Tag: EAC

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Did Julie Emig violate City Code ethics?

By: Diane Benjamin At Monday’s Bloomington Council meeting approving money for the Ecology Action Center was on the Consent Agent. Everything on it was passed with one unanimously vote including this to the Ecology Action Center: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/5a1a631e-a62d-11ec-8a90-0050569183fa-36dc0a47-f3e1-4a7f-ab53-55227cac04fe-1654897109.pdf One problem – h/t a reader: Julie Emig is listed on the Ecology Action Center website as a […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

A little of what Bloomington is paying Monday:

By:  Diane Benjamin https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=23513 EAC is the employees – this time doing the chili cook off.  I like how the expense is charged to Community Relations, the community wasn’t invited. Martin Luther King’s dream is now officially dead.  Black Administrators need their own forum, the color of someone’s skin must somehow make them want things […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

What’s Bloomington paying Monday night?

By:  Diane Benjamin https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=23355 I’m not sure all these PCard purchases were reflect in event expenses.  Walking With My Ancestors doesn’t show any catering or concessions:  https://blnnews.com/2019/10/22/bcpa-as-predicted-foia-denied/ Of course the $1500 for the announcement party wasn’t included.  Why does government send “flowers” and pretend they are sympathetic?  Using taxpayer money to express condolences is fraud. […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Bloomington bills for Monday

By:  Diane Benjamin http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=22247 Tari and the employees had fun: Add the previous Hawaii expenses of $1,968.00, and Tari’s trip cost $3,892.50.  https://blnnews.com/2019/04/18/off-to-hawaii/ This is what the Pantagraph reported:    Pantagraph.com twin-city-mayors-focus-on-transit-climate-at-conference The cost of the CONFERENCE was $950.00.  The paper didn’t include that part.  What did taxpayers get?  The bill? Remember the FREE entertainment […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Bloomington Bills for Monday night

By:  Diane Benjamin http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=20987 More pensions spiking:  (the penalties will come late)           Coliseum continues to fleece:     Employee partying, but called Community Relations.  Were you invited?     Springfield Law firm MONTHLY charges:     I have no idea what this is, but Nov-Jan wasn’t paid until February?  Is […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Bloomington’s spending priorities Monday

By:  Diane Benjamin If the new City Manager is able to sell his house in Decatur, maybe he can take David Hales’s house off his hands.  It is still for sale, reduced AGAIN to $245,000.  It started at $279,900 last November.    https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5-Conway-Cir-Bloomington-IL-61704/76972678_zpid/?fullpage=true Tari’s favorite non-profit, Illinois Policy Institute, wrote about Bloomington’s new City Manager, it’s […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Update: Party at Public Works

I just received another response from the City they neglected to include in the previous FOIA response: Nice of them to totally change the story two days later!  Why aren’t vending machine profits City money?  More FOIA’s —————————————————————————————————- By:  Diane Benjamin I heard a rumor that morale at Bloomington’s Public Works was so low, Jim […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Normal feeds themselves and more

By:  Diane Benjamin See the entire response to my FOIA  HERE I filed a FOIA request for some items identified in this story:    https://blnnews.com/2018/02/18/normals-twice-a-month-fleece/ The Koos accident report was part of the FOIA:    https://blnnews.com/2018/02/22/the-koos-auto-accident-report/ Page 25 says Mayor’s insurance pending – it wasn’t his fault, so why is his insurance pending? Also FOIA’d was: If Normal […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Bills for Monday night

By:  Diane Benjamin Somebody finally got around to posting the Bills and Payroll:    http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=15822 Diane Hauman is now going on the One Voice trip with Renner, Black, and Rasmussen ( https://blnnews.com/2018/01/26/more-government-travel-at-your-expense/) $1600 x 4 = $6,400 to visit the DC swamp instead of demanding in-district meetings with representatives.  That number is before other expenses.   Does […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Another Employee Party!

By:  Diane Benjamin In case you didn’t know, the City of Bloomington Employee Activities Committee threw a party on October 31, 2017:    https://blnnews.com/2017/12/12/party-on/ EAC threw themselves another party on January 27th at the BCPA – the Winter Event.  This time there is no reference to a charge for attending. The City even PAID the BCPA […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Chili Cook-off: the pics!

By:  Diane Benjamin See previous stories:  https://blnnews.com/2017/12/13/how-do-they-get-any-work-done/ When I was reading the volumes of emails the City of Bloomington employees sent to each other, I noticed some referred to pictures posted on the City’s intranet.  I FOIA’d the pics. I received 31, here’s a few of them.  Keep in mind, this is a party they threw […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

More Partying emails

By:  Diane Benjamin I wonder if the City thought I wouldn’t read the massive amount of emails they sent me.  Well, I did.  I filed one more FOIA request today for the pictures they posted on the City’s Intranet.  Correction:  EAC stands for Employee Activities Committee.  If the City is short on employees, ending this […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Untraceable spending – because they can

By:  Diane Benjamin Did you know Bloomington didn’t have an Economic Development person until 2012?  Are things better or worse now? From 2016 Total Compensation report:  http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=21&parent=5443 GRAMMERAUSTIN   ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COORD Salary and benefits:  $94,583.89 . Where do some of your tax dollars go?  UN-accountable government agencies! The EDC (Economic Development Council) is getting $490,000 […]