By: Diane Benjamin
Below are 3 charts from financial statements. The first one is BNWRD, then Bloomington, then Normal. All 3 show Per Capita Income obtained from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. If you’ve never heard of that office, it was founded by a Republican: Richard Nixon. Home page: https://www.bea.gov/
Look close at the reports. BNWRD and Normal report through 2023. Bloomington stops at 2021 even though all 3 used the same source. Why is that? The BNWRD chart shows a decline in Per Capita Income beginning where Bloomington didn’t report.
Below the 3 charts is a screen shot of an Excel spreadsheet from the BEA website. It shows Per Capita Income in Bloomington dropped. Would it have been harder to raise water rates if the Council had real data? Harder to raise property taxes? (Just asking)
The BNWRD chart shows a large drop since 2019. Their Per Capita Income is also much lower than what Bloomington and Normal report even though the area BNWRD serves is mostly Bloomington-Normal. Something is fishy. Of course explanations will not be provided. This is something that needs watched!
Bloomington: PDF page 189 https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showdocument?id=29768&t=638343020405529919
Note: Bloomington used data through 2021, BNWRD and Normal used through 2023.
Normal: PDF page 217 https://www.normalil.gov/DocumentCenter/View/23148/Annual-Comprehensive-Financial-Report-23-FINAL-DOC
https://www.bea.gov/news/2023/personal-income-county-and-metropolitan-area-2022
Chart of McLean County: https://tinyurl.com/McLeanCntyStats
Why is this surprising? The word has been out for years! The tax burdens for households and small to medium sized businesses are onerous and counterproductive in terms of sustainable economic development. Simply put, it’s become far easier to live and invest in other cities and states. These are barriers that government should be eliminating, not building upon.