Bloomington are being made responsible for funding those savings. Every fee/tax will be more expensive in the future, your representatives never have to vote on those increases. If the City had a history of responsible spending the increases would be easier to swallow. Since their history is being stupid, like building a non-ADA compliant arena, citizens have no reason to be confident. If you forgot, the City was forced to add an elevator outside the building by the Illinois Attorney General.

Remember how taxes you already pay use to fund garbage? The City wants every essential service funded the same way so they can Think Big with other money. (downtown)