Sick Leave Buy Back isn’t gone!

By: Diane Benjamin https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=25362 I thought there was a deadline for City of Bloomington employees to retire if they wanted to spike their pensions, but evidently it’s still happening: These two employees will receive much higher pension benefits merely because nobody at the City stopped them. This fleece has cost Bloomington taxpayers MILLIONS of dollars […]

Agenda: Bloomington Monday night

By: Diane Benjamin PDF page 21: Citizens can no longer know how employees with PCards spend your money. A list is no longer published. You won’t know who ate on your dime and who traveled and to where with your money. Remember when Tari proclaimed over and over “There are no free lunches” except he […]

Bloomington – Monday Payments

By:  Diane Benjamin A little history: A lot of department spending at the City of Bloomington is done by PCard.  Since December isn’t a month with conferences to attend and employees are more likely to take time off, it shouldn’t be a surprise PCard spending is lower than usual: https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=23757 https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=23995 January: https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=24210 February: So […]

Bloomington – FOIA please!

By:  Diane Benjamin So much spending, so little information.  Some items require an explanation, leave a comment for items YOU will FOIA.  I have far too many outstanding FOIA’s already. Bills and Payroll for Monday:    http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=16156 Your March contribution to mostly empty buses: Anybody want to guess what this is? Media payoff: I wonder how […]

Watchdogs respond

By:  Diane Benjamin This is the original post by the Edgar County Watchdogs:  Bloomingtons Mayor Renner Has City Pay For Girlfriends Japan Trip This morning they posted another story – after Tari Renner left his comment on my site.  ( See Tari Responds ) Remember the Pekin Mayor who was convicted of credit card fraud? Read the […]

Bloomington Council tonight

By:  Diane Benjamin PCard Spending for approval tonight: Why are taxpayers forced to fund holiday gifts for a Museum? Anybody know where these Christmas lights are? The Fire Department did the traveling this time: The minutes from the November Council retreat are included in the packet: HERE  They start on PDF page 38.  EVERY retreat […]

Obviously elections coming:

By: Diane Benjamin Except for the Council “light dinners”, “eating at your expense” is way down for October.  Maybe Hales, since he will soon be gone, is tired of feasting with Council members. P-Card spending for October: Bills and Payroll for Monday night. Begins on page 121:  http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=11652 ADMIN City Council Exp Coffee Hound $ […]

Food, Travel, Misc PCard

By: Diane Benjamin PCard spending for Bloomington:  http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=11518 Starts on Page 103.   I wonder if the “role of government” was covered: City Council Exp National League Of $ 150.00 9/2/2016 NLC Budgeting Basics Session D Haumann Feeding themselves: City Coun Exp Biaggi’s $ 38.75 9/1/2016 Business lunch meeting T Renner & Normal Mayor Chris […]

Jan Traveling AND Eating at your expense

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 […]

December’s Eating and Traveling at your expense

By:  Diane Benjamin From Bills and Payroll, Monday night’s Bloomington City Council meeting:  http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=242&parent=9535 Just the beginning of the bills for Renner’s trip to DC: City Council Expenses American Airlines $ 305.20 US Conf of Mayors Wash DC Transportation for Mayor City Council Expenses US Conf Of Mayors $ 650.00 Reg. Mayor ‐ US Conf […]

November’s eating at your expense

By:  Diane Benjamin http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=9509  Page 129 City Council Expenses Rosie’s Pub $ 60.25    Working lunch for Mayor, T.Jani, C.Hussain, D.Hauman City Council Expenses Hansen Center $ 18.77   Business lunch for Mayor & M.Galvin City Council Expenses Avanti’s Italian Rest $ 80.10   Business meal/light dinner CC meeting City Council Expenses Jewel $ 57.50   City Council retreat […]

June’s PCard Spending Fun

By:  Diane Benjamin Below is this month’s edition of Administration spending with a City debit card in your pocket.  See this link for the complete list of PCard spending – it’s at the end of Bills and Payroll. http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8901 City Council Expenses Hilton Hotels $ 603.23 Business travel Mayor US Conference of Mayors City Council Expenses […]

City Priorities: Somebody else pays

By:  Diane Benjamin Federal debt now stands at more the $18 Trillion.  Bloomington and the County want it higher.  Tonight the council will vote to approve a Federal Tiger grants application to expand Hamilton Road and build a Multi-Modal Transportation Center by the Law and Justice Center. Bloomington can’t afford it, so make the entire country pay […]