By: Diane Benjamin Tonight the Bloomington City Council will consider changing providers for Employee Health Insurance. It could save A LOT of money: Under Obamacare, employers with “Gold plated” insurance were supposed to pay significant penalties. Enactment of that provision got delayed after the people receiving it threw a fit at possibly paying more or […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington continues to hide the formerly transparent tax receipts. That means they are either way above projections or dropping like a rock. There is no way of knowing since transparency died. Thank Alderman Hauman for suggesting the City Manager’s Report doesn’t need to be done. I agree printing it […]
By: Diane Benjamin Today the bird-cage liner did two stories on the Coliseum. Extensive renovations are happening right now. Concession sales is the major focus. Did CIAM have long waiting lines when they managed? If they did, I never heard it. But a statement by the new manager left something out. He is quoted saying […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last summer I posted pictures of City employees NOT working: https://blnnews.com/2015/04/29/austere-budget-short-staffed-really/ https://blnnews.com/2015/07/09/more-fun-with-city-employees/ I thought they had finally figured out with this story: https://blnnews.com/2015/06/05/and-the-good-news-is/ Consider this lesson #2 in Common Sense vrs Government. Part #1 was last night: https://blnnews.com/2016/06/28/common-sense-vrs-government/ The private sector values productivity. Employees don’t sit around and get paid for it. […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Pantagraph needs to explain why an alleged Open Meetings Act violation against the McLean County Health Department is so much more important than the one they also reported this week against the City of Bloomington. That story was quickly buried on their website – comments were NEVER allowed. Comments ARE allowed […]
By: Diane Benjamin It appears CIAM’s lawyers weren’t serious about settling the case. Today I received a draft copy filled with legal conditions meant to limit my rights and protect their client. If they thought I would agree to the myriad of conditions, they were mistaken. I will be filing for an extension of time […]
By: Diane Benjamin The first 27 pages of the Detailed Budget lists Taxes and Fees: FY 2017 Budget Detail More detail is available in the budget on most of these items. FIFTY ways to tax you to death! Even if the tax isn’t direct, the business forced to pay the tax just passes the cost […]
By: Diane Benjamin Thursday, May 19, 2016 02:30 PM BENJAMIN VS CITY OF BLOOMINGTON & CENTRAL ILLINOIS ARENA MANAGEMENT 5C 2015MR000763 . This will be the first time with Judge Foley instead of Judge Lawrence. Note the new courtroom-5C I have hope she will realize this is a simple FOIA case. Bloomington quit defending CIAM […]
By: Diane Benjamin It’s no secret that Bloomington’s Mayor and many past ones think government creates Quality of Life. Therefore, they get to decide what that means – you pay for it. YOU don’t have the freedom to create your own quality of life with your money. Government knows better than you. I seem to […]
By: Diane Benjamin The next meeting of the CIRA (Central Illinois Regional Airport) Board of Commissioners is May 10th. Since the April meeting, Minutes for January-March have been posted on their website: http://www.cira.com/ See the bottom of “About CIRA” If you missed previous stories, CIRA was violating the Open Meetings Act by not posting meeting […]
By: Diane Benjamin On March 31st I gave you the budget history since Tari was elected Mayor: https://blnnews.com/2016/03/31/in-honor-of-taris-re-election-bid/ There was very little discussion last night before the budget passed as proposed – 6- YES to 2- NO. David Sage was first – he’s very concerned but voted YES anyway. Keep listening through Jim Fruin’s comments. […]
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 From Bills and Payroll for Monday night: http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=242&parent=9535 More consultants: http://www.ajg.com/industries/public-sector/ Real Estate Appraiser: ____________________ These groups (plus BN Advantage) get your money for Economic Development, but are completely unaccountable for how it’s spent: Downtown Bloomington Association was supposed to pay for itself years ago. Budgeted for 2017: (Because government economic […]
By: Diane Benjamin Illinois Comptroller, Leslie Munger, posted this video on Facebook recently. I guess she assumes everybody is on Facebook, if you can’t see it and aren’t on Facebook, that’s why. It’s a devastating look at Illinois finances. Bloomington is right behind Illinois now. Buying votes with projects citizens don’t want, control development, and […]
By: Diane Benjamin A new program in Normal is forcing taxpayers to pay for Town employees to ride the bus! Celebrate now – it’s coming for Bloomington employees too: January 26, 2016 Regular Board Proceedings Page 2 NEW BUSINESS Universal Access Agreement with the Town of Normal Andrew Johnson, General Manager introduced this item. The […]
By: Diane Benjamin City of Bloomington is proposing spending 11% more. http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=21&parent=9844 See proposed Budget Presentation page 4. . See McLean County 2016 Fiscal Year recommenced budget: http://www.mcleancountyil.gov/index.aspx?NID=102 The County passed a budget which spends 7% more in the General Fund. Yes, your property taxes are going up. Everybody wants more of your money. Who […]
By: Diane Benjamin Funny how the Wildwood property was redeveloped without any incentives from government. Probably the only place in Bloomington where capitalism still reigns. (From the Pantagraph story) The huge east-side TIF will get approved. It will create a slush fund for the City to use however it wants – in the TIF district. […]
By: Diane Benjamin January P-Card items: See Bills and Payroll 2/22/16 http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=242&parent=9535 ADMIN City Council Expenses Hilton Capital $ 335.60 US Conference of Mayors – Lodging ADMIN City Council Expenses American Airlines $ 336.00 US Conference of Mayors – Flight ADMIN City Council Expenses American Airlines $ 25.00 US Conference of Mayors – Luggage charge […]
By: Diane Benjamin This document was handed to the Council last Tuesday night. It has since been posted for the public: Giebelhausen-additional information A few things struck me as strange. The words Revenue Sharing are used when what is really meant is Cost Sharing. Yes, the City will see increased revenues if the project is […]
By: Diane Benjamin It should be obvious to long-time and new readers that David Hales, Mayor Renner, and the City Council aren’t supervising the management of the Coliseum. Why remains to be determined. It’s unconscionable for the City to be negotiating a new contract with CIAM considering all the violations perpetrated by them in the […]
By: Diane Benjamin I will be filing today for a 28 day extension in submitting my Amended Motion. The reason is to discuss the case with possible attorneys. The only information I will reveal now is: they aren’t local they specialize in FOIA cases
By: Diane Benjamin Justice isn’t swift. Two City lawyers showed up in court today, including the expensive guy from Springfield – Jeff Jurgens. The Coliseum had at least one lawyer present. At least 3 lawyers against little ‘ol me. City lawyer George Boyle referred to David Hales as a hostile witness. Congrats taxpayers. The judge […]
By: Diane Benjamin I find it hilarious that last night the Bloomington City Council held one of their SECRET meetings with “pending litigation” on the agenda: http://blnnews.com/2016/01/25/tonights-secret-council-meeting/ Today the City lawyers have a new strategy. I received this email this morning: (click to enlarge it) The last time we were in court, Mr. Boyle claimed […]
By: Diane Benjamin I don’t know which of these is bigger – you decide. My lawsuit against the City of Bloomington pertaining to payroll and concessions at the Coliseum goes to trial February 5th. Today I issued a subpoena for: David Hales Bloomington City Manager I have a long list of questions he needs to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Is David Hales hiring even more staff, or did somebody leave? They prefer a Master’s Degree in “Controlling the population”. See this link: http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?recordid=426&page=22 Expect the new hire to NOT be local. The International City Managers Association is probably forwarding candidates right now. Huge moving expenses will follow.
February 5th is the hearing date – all day. The City is going to claim CIAM does not perform a government function. They will also claim it would hurt them competitively if concession information is released. (No comment yet) They are calling witnesses, so I am too. Stay tuned. By: Diane Benjamin I have […]
By: Diane Benjamin If residents think they can save money on sales tax by buying a car from a small town dealer, they are wrong. The City of Bloomington (and Normal) will find you and send you a bill for the additional tax. Even if you don’t live in the City limits, Bloomington is still […]
By: Diane Benjamin !st Quarter Statement: 1st Quarter 2016 Coliseum Fund P & L CIAM continues to pay themselves 4% of everything listed as Revenue whether it’s actually revenue of not. See Event Income on the first page – 179,036.49. This is money from the acts to reimbursement the Coliseum. Some may be income, but […]
By: Diane Benjamin All the tax and spending increases since Renner became mayor he blames on one thing: inflation. See this report from the City website: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8145 Total spending for 2009 through 2014 is listed. Click it to make it more readable. Since 2015 has not been added, I looked it up. Actual 2015: 144,183,767 […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington now believes “Citizens don’t have a right to know”. The local media is told what to report and they dutifully comply. Here’s the latest example: I’ve written before about deficiencies in Internal Controls at the City. In English – the Auditors found the City isn’t doing enough to […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington is asking interested parties to register for the Empire Street Corridor TIF. http://www.cityblm.org//index.aspx?page=18&recordid=2743 The covered area is MUCH bigger than Colonial Plaza. It goes from Veterans to Colton Ave – the road west of Bloomington High School. The total is 201 acres. You can read how far north […]
Population numbers added By: Diane Benjamin Source: http://tinyurl.com/BloomStats Below are the numbers the City of Bloomington reported to the State. A couple things to note: Debt per citizen has more than doubled in 16 years. The number of City employees exploded to unsustainable levels in 2005. Decreasing employees only made the costs manageable. Is the […]
By: Diane Benjamin I really hope Nora Dukowitz isn’t getting paid by taxpayers today. Her social media sites have under gone some changes. I’d hate to think taxpayers are paying for her personal activity, or maybe it isn’t personal? Luckily, I have screen shots of everything! The three Facebook pages “Liked” by Nora Katherine are […]
By: Diane Benjamin Nora Dukowitz was hired by the City of Bloomington to be the Communications Manger. Why Bloomington needed one is still a mystery. Hales claimed in this Pantagraph article that Nora would play a critical role in outreach to citizens, he also stated she would use social media to engage citizens: http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/government-and-politics/city-hires-communications-manager/article_f4bfe4e6-ec94-5cf7-a2c7-5c8a58a36771.html I […]
By: Diane Benjamin The below if from page 29: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=9336 The financial statements released last Friday contain a wealth of information. There will be much more information coming in the next few days. The City of Bloomington has been trying to make residents pay more for garbage service since 2005. Prior to 2005 the cost […]
Tomorrow’s meeting doesn’t say cancelled but the agenda for the other meeting got changed! “Assoc” used to be a shorter abbreviation. Use your imagination. By: Diane Benjamin On the City of Bloomington calendar for tomorrow is a Property Maintenance Board of Review meeting. Since no agenda has been posted 48 hours in advance – […]
By: Diane Benjamin Two council meetings ago Renner rushed through a 1% Sales Tax increase. .25% is going to the County, the rest was passed because Tari wanted it. There was no specific purpose mentioned other than his “structural deficit”. All that means is the City spends more than they take in. Monday night the […]
By: Diane Benjamin The financial statement issued by Central Illinois Arena Management (CIAM) for 5/1/2015 – 7/31/2015 has never made it to the City website. Your can view it here: 1st Quarter 2016 Coliseum Fund P & L I had to request it by FOIA. There are MANY problems with the report, but I will […]
By: Diane Benjamin Filed on the City of Bloomington website – under Staff Responses – was this letter from the McLean County Chamber of Commerce: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=9176 Yes – they supported it. I didn’t realize the Chamber was part of the staff. From the Chamber of Commerce website: http://mcleancochamber.org/advocacy The McLean County Chamber of Commerce is […]
By: Diane Benjamin The lawsuit I filed to obtain concession and payroll information from the Coliseum was a lot more expense than the last Freedom of Information lawsuit I filed. The County has raised fees! The last time I found a cheap process-server, this time I had to use the Sheriff’s department. The cost doesn’t […]
