By: Diane Benjamin Luckily IMRF actually cares about transparency. Yesterday I filed a request for all the Accelerated Payments charged to the City of Bloomington because they are to chicken to change the Sick Leave Buy Back policy. Instead of the precious government employees being told the golden goose got cooked, employees are told it’s […]
By: Diane Benjamin See Bills and Payroll for Monday night – the LAST page: http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=242&parent=9535 Remember how Bloomington was exposed in the Chicago Tribune paying massive penalties for allowing employees to SPIKE their pensions? http://blnnews.com/2015/08/26/imrf-what-did-hales-know-and-when/ Remember when the Budget Task Force recommended fixing the problem but never did? Well, it just cost you another $122,735.32! […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari Renner and David Hales love to tout the greatness of the Illinois Municipal League. From the IML website: The Illinois Municipal League is the formal voice for Illinois municipalities. The League was founded in 1913 and has worked continuously for the benefit of municipalities, promoting competence and integrity in administration of […]
By: Diane Benjamin A long string of local golfers took the mic last night to sing the praises of the City employees managing the three Golf Course. They urged the Council to pass the ordinance stating they were dropping any investigation of privatizing or selling any of the courses. Yes, David Sage – the Budget […]
By: Diane Benjamin Evidently Steve Vogel’s god is Santa Claus. Today in the Pantagraph, Stevie is asking Santa not to wait until next Christmas to grant a long list of progressive requests. Hide the children: Sorry Steve, Santa Claus isn’t real. Still believing in Santa must be why Steve thinks “Gun Free Zone” signs magically […]
By: Diane Benjamin A Work Session was held before the Council meeting. The most remarkable discussion was started by Alderman Fruin. It pertained to employee benefits. Watch his comments starting at 15:30, other people join the conversation, so keep watching. Jim actually stands up for citizens! That’s until he gets to an off-hand comment about […]
By: Diane Benjamin I doubt you noticed, but I haven’t written about last Monday’s Council meeting. I still can’t convey the outrage I feel properly, but I will give it a shot. A number of items shocked me, it’s hard to believe the people claiming to represent you didn’t just immigrate from a communist country. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Oh, I forgot the Pantagraph doesn’t do investigative reporting. Printing ridiculous statements from Tari Renner and David Hales is better? For who? Your bottom line? The story today proves the Pantagraph is the last place to get news! David Hales claims to have investigated the accelerated payments problem for Sick Leave Buy […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington residents: Have you looked at the address you send water payments to? If you have the misfortune of taking a trip in an ambulance, and get billed for it – where does that payment go? Remember yesterday’s story about ISU? http://blnnews.com/2015/10/21/isu-destroying-free/ What do they all have in common? Illinois discourages business! […]
By: Diane Benjamin Monday night the Bloomington City Council will hear a proposal from David Bentley. He wants to turn the Pantagraph building into a boutique hotel. Tari Renner discussed the idea Tuesday on WGLT: http://wglt.org/post/bloomington-mayor-cautious-about-potential-developer City Manager David Hales mentioned at the last Council meeting Jeff Giebelhausen would also make a presentation. (http://blnnews.com/2015/10/13/next-monday-your-destruction-continues/) We […]
By: Diane Benjamin While I rarely ever agree with ANYTHING the Town of Normal does, they are light-years ahead of Bloomington on transparency. A lot of information is on their website, citizens just need to look for it. See this report, it is issued every year: http://www.normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/6662 This Financial Trends and Conditions report covers 4/1/2014 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Even though Bloomington’s Springfield attorney (Jeff Jurgens) knew on August 24th that stopping pensions spiking wasn’t a violation of the Illinois Constitution, the policy still hasn’t been changed. See his email and IMRF response here: http://blnnews.com/2015/09/18/who-knew-and-did-nothing-imrf/ The agenda for Monday is on-line, nothing about stopping the rip off of taxpayers that is […]
By: Diane Benjamin The below are from a big pile of information I received from IMRF under the Freedom of Information Act. They all pertain to pensions spiking that David Hales allowed to keep happening and is still allowed today. Remember this when your taxes get raised Monday! I may be posting more, I haven’t […]
How did I forget? 5 years ago Tari, Bloomington wasn’t sending around $50,000 PER MONTH to Springfield for legal! By: Diane Benjamin Renner on WJBC: http://cdn.stationcaster.com/stations/wjbc/media/mpeg/Tari_Renner__Bloomington_mayor-1442412227.mp3 Renner on WGLT: http://wglt.org/wireready/news/2015/09/01831_09-15Renner_070330.shtml Tari Renner: We aren’t doing anything today that we weren’t doing 5 years ago. Inflation is causing the need for tax increases. 5 years ago […]
By: Diane Benjamin David Hales gives frequent interviews on WJBC, I’ve posted links to many of them. I remember one of his lines about the budget – but I’m not going to re-listen to find it. He claimed any cuts to the budget now are cuts to “muscle”, not fat. Of course he was lying […]
By: Diane Benjamin If the citizens knew David Hales threw away more than $1.2 million tax dollars on spiked pensions The Council NEVER approved the IMRF payments because they were never on Bills and Payroll Monday the Council will approve over $50,000,000 already spent without Council approval Coliseum management isn’t held accountable by David Hales […]
By: Diane Benjamin From Bills and Payroll to be approved Monday night: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=9118 Contracted and Purchased Legal: CLARK BAIRD SMITH LLP CHECK TOTAL 15,122.10. ANCEL GLINK DIAMOND BU CHECK TOTAL 750.00 HEYL ROYSTER VOELKER & CHECK TOTAL 675.00 HINSHAW & CULBERTSON L CHECK TOTAL 2,340.00 MEYER CAPEL A PROFESSI CHECK TOTAL 587.50 SORLING NORTHRUP HANNA […]
By: Diane Benjamin Nobody gets fired. David Hales isn’t held responsible. It was just an accident that Wire Transfers weren’t brought to the Council for approval for YEARS. Nobody’s fault, just slipped through the cracks. Monday night THIS Council is asked to approve Wire Transfers from 2013, 2014, and 2015. They all weren’t members of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Why has the media NOT reported truthfully on the City of Bloomington’s waste of $1.2 Million? Pantagraph? WJBC? Cities? WGLT? Maybe they interviewed Hales or Renner, but they wouldn’t be getting truth! If you clicked on the link to IMRF in this post: http://blnnews.com/2015/09/10/proof-they-lied/ you can get to their page showing FOIA […]
By: Diane Benjamin Another taxpayer asked IMRF for information about the City of Bloomington’s policy allowing pensions spiking. Remember this cost you more than $1.2 MILLION dollars. See the email below FROM IMRF. The RED and BLUE are from me. From: John Krupa <jkrupa@imrf.org> To: (redacted) Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2015 10:53 AM Subject: […]
By: Diane Benjamin Obviously the LAWYER on the Bloomington City Council believes David Hales instead of looking at the facts. Amelia stated this during the last Council meeting, I had hopes you would figure out the truth by now. No such luck. She sent the following email to a Bloomington resident this morning: (mis-spelled words […]
By: Diane Benjamin Just to make this perfectly clear: David Hales could have avoided spending $1.2 Million + JUST by changing when employees got their accumulated sick days pay. If they had been paid the day they left City employment, their pensions would not have been spiked and therefore IMRF would NOT have sent them […]
By: Diane Benjamin The David Hales saga continues, make sure you read this story first: http://blnnews.com/2015/09/08/what-did-hales-know-plenty/ From the City of Bloomington website: http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=262 (b) The Council shall approve for payment all expenses and liabilities of the City of Bloomington. Seem pretty clear to you? Need a definition of “shall”? http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shall (directive, mandatory, expected) The City […]
By: Diane Benjamin A LOT more information on pensions spiking is coming. Citizens deserve better than Bloomington throwing away $1.2 Million when it could have been avoided. This won’t be the last post, but I have to lay out what I know slowly so you can understand the facts. First, let’s review. For DECADES employees […]
By: Diane Benjamin It should be more than obvious the City calls the Pantagraph to do a story when they know they are in trouble. Today there were 2 printed about spiking pensions. Gee, I wonder if citizens are upset?!? Taxes are about to be raised because you exist only to be abused by government, […]
By: Diane Benjamin In the continuing quest by the Pantagraph to prove yet again they are not real media: Today they CHEERED Bloomington and Normal for working to stopp pension spiking! WOW! Why didn’t they include how great it is that Normal WASTED $29,939.10 and Bloomington THREW away $1,215,177.70 before being exposed by the Chicago […]
By: Diane Benjamin I emailed with the reporter of the Chicago Tribune story today. Without him, you never would have known the City was allowing you to be ripped off. Joe Mahr gave me a little more history of spiking. The law disallowing employees to spike their salary in the final 3 months of employment […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this post from yesterday: http://blnnews.com/2015/08/26/imrf-what-did-hales-know-and-when/ David Hales could have stopped this insanity in 2012. $1,216,177.70 of Bloomington taxpayer dollars would not have disappeared if employees and David Hales had any ethics. All that needed to be done is this: Employees get their accumulated sick leave pay THE DAY THEY LEAVE CITY […]
By: Diane Benjamin Only the Hales supporters on the City Council don’t understand that low employee morale at the City of Bloomington if David Hales’ fault. Employees have been stripped in essential areas while Hales’ staff has ballooned. Employees are forced to document everything they do so Hales can measure results. Much time is wasted […]
By: Diane Benjamin Probably knowing he was getting the blame, David Hales called into WJBC this morning to discuss the sick leave payouts. He claimed that except for Police and Fire. all new employees don’t get that benefit anymore. He blamed past Councils for not taking action. I guess he still hasn’t figured out the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Renner was on WJBC yesterday with Scott Laughlin. You don’t need to listen to the whole discussion, just the last 30 seconds. http://cdn.stationcaster.com/stations/wjbc/media/mpeg/Mayor_Tari_Renner-1439933912.mp3 The topic was the fine paid by Bloomington taxpayers when Emily Bell spiked her pension with accumulated sick days. Renner and the Council were “shocked” according to Tari when […]
. By: Diane Benjamin An anonymous editorial today must have been a reprint. Maybe the bird-cage liner can’t think of new things to print. The blurb laments local school districts costing taxpayers money by bumping some salaries of teachers and administrators right before retirement so their pensions are higher. They even spell out how much […]
By: Diane Benjamin I found this chart in the 2012 Bloomington Budget: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=2018 Page 114 Since the City of Bloomington can’t print money, expenditures should have been close to revenue. I do remember they got into trouble by dipping into reserves though. I wonder where that “recession” that caused the City to slash jobs was? […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday I wrote about the exchange at Monday night’s Council meeting between Alderman Lower and Public Works Director Jim Karch. Numbers to fix the roads were revealed, much higher than the current budget. http://blnnews.com/2015/05/12/13-7m-9-5m-what-tari-didnt-want-to-hear/ Karch referenced a report on the City website, I looked for it. I couldn’t find it, so I emailed Jim. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Does anybody else laugh at the New York state commercials? You know, the ones promising new businesses will pay no taxes for 10 years if they move or start a business in New York. Evidently Democrats (NY is run by Democrats) really do know low taxes increase economic activity and create jobs. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday Joni Painter was interviewed on WJBC. Besides saying the City should go ahead and raise garbage fees, she stated that maybe the City should run the Coliseum. The insiders on the Council may have finally realized that Central Illinois Arena Management (CIAM) is a disaster. The City running the Coliseum would […]
Corrected – David Hales budget increases By: Diane Benjamin In honor of the Supreme Court meeting today to decide if the plan passed by the legislature to fix pension is legal: 2014 Total Compensation Report – City of Bloomington http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=6713 Of course the report doesn’t include totals, so here they are: Salary: 37,123,891.83 Overtime: 3,308,160.59 […]
By: Diane Benjamin From 4/28/14 City Council meeting: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=6699 Item 10 E. Discussion of FY 2016 Budget Priorities. Motion by Alderman Fazzini, seconded by Alderman Stearns to lay this item over until the Council’s May 12, 2014 meeting. The April 28th meeting was where the budget was finally approved with tax increases. Renner promptly started […]
By: Diane Benjamin NOBODY has done more to force transparency on government than Adam Andrzejewski (An-Gee-eski) and his Open The Books project. If you aren’t on his email list, you need to be! Click here: http://tinyurl.com/OTB-Email-List Open the Books has compiled a summary for every taxing body in the State of Illinois. The entire list […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington owns many buildings that are deteriorating because maintenance is deferred. The can’t afford what they have now. Properties like the old Coachman Hotel could have been sold, but the City didn’t like the offer. The following is listed under accomplishments in the Capital Improvements Fund – Book 2, […]
