By: Diane Benjamin

This payment was approved at last Monday’s Bloomington City Council meeting:

If you still don’t understand what Accelerated IMRF Payments are:

SOME Bloomington employees are still allowed to SPIKE their pensions. Sick Days (possibly others too) are accumulated and then the employee is compensated for unused days when they retire. That compensation is paid at whatever their final salary was which is likely the highest rate of their tenure.

Pension contributions during their time with the City aren’t sufficient to cover their higher pension, so IMRF bills the City for the additional amount needed to pay the higher pension.

The already ridiculous pensions no one in the private ever sees, are even higher because government employees get special benefits. Citizens get the bill.

IMRF is the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. This fund won’t have a problem funding pensions in the future because they don’t mess around with funding. Bloomington Police and Fire employee pensions aren’t nearly as well funded.

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This note is in Book 2 of the proposed budget:

Book one still mentions Grossinger 3 times. Is the name still on the building? No other sponsors can be found who want their name on the building? Locals will continue to call it the Coliseum, Bloomington Arena is lame.

This is from the budget – Book 1. $344,522 + $2,064,217 = $2,408,739 is expected to be transferred out of the Arena Enterprise Fund. The City will then put $1,726,365 back in the Enterprise Fund. PDF page 111: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showdocument?id=32393&t=639086455716871107

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$1,726,365 is the taxpayer subsidy.

The building will finally be paid off by 2036!

PDF page 58 – Book 2: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showdocument?id=32395&t=639086455729878079