By: Diane Benjamin More than one story will be needed to cover the meetings. First some unusual items: Karen Schmidt motioned at the beginning of the meeting to take hiring the development manager for the BCPA off the agenda and move it to a Committee of the Whole meeting or Work Session. Alderman Bray pulled […]
By: Diane Benjamin See Part 1 here: https://blnnews.com/2016/08/03/finally-some-data/ The below is from data posted on the City of Bloomington website by the Finance Department. From Page 9: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=10958 Sewer and Storm water fees will be your next tax increase. You could get a garbage increase too. A summary of Sewer and Storm Water operations is […]
By: Diane Benjamin David Hales has posted his April City Manager’s report, but much of it is missing: City Manager’s Report – April 2016 The biggest missing item: Finance Previous reports have shown tax receipts above budget. So why are those numbers missing from the April report? David? ************************** Congrats to Golf: Out of the […]
By: Diane Benjamin See the detailed budget here: FY 2017 Budget Detail The document can be searched – if you want more information on any item Click Edit – Find and type the exact words in the Search Box. This looks like more signs pointing downtown: Wayfinding signage – adding $100,000 More consultants: Downtown Parking […]
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 Remember the Budget Task Force? Remember how they were looking for places to cut? GOLF won’t be one of them. On the Agenda for Monday night it this: There was a Citizen’s Summit. A Budget Task Force. Budget hearings. What did citizens get? A proposed budget that spends another $20,560,849, only an […]
By: Diane Benjamin Transparency must be dead: No Coliseum reports have been posted on-line since 4/30/15. (Meanwhile the media is instructed to report false information about real losses) City Manager Monthly Reports haven’t been posted since December 2015. Sewer rates will increase: This is from the Budget Work Session for 2017. Providing the sanitary sewer […]
By: Diane Benjamin News flash: Bloomington City Manager David Hales will put the sale of 3 golf courses out to bid if the budget task force recommends selling them. He will seek “proposals from golf management companies with an established track record of success”. Meanwhile, 2 guys with a track record of failure are renegotiating […]
By: Diane Benjamin The David Hales April report is now on-line: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8632 Visitors to the library continue to be lower than prior years, but they want to expand! If they build it you will come! I’m sure you realize you are saving a lot of money with lower fuel prices, but so is the City! The […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did you ever read a report on the Committee of the Whole meeting held last Monday with area legislators? Evidently the bird-cage liner didn’t want to report the tears from the mayor and council. Begging for funds to not be cut from the bankrupt State wasn’t colorful enough for them. Maybe if […]
By: Diane Benjamin I don’t know how long it’s been on-line, but October is finally posted. http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=7640 There is a nice story about 2 City employees who noticed a bucket on fire in an open garage and put it out – saving the house! The homeowner was home and didn’t know anything was amiss. Nice […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington owns 3 golf courses. They like to think that golf doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime, not counting repairs to the cart path at Prairie Vista. I remember it being around $250,000 at the last budget debate. Repairs and maintenance somehow get left out of the conversation. I wonder […]
by: Diane Benjamin Contrary to the City talking points, the three golf courses in Bloomington do not pay for themselves. Maybe they should try something else. Springfield Park District Considers Privatizing Golf Courses The Springfield Park District’s maintenance staff says they’re worried about the future of their jobs. This is after district officials met with […]
by: Diane Benjamin Bloomington owns 3 golf courses. I previously report that these 3 courses DO NOT pay for themselves, even if Mayor Renner likes to say they do: http://blnnews.com/2014/03/29/golf-pays-for-itself-hahaha/ It’s hard to keep track of what is in the budget and what isn’t, but I think the $250,000 for path resurfacing at Prairie Vista […]
by: Diane Benjamin Both Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner and Golf guy Jason Wingate were on WJBC this morning. Both mentioned that golf pays for itself in Bloomington. Both were telling you that OPERATIONS pays for itself, but golf revenue doesn’t cover maintenance and required capital improvements. If golf did fund itself, why would $250,000 be […]
by: Diane Benjamin The monthly Bloomington City Manager’s report for January it on-line: http://www.cityblm.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=6417 One interesting graph shows the number of golf rounds played at the 3 City owned golf courses. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a chart without a TOTALS column, unless there is something to hide. I added my own totals to […]
