Budget comedy

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.  […]

Sales tax down for TWO years

By:  Diane Benjamin January 1st the local Sales TAX is going up 1%, just because.  Maybe this chart from the Bloomington financial statements explains it:  http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=9336  Page 175 Tax receipts have been declining for two years.  Instead of spending less money to compensate for an obvious economy in decline, the City of Bloomington raised the […]

Which represents you?

By:  Diane Benjamin Last night 2 Aldermen made their governing philosophies clear. Remember what they said when your taxes are raised again. First, listen to Amelia Buragas.  This comment came after the spending for flamingos passed and spending for new filters at the water treatment plant. . Now listen to Alderman Lower on why he […]

Why Alton Franklin wasn’t picked for Ward 8

by:  Diane Benjamin Alton has spent many hours at Council meetings.  He has spoken many times during public comment.  That is exactly why Renner would never appoint him.  Franklin isn’t a potted plant.  Stacking the Council because Renner has an agenda for the City is the master plan.  Franklin would care more about citizens and […]

Pantagraph: It’s not about Starcom!

by: Diane Benjamin Since Mayor Renner completely controls the Pantagraph, today a Starcom story appeared.  In case you forgot, Mayor Renner viciously attacked Alderwoman Stearns Monday night for even suggesting the program should be looked at. The Pantagraph did a nice job covering for the City, no mention of interviewing Alderman Lower about his comments […]

More on Renner’s Outrageous attack

by:  Diane Benjamin Maybe Mayor Renner thought he could take Alderwoman Stearns out last night because the media has given him very little push back.  It was irresponsible for Cities 92.9 to run Renners degrading comments about Stearns and StarCom for 2 days without fact-checking the Mayor.  After all, he is a well documented liar. […]

Townhall recap-Stearns and Lower

by:  Diane Benjamin The most surprising part of last nights Townhall, besides the COMPLETELY packed room, was the number of people who think government knows how to spend their money better than they do.  Around 40 people thought another $7 a month in Utility Taxes wasn’t a big deal.  They almost demanded more taxes, but […]

Campaign signs disappearing – Update

The stealing of Kevin Lower’s signs slowed after this post, but recently another 100 signs disappeared.  The police will now get involved. Campaign sign theft is a CRIME. When caught, the thief can be charged with criminal damage to property. Kevin Lower, Bloomington Alderman candidate in Ward 1, has reported dozens of signs have disappeared.  Is this […]