Pantagraph.com | News | Bloomington debates making cuts, raising taxes

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

TO ME wrote on Sep 19, 2007 10:29 PM:

" Your comment is hilarious! Fact,,,, cops get PAID to PATROL,,,not SIT in the Donut Shop parking lot!! Volunteering time has NOTHING TO DO WITH MY Comment. If they volunteer, good for them. It's not relevant.rather than focusing on ridding the city of gangbangers, these goofs sit on their keisters worrying about when they can right a traffic ticket for doing 2 miles over the limit! "

To: No Comments Blaming.. wrote on Sep 18, 2007 9:22 PM:

" You are a liar, misinformed and a spreader of lies. "

No comments blaming Judy Markowitz wrote on Sep 18, 2007 7:59 PM:

" I want to build section 8 housing next to her home just like she did me wont that be nice and the tiny amount of building taxes collected will help the new debt. "

Enough wrote on Sep 18, 2007 1:41 PM:

" We have some of the highest property taxes in the State. Stop milking the poor people who try to sqeek out a living in this town by jacking up our taxes. Honestly, I don't know how people build or afford to upgrade homes in this town. "

LoL wrote on Sep 17, 2007 2:41 PM:

" You know every time they say they will raise the tax for only one year they end up raising it permanently "

Normal? wrote on Sep 17, 2007 2:11 PM:

" Please don't compare Bloomington and Normal's garbage and bulk pickups. I've lived in both and Bloomington is so much better. If scraps are found use garbage bags. Too many people don't understand that if you don't use a can and put your bags in a can it's a good chance there's going to be a mess. Pretty self explanatory. They do a great job and are much nicer! "

To ME... wrote on Sep 17, 2007 6:19 AM:

" You mention Cops sitting in the Dunkin Donuts lot...Do you mean the ones that volunteer their own time for COP ON TOP for Special Olympics? That is the only time that I have seen police at Dunkin Donuts... When was the last time that you contributed to the community on your own time? "

To: Blm resident wrote on Sep 16, 2007 5:06 PM:

" Good Job!! Alot of us agree with you. You hit the nail right on the head!! "

GET A CLUE wrote on Sep 14, 2007 5:34 PM:

" I used to live in a Chicago suburb that was so well run at the end of the year you would receive a 70-80% rebate on your taxes, right before Christmas. Little did I expect to move to Bloomington and have my taxes double my COOK COUNTY taxes. Someone needs to get a clue on spending over there, property taxes are way too high in this town, comparable to CHICAGO, and I don't get it, must be some embezzling going on somewhere! A refund from this town would never happen...because its leaders are incompetent...but would be a great platform to run on.... "

Really..... wrote on Sep 13, 2007 8:31 PM:

" Is Hanson really a republican? Raising taxes is not a good idea... "

Hapi wrote on Sep 13, 2007 4:41 AM:

" Mayor Stockton needs to get moving and make some decisions - like firing the City Manager, increase the ticket fee for those who use the Coliseum, make a COUNTY WIDE tax increase. Talk, talk, talk - lets see some action! What a joke about Cadillac garbage service. Let's try to get people who did not "grow-up" in Bloomington as aldermen. They have fresh ideas and see what is happening in other towns and how behind we really are. "

again wrote on Sep 13, 2007 4:36 AM:

" cut the big staff ,they the one with big money they giving themself rises . 5-8 0000 "

hey "Spooky", wrote on Sep 12, 2007 5:17 PM:

" , any mention of what year we'll be reimburst ? "

A Few Things wrote on Sep 12, 2007 4:53 PM:

" 1) The public can use computers at the Bloomington Public Library, so the homeless woman isn't necessarily using her work computer to post. 2) The next city council meeting is 9/24 at 7:30 pm (couldn't they start earlier?). 3) We could get rid of Home Rule (where city council gets to build coliseums against the voters wishes) by getting 10% of the registered voters to sign a petition taking it away from the City of Bloomington. "

Spooky wrote on Sep 11, 2007 9:09 PM:

" Do you people not grow tired of the same mindless ramblings each time an article regarding the coliseum is published? We get the idea, you were opposed to it's creation!! We were told months ago 07 would also be a loss. However it's almost $1 million less than 06. Yeah it's bad but the direction is positive. Trend continues at this pace and the dome will operate in the black in 2010 "

Perfect Solution wrote on Sep 11, 2007 1:49 PM:

" Fire Stockton and ALL the other Local Bozo Politicals and start over. Stockton is about as sharp as a sack of wet mice. Remember when bloomington told us the arena would NOT raise our taxes?Remember that on ELECTION DAY. "

Jules wrote on Sep 9, 2007 11:22 PM:

" No more taxes! Elected officials and Mr. Hamilton, please listen!! You would gain a lot more respect from the average citizen if you would cut back and do whatever is necessary in order NOT to raise taxes. The average citizen is getting squeezed! Do I do without my medication or come winter lower my thermostat even further? "

my complaint is. wrote on Sep 9, 2007 5:44 PM:

" . b/n has become nothing more than a bloated money grabbing enterprise. Is that something to be proud of that nearly everything they do is centered around finding additional ways to take your money. If you really wanted to provide a unique community, "every" street would be like new, nicely landscaped, with money leftover for people to spend on their familys and improve "their own" homes, and their "own" standard of living. Instead we're progressing into the typical noisy polluted run down city you see everywhere else, with only those in "gov." truely profiting and free to do as they please. Trying with great effort to exchange for us many coliseums in place of true independence and well being for all. The typical salesmen/women of false security. "

Blm resident wrote on Sep 9, 2007 6:34 AM:

" Do you people live in the same Blm that I do? People here seem to complain endlessly about everything, as though this was the worst place in the world to live. Some complain that the garbage pickup is horrible, others complain that it bad because it picks up too much. There are complaints about never seeing police anywhere except donut shops, but crime is really pretty low here compared to most places and I see cops patrolling all the time. People complain about the coliseum because it will lose money and then say that they will take their business to other cities to assure that it will fail. So, how does that help? It sounds like "lets shoot ourselves in the foot" to me. No matter what happens, people just complain about it but offer no alternative ideas. I have lived in other cities and my job takes me around this community a lot, and although there are some problems this seems like a great place to live to me. People open your eyes and visit other places like Peoria & Decatur to see how good we really have it! "

Raise Taxes & Fire Hamilton wrote on Sep 9, 2007 2:09 AM:

" Maybe the City Council should have 2 items on the Sept. 24 council agenda. First, a vote to increase taxes to pay for the $35 million arena, then a vote to fire City Manager Tom Hamilton. Any councilman voting for a tax increase, without removing Hamilton, will fan the flames of public dissent. Remember, Hamilton stated the arena would be self supporting, before 4 councilmen voted for it and Mayor Judy voted to brake the tie. When Hamilton is gone, the public will begin to accept the arena and the tax increases, because they all would finally be gone. "

to: ME wrote on Sep 9, 2007 1:10 AM:

" Hey, the coffee is good there too, so maybe it's the coffee. On the other had, one would be stupid to steal a donut truck "

to ME...... wrote on Sep 8, 2007 6:50 PM:

" If that is the way you feel MOVE. I for one have no problem with garbage pickup they arrive every tuesday morning right on schedule. "

to sick and tired wrote on Sep 8, 2007 3:22 PM:

" You are right, I think we should advertise for someone to step up to the plate to replace Tom Hamilton. We could probably get someone cheaper...and would not start phony companies like REMCO...and also sit on the board. I would think whoever stepped up to the plate would make budget cuts first ( like golf outings), and on and on. Time for change! "

Me wrote on Sep 8, 2007 1:03 PM:

" Jusy should be writing a personal check to the City fo Bloomington for the albatros downtown. She should of found another toy to play with not at the taxpayers expense. The service in this city is aweful-garbage service is pitiful-pickup is unreliable and I am luck if I don't find my cans rolling down Clinton Street every week when the collectors just dump them on their side curbside. Cops? What cops? Oh- you mean the fat fellows hanging out at the Dunkin Donuts parking lot,,,,far be it from me to seperate a cop from their cherished donut! "

sick and tired cont..... wrote on Sep 8, 2007 9:00 AM:

" I am glad to see someone take an interest in community activity and give the citizens something to attend. I have never in my life heard so many winners. I am not a fan of Tom Hamilton, but he is our city manager and does deserve some respect. If any of you out there think that you can do a better job then step up to the plate and lets see how good you do. "

sick and tired.... wrote on Sep 8, 2007 8:59 AM:

" I am really tired of hearing "Judy Dome". Judy did not build this on her own. Yes she came up with the idea and pushed it, but the entire city council voted for it. Judy is a good person and has gotten way too much flack for this project. Too bad there are not more people in this town like Judy. There are people is this town who are against anything that might improve Bloomington. As for the ignorant statements (previous blogs) what say they would rather travel to Peoria than attend the Judy Dome, please move to Peoria and support their civic center, we do not need you here. Peoria spent more on retivations than Bloomington did in building the whole dang thing. People need to support their community instead of traveling elsewhere. I have lived in this town all my life, there was never anything to do here when I was a kid nor for my kids growning up. "

new idea wrote on Sep 8, 2007 3:00 AM:

" How about a 1/4 % sales tax on real estate? "

Same old s__t wrote on Sep 7, 2007 5:16 PM:

" What ever happened to the budget cuts? Tom Hamilton has not cut so much as one dime. And you can bet our little sissy city council will give him another raise and bonus "

Duh wrote on Sep 7, 2007 4:42 AM:

" The fair way to handle the situation is to add a ticket tax for events at the Coliseum. That way people who were not in favor of building the Coliseum would be happy as no tax money would be used and the people that wanted the Coliseum should be willing to pay the price. "

Lack of respect wrote on Sep 7, 2007 4:29 AM:

" As a former Bloomington resident and now living out of state it seems that there is little respect for the leaders of the city. The people seem to jump at the chance to express their opinions about every article that is published concerning the city. The lack of respect may be due to the way the city deals with the citizens on a daily bases. Respect works both ways but it seem that most of the city leaders do not under stand this. Looks like there needs to be a change in the top leadership to put Bloomington back on track and regain the lost it has created in the eyes of the citizens. "

OGS...well...? wrote on Sep 7, 2007 3:41 AM:

" ...how much did the loss of sales at the restaurants and bars cost the city in lost revenue since the smoking ban went inot effect? Huh? "

just wrote on Sep 6, 2007 10:06 PM:

" sell the collosium to the chinese! they are funding the war with their loans to the fed. govt. and i dont see why they wouldnt want the judy dome too "

as a token.. wrote on Sep 6, 2007 9:03 PM:

" ..of good faith, in return for their asking of this favor, I have a question. How much are we bringing in, how much are we spending, on what, how, and why. "

to : to homeless with children wrote on Sep 6, 2007 9:01 PM:

" Why don't you give the poster you replied to a break? I hope the daughter you are taking to see Elmo in November doesn't grow up as heartless as you seem to be. If your address is a car in a parking garage, then it really isn't that easy to find a good job - so just be grateful for what you have and quit getting on the case of those that aren't as fortunate as you and just hope that you never end up in that situation yourself. "

resident of bloomington wrote on Sep 6, 2007 5:55 PM:

" I love the city services and the parks, but what I don't understand is why the city picked up my neighbors garage the whole thing no one even lives in the house right now? Some contractors came in on the weekend tore the garage down pulled the debris to the curb and the city hauled it all away. All the neighbor did was lie and say his family tore it down themselves and now the house is for sale these people are making money on all of us why didn't they have to get a dumpster?No tax but charge these people for pickup "

Keep up w th Jones wrote on Sep 6, 2007 5:45 PM:

" Maybe with higher taxes the Bloomington government could run ads on tv promoting Bloomington businesses like Normal govt does for theirs. Then perhaps they will get rich, generate more taxes for other govt provided services and eliminate any need for new taxes by the quantam increase of tax dollar productivity. No? "

quidproquo wrote on Sep 6, 2007 5:28 PM:

" Anybody approach the Masons yet in re to whether they might be receptive to a donation of the Coliseum? "

Windy wrote on Sep 6, 2007 5:17 PM:

" This city needs to learn how to make money from wind energy, as the surrounding area is. "

To: Boring wrote on Sep 6, 2007 5:14 PM:

" That's great but a question wasn't answered. Are all these teams paying to use the coliseum ice? I sincerely hope it's not a nominal amount since the energy to keep ice on the floor and run the Zamboni has to be considerable. "

to homeless with children wrote on Sep 6, 2007 5:03 PM:

" Maybe you should be out looking for a second job (or a better one) and not sitting online making posts about how you are homeless. What are you doing on the internet if you are homeless. Do you have an iphone or something? Or are you at work. If you are at work, then maybe there is a good reason that you dont have a good job with good benefits. Its called a poor work ethic. Thanks for the input though. PS. Hopefully I dont trip over you in the parking garage when I am taking my daughter to see Elmo in November. "

To: City Council wrote on Sep 6, 2007 4:59 PM:

" When do we get a new city manager? "

Jimbo wrote on Sep 6, 2007 4:55 PM:

" Peoria seems determined to fund their own folly with a new Coli-museum. See if B-N can work out some kind of trade or rental agreement with P-town. "

Stormin' Norman wrote on Sep 6, 2007 4:50 PM:

" Looks like the minimum wage increase many workers received just a few weeks ago went out the window and into the hands of the taxman... "

buckwheat wrote on Sep 6, 2007 4:39 PM:

" Only 25 cent fo hunde dollal. "

homeless with children wrote on Sep 6, 2007 3:57 PM:

" Thank you for thinking of the homeless. I am homeless with children living in my car and all we care about is the coliseum. WOWOW....I wish our town cared about the people who live here. These taxes are driving away business which means jobs for those of us who want to work are not available. My job only provides 30 hours a week or less and that is not enough to feed and house my child. So what am I to do. I live in my car. So...I feel that if taxes are raised it should be used for homeless with children. The mission is filled and there is no place to gol OPEN your hearts and help the homeless, forget about the Coliseum. "

The Joker wrote on Sep 6, 2007 3:56 PM:

" Please pass the hat amoung the former overlords who approved of the arena. They were smart enough to know what a money-maker this would be. They should be smart enough to figure out how to come up with the moneys owed out of their own pocket. "

Jimmy the Greek to responders wrote on Sep 6, 2007 3:37 PM:

" FACT ONE: I agree no new taxes were passed in the last 2 budgets to pay for the losses of the Colleseum.FACT TWO: I agree we now have a new Mayor and council members. FACT THREE: The "now"mayor and council members had a responsibility and requirement to monitor the financial situation at the colleseum. FACT FOUR: They failed to do their job!!!! FACT FIVE: As a result of that failure we have a 1.6 million dollar shortfall in the finances of the colleseum FACT SIX: That failure has effected the citys budget adversly. SUPPOSITION: Had the city council done their job the shortfall may have been reduced by one quarter resulting in a 400.000 dollar less cost to the tax payers. The same 400,000 dollars we now need for the 08-09 budget. No raise in taxes, no cuts in service, no assessments and we start being fiscally responsible. Am I being unreasonable???? "

mayor wrote on Sep 6, 2007 3:35 PM:

" does steve stockton need to waffle on everything? How about some leadership and make a tough decision. "

mayor wrote on Sep 6, 2007 3:32 PM:

" does steve stockton need to waffle on everything? How about some leadership and make a tough decision. "

To mrd wrote on Sep 6, 2007 3:17 PM:

" I think this is how it works. Many of the shows at the coliseum are rentals. The promoter rents the coliseum for a fixed amount and sells tickets. The promoter, not the coliseum, gets all of the ticket revenue and uses it to pay for the talent and expenses, including the coliseum rental fee. Hopefully, there is enough left over to make a profit. If the ticket price was raised, the promoter would get the extra revenue. If there is a tax, the city, and not the promoter, gets that extra revenue. The city would use that revenue to help pay the mortgage on the coliseum. Remember that the previous mayor and council borrowed around $35 million for the project, which is a big part of our woes today. "

To: Where are the wrote on Sep 6, 2007 3:10 PM:

" Yes I agree, where the number for the Coliseum for July and Aug. Maybe the City cannot take the heat from the citizens who voted against it. Just how much more is the citizens of Bloomington going to take until they demand open information about the way are being spent. The information has to be there because the Coliseum is still loosing money. If a tax increase is ever approved this will cover all and we my never know how much the Coliseum is costing us. "

Where are the wrote on Sep 6, 2007 2:48 PM:

" numbers for July for the loser dome? I think it is being kept quite again! "

Ebay wrote on Sep 6, 2007 2:42 PM:

" I hope our city fathers don't force us to by on ebay that has about everything one could ever want. "

Govt Poke? wrote on Sep 6, 2007 2:03 PM:

" So lets build a Colisuem that people voted against, let it loose money, and then make the tax payers pay for it by raising their taxes? Smart, is not the word that I have in mind but stupid is more like it. City Council is hopeless and with out them it would be a better place. "

to John Hanson wrote on Sep 6, 2007 2:01 PM:

" owns a serviced based business that doesn't have to collect much (if any) in over the counter sales taxes. Those of us in retail based businesses actually selling something have to collect taxes for the taxing bodies (for which we are NOT compensated one iota) and lose sales to towns with slightly less tax rates. I am in a materials based business and my company lost a sale to a Peoria based company because of the lower sales tax rate. It was an $8500 sale and the 1/2% difference was less than $50 difference yet the customer chose Peoria anyway. Tax and Spend politics have got to go. We have to develop systems that generate revenue on volume and services or people will just leave town. "

mrd wrote on Sep 6, 2007 1:49 PM:

" Why add a $1 fee per ticket to absorb the shortfall, if it were that easy the coliseum should already be charging that extra dollar to make themselves profitable! Can someone explain the sensibilities of it? I will give credit to the notion of visitors to the Coliseum absorbing its costs/shortfall. The idea mentioned is a broken solution though. "

No New Taxes wrote on Sep 6, 2007 1:35 PM:

" PERIOD, enough is enough! Makes cuts in the budget like all of tax payers do to pay the exorbitant sales and property taxes. "

To To normal wrote on Sep 6, 2007 1:30 PM:

" Check your facts. The sales tax in Normal and Bloomington are identical for now. And the property taxes are a lower percentage in Normal too. People keep saying that we are going to end up paying for the downtown/uptown stuff, but it is about 5 years into the spending of it and it is my understanding that they have started making payments on the bonds and I have not seen my taxes skyrocket yet. "

another problem with government wrote on Sep 6, 2007 1:24 PM:

" On the other hand, governments at all levels tend to collect a lot of "lint", employees who cannot get jobs anywhere else and can't be let go because of Civil Service or unions. But I would still balk at paying such folks a pension- the government has already bailed them out by paying them more than they were worth for years. "

government a great way to further one's career wrote on Sep 6, 2007 1:20 PM:

" Of course you'll need some marketable talent or intelligence. At a minimum you will need to know how to spell. "Out-molded"? "

sales tax wrote on Sep 6, 2007 12:29 PM:

" Our sales tax is already a full percentage higher than some suburbs of Chicago (nice suburbs, I might add). Our property taxes are close to as high as those in the same suburbs. Enjoy the low crime rate here in B-N while it lasts, because it's about the only thing this area has going for it. "

Tax Revolt! wrote on Sep 6, 2007 12:23 PM:

" If all they need to do is cut the budget a measley 2%, why are they even thinking about increasing taxes? I find it hard to believe that there's not at least 10% waste in every department, nook, and cranny of local government. This idea that we have a bare bones budget and no fat to cut is perposterous. "

1/1/2008 wrote on Sep 6, 2007 11:51 AM:

" I can't wait to take a clean fresh of air as I sit and watch tv in my local Pub. "

Digs Deeper wrote on Sep 6, 2007 11:40 AM:

" This is a national trend, most communities are doing the same thing, raising taxes, or lowering services that cities provide it's citizens. America is going broke........ Look around you costs have risen on everything, now taxes or cuts in service, face it, an economic melt down is in the works. I blame Iraq, and most of all poor leadership in every governmental department from Washington to city levels, they are all failing us........ "

to Out-molded wrote on Sep 6, 2007 11:39 AM:

" 'And, as we all know, it (employment at various levels of government) is a great place to meet people who can further one's career after you get out of government service.' Almost spit out my coffee on that one! It was a joke, right? And if not, then, prey tell... Just how and where does this occur? I've been employed by the State for over 25 years and can well say, you know less than nothing about governmental employment. "

to;' here we go wrote on Sep 6, 2007 11:37 AM:

" Where were You four years ago ,most of Bloomington voted it down, but home rule comminitys bypass what the citizen want,Insted our elected officials know better. Some of them dident care if they got voted out. WE were at the council meetings!!!!! "

To Oh Gees wrote on Sep 6, 2007 11:27 AM:

" Quit comparing apples and oranges which is what you are attempting to compare the Peoria Civic Center to the House of Judy. In the first place the Peoria Civic Center passed on a referendum by a majority of the voters. Second the city council of Peoria did not lie to the citzens and assure them that it would make money immediately and that no tax dollars would be used for its operation. You need to wake up and quit defending the people who lied to all of us to get this thing built. Also if you would look at the size of the Peoria Civic Center when it was first built it still would hold twice the capacity of this horrible little crackerbox we call the coliseum, which by the way is a major deterrent for booking quality entertainment with the exceptions of HAS BEENS or NEVER WAS. "

To normal wrote on Sep 6, 2007 11:22 AM:

" Normal tax is already higher ,besides in 4 or 5 years, when the "grand hotel motel convetion center" In downtown,opps i mean uptown normal is finished,you can buy your tissus in bloomington. "

wish wrote on Sep 6, 2007 11:22 AM:

" i could get a 13% raise. a lousy 1.2% "

Concerned Citizen wrote on Sep 6, 2007 11:17 AM:

" A $1 or $2 surcharge on a ticket for the Colliseum seems reasonable to me. I'm already bracing for a Unit #5 referrendum in the not-too-distant future...I don't need my taxes higher for the Coliseum too! "

we are shackled with out-moded concepts wrote on Sep 6, 2007 11:00 AM:

" This notion that all government employees, no matter how lowly the function, should be paid a pension is a concept that makes no sense in the realities of the 21st century. It used to be that folks who worked in government had to sacrifice a little. Today the salaries for similar work in the corporate sector are usually equivalent, and it's the government workers who get a lot of perks not available to the rest of us. And, as we all know, it (employment at various levels of government) is a great place to meet people who can further one's career after you get out of government service. In short there is no reason to pay these employees a pension, especially when most of us have to save for our retirement (i.e., no pensions from our employers). "

like it or not wrote on Sep 6, 2007 10:54 AM:

" The current budget problems are at least party due to the former mayor's legacy. Believe it or not there are still people around town (mostly friends of the family I have to believe) who think Judy was "stuck" with the Arena and out of a sense of civic duty had to follow through with plans for building the thing. True or not, the red ink at the Coliseum has changed everything (for the next several years). "

Boring wrote on Sep 6, 2007 10:53 AM:

" If you people didn't spend so much time in front of your computer and realize what the Coliseum provides you might not be that upset. First of all, they are putting together a hockey program from mini-mite to highschool. I think keeping our kids involved in sports helps keep them out of trouble. Also, everyone knows that no matter what it is THEY WILL CONTINUE TO RAISE TAXES mine as well get some entertainment out of it. I think the Coliseum is great!! "

Boring wrote on Sep 6, 2007 10:52 AM:

Even higher local prices wrote on Sep 6, 2007 10:48 AM:

" I bought a piece of equipment over the Internet for $550, which cost me another $45 to have shipped to my doorstep. The local price was already going to be $625, and with sales tax it then have been $45 MORE. I'd always rather buy locally, but with the price being 12% higher locally, it just didn't make financial sense. With the availability of shopping over the Internet, local officials are insane for suggesting even higher sales taxes, which automatically make the price of a locally sold item even higher. They better get with the times, or local retailers are dead in the water. "

spend and tax, then tax and spend again wrote on Sep 6, 2007 10:45 AM:

" You know what's going to happen- a couple of likely scenarios: The sales tax will be raised and the City Council will enjoy the new revenue so much they decide to keep it. OR... they'll take in more money than they need but they'll find reasons to spend it (politicans hate having loose cash around). Then we'll be committed to more projects and programs requiring additional taxes and fees (or reduced services) in the future. Personally I'm ready to move to an unincorporated area. "

moonie wrote on Sep 6, 2007 10:38 AM:

" yes, more debt, more coliseums to build and more money for the museum oh ye spend spend spend. so maybe we can SPEND our 13% raise. "

Consolidate wrote on Sep 6, 2007 10:33 AM:

" How about consolidating some services between Bloomignton and Normal. We pay for two of everything government related..2 police departments, 2 city halls, 2 fire departments...but that would mean some politicians losing their jobs...ooops can't have that "

To:To OH gees wrote on Sep 6, 2007 10:25 AM:

" It wasn't my idea to build that thing. I simply stated that it's not worth moaning about it anymore. You guys have beat the issue into the ground and it's about time to say "Nuf Said." As far as your neighbor goes, if he drinks paint thinner then I hope he doesn't smoke, but hey - you can do what you want, it's a free country. "

to Oh gees..... wrote on Sep 6, 2007 10:16 AM:

" So because Peoria decided to saddle itself with debt, it was a good idea to do it in Bloomington, too? My neighbor likes to drink paint thinner. Should I do it too? "

MRS. wrote on Sep 6, 2007 10:15 AM:

" You could take the coliseum and turn it into a nice healthy place for the illegal aliens to live in. They wouldn't have to be crowded into 3 or 4 families in one 2-bdrm house. It is a joke as an entertainment facility, put it to use. "

To state mandated Pension wrote on Sep 6, 2007 10:11 AM:

" If you want the mandated pension then quit your job and become a firefighter or a police officer. The Officers and Firefighters probably make less than you do, put their lives on the line to protect you and your property and have a life expectancy twenty years less than the average American. Given their sacrifice and hard work for the pay they earn, I don't believe it is their pensions that are the problem. Perhaps if the city would be more careful about their spending and not purchase things not needed, we could be safe, have the things necessary for the city to function and not be having these problems. "

Oh gees..... wrote on Sep 6, 2007 9:54 AM:

" I wish you guys would stop moaning about the fact that the Coliseum isn't making any money!!!! Do you guys remember that it took 16 years for the Peoria Civic Center to make a profit??? Get over it already!!! "

Get Hamilton Out wrote on Sep 6, 2007 9:42 AM:

" How larger of a debt is this city going to endure under this mans inept attempt to hold onto his power? We can not afford a maverick of a city manager any longer and the bills are piling up to prove that statement. Now we are supposed to pay more of our money to the city so this guy can continue his radical spending and approving projects that only benefit a handful. It is time for Stockton and the council to demand his resignation and if they don't , we will vote this group out like we did the last bunch. "

Bear Essentials wrote on Sep 6, 2007 9:42 AM:

" Things to do in Bloomington 1. Sell the US Cellular Coliseum to Donald Trump and let him make a hotel/casino out of it, it then would make money...but first Bloomington would have to secede from Illinois and start its own state,possible but not probable 2. Begin to charge the right price at golf courses, if anyone goes above interstate 80, to play golf then they know that golf is more than $35 a round 3. Book the arena each and every night with some crazed out rock band, boost the price of beer to $6 a bottle and sell drinks at $8 a drink 4. instead of paving the streets, make them all rock 5. And Tax State Farm to death...it no longer is the company that cares, it is the company that wants and wants and wants "

to What wrote on Sep 6, 2007 9:39 AM:

" Well since you brought it up Tom Hamilton should be fired immediately for dereliction of duty. I can not think of one project he has handled that has brought anything but woe to the taxpayers of this city. "

To Lies wrote on Sep 6, 2007 9:13 AM:

" You are right on the money. Fire Hamilton, get rid of the aldermen that vote for more taxes. It's about time to get some aldermen THAT will work for the people of this town not side with Hamilton and his cronies. "

State mandated pension wrote on Sep 6, 2007 9:07 AM:

" I wish the state would make my employer give me a pension. I quess everyone needs to work for some sort of goverment to get a mandated pension! "

longtimegone wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:59 AM:

" Sell the blundercium. "

More of the same lies wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:58 AM:

" A few months ago our mayor and others said to cut waste in the budget before raising taxes. Tom Hamilton has not made any cuts (and there is plenty of waste to cut) in the budget. He loves to spend our tax dollars and controls most of our aldermen. The only way to make change is get rid of Hamilton, and we know our city council does not have the guts to do that. If Bloomington was a private corporation, Hamilton would have been gone a long time ago. But that is ok, let the council raise taxes, it will be like voting for the colliseum all over again and the end of thier political career...just look what happened to the aldermen who voted for the colliseum! "

Balked at wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:48 AM:

" raising property taxes? Give me a break. If market value assessments got in line on some of these huge sales that's going to be a raise in tax receipts. "

Dump Tax wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:45 AM:

" Why not start a tax that charges everyone 50 cents every time they take a dump. It would raise money and cut down on water treatment costs, cause people would hold it in more to save money! "

Concerned wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:43 AM:

" Your taxes will be raised anyway. If you notice like most tax bills it will show an increase. They tell you that is not raising you taxes it's just getting in tune with other cities. If you are not happy flood the pantagraph will letters. They won't print them I know because I have had one in for weeks and it still haven't been printed even if they tell you that it will be printed in person. Taxes were not to be raised to pay for the white elephant but you have Hanson, Finnigan, Gibson, Schmidt states that we need them so that all the residents won't go without city services. Well what are they thinking. What about all the extra stuff that each department wants in their budget. What about all the extra new cars that these people want for their department. Raising taxes this people should be out of office. Hamilton needs to be fired for even considering these raises with the mess that he's got us in anyway. "

T wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:37 AM:

" I thought B/N was run by a bunch of fiscal conservative Republicans. Quess I was wrong "

Sick of being lied to wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:31 AM:

" Councilman Hanson is talking out of both sides of his mouth ! Back to basics ?, please ! We already PAY ENOUGH taxes and we already get below par services ! The inept Mayor, self centered council members and a has been beauracrat city manager are running this city into the ground with their restrictive laws and ignorant spending. PLEASE Bloomington, dont vote for the incumbents next election, they just dont deserve it. "

T wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:29 AM:

" Why doesn't the Pantagraph investigate the real truth of the Judy dome. The real truth is that there will never be a profit with this and it was built on the intention of our taxes supporting it. Try some investagative reporting for once "

Adios! wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:27 AM:

" Raise your tax on sales and I'll take my business to Peoria or Pekin. Get rid of some of the dead weight would make more sense and quit paying a police officer to sit in jail. Not only does he get wages but is probably accumulating retirement and keeping a very good health coverage. "

For the homeless wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:23 AM:

" What is being done to house the homeless this winter. Programs are cut to increase the wages of polititians or to pay for Coliseum that was voted against. Lets find a way to bring jobs back to the area. We need another Jesse Smart, he worked hard to bring living wage jobs to Bloomington, such as Mitsubishi, which brought other companies to the area. All those people are paying state and federal taxes. We need more working people, but that takes jobs. Jobs that are being sent out of the country. "

Shopper wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:21 AM:

" This is another reason I buy as little as possible in B/N. City governments will not operate on the income flow as it grows. They raise taxes and fees to make it grow faster and then throw large chunks of the money away on "pork" projects while the basic infrastructure gets ignored. Sounds a little like "Chicago-style" management. "

Normal wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:20 AM:

" Glad I live in Normal. I guess if they raise the Tax in Bloomington, they are only going to hurt Bloomington businesses. Everyone just shop in Normal, batta bing batta boom we got our selves a plan!!! "

Get real wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:18 AM:

" I hope the Mayor and Council remember the mission of the city is first to promote the health, safety and welfare of its citizens. It is not to provide 3 golf courses, swimming pools or cake jobs for city employees. Ads for those city jobs should read not excellent benefits but benefits out of this world. Have realistic benefits, cut city jobs and how many of those people are driving city cars to and from work. Move into the real world and I'll bet there will be plenty of money. Where else can you have a mountain of garbage removed for $5 a month? "

For the homeless wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:17 AM:

" Who cares about the Coliseum, I care about the homeless who are living in their cars with their children, no place to sleep, bath, cook or to do homework and we are concerned about saving the Coliseum. Most people never wanted it and we the voters had no choice. Lets use it to house the homeless......... "

Here we go... wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:15 AM:

" Do you any of you people with such big ideas to fix everything or such strong opinions on what should be done ever bring these to the city council? Or do you just sit in front of your computer and fling rambling outrageous posts to make yourselves feel smarter? Welcome to the civilized world, nothing is free, all this stuff costs money so get used to it. "

Joe wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:15 AM:

" Your so called "cadillac" garbage pickup in Bloomington is a joke...that department is very unreliable...especially for the bulk pickup. Stuff can sit out on your curb for weeks before they come by...and you call in and they say, they should be there this week or the bulk pickup guys' time is shared with other duties and that is taking priority right now. The garbage guys leave scraps of garbage or recyclable material that they drop when throwing it in the truck and never pick it up. I miss living in Normal...every week you could count on anything that you put by the curb to be picked up. Normal doesn't have curbside recycling but their dropoff points collect a lot more material for about 1/3 of the cost. Cadillac nothing...Bloomington is giving us a lemon and now wants to cut service and raise taxes. "

former decatur resident wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:14 AM:

" keep the cadillac garbage service. Believe me you don't want the buick garbage service, or your town will look like Decatur yuck! "

No government wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:11 AM:

" Governments never do with less the words "revenue stream" uttered by Hanson means higher taxes for Bloomington residents. Doesn't matter if it is local, state or federal, there is always fat to be cut before increasing taxes. It is just much easier to raise taxes. "

!! wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:05 AM:

" Sell the Judy Dome to O'Brien and they can use it for their used car lot. "

BLM Resident wrote on Sep 6, 2007 8:00 AM:

" I had to laugh out loud when I read Alderman Jim Fruin's comment that our trash collection was a "Caddillac." I moved here five years ago from a city of 240,000 in Florida. Here's what that trash schedule was like: the city gave each resident a 90-gallon tub on wheels. Pick up was twice a week, not once. If you didn't want to put your can out on the second pick up of the week, no problem. An employee walked the neighborhood pulling out cans. This was especially helpful to the elderly. Bulk pick up was done by calling in to the city, thus, no wasting of gas and time running through the neighborhoods looking for bulk objects. All of this was done for $12.00 a month. Why so low? The city put it out for bid every five years, no city workers were used. "

I am sure wrote on Sep 6, 2007 7:44 AM:

" I am sure that when Don Rickles and Spanky McFarland appear at the areana the ticket sales will be so great, that it will solve all of our financial problems. "

Wolf wrote on Sep 6, 2007 7:38 AM:

" Boy Iam glad I moved out along time ago !!!! You guys can pay for that big pig Downtown And thank you judy for all you gave I mean took from the people of Bloomington "

what? wrote on Sep 6, 2007 7:37 AM:

" If you drive around you will see fancy, fancy houses who pay many, many taxes. There is no way we are tax poor. As I drive,I do not see wonderful, wonderful roads and wonderful, wonderful other things except maybe for a silly coliseum. Now what is happening to these taxes?. Now someone (I could have called a name) wants to cut garbage services? What are they thinking? We need to make our town look better by letting more garbage sit in our yards or on our streets?I think some common sense needs to be introduced to our town officials. Let's start pyramid thinking. On the bottom widest rung will be essentials like roads and essential services which will benefit the most people. As we go up the pyramid we start providing less as less people are affected and things are less essential. And most of all stop the blaming needs to stop. We have the money. We have to if everyone is paying their taxes. We just have to make sure it is being spent wisely which I don't think it is. "

pitdogg wrote on Sep 6, 2007 6:59 AM:

" raising the fees for the car dealers at the coliseum sounds like a very good idea. Have you ever wondered why they can't do these sales gimmicks at their own lot? That coliseum is sucking the city dry we as tax payers VOTED AGAINST THAT DUMP! Why are you asking us to keep making it break even? How about the skatepark at Oneil park it is such a lovely skatepark and I see you went all out with the ramps and such you so promised us last year....As we were told at the meeting by some sharp dressed sharp tongue city dude "the money is already in place NOTHING will stop this from happening" well IT'S NOT THERE THEY LIED!!! The money got sucked into the vacuum at city hall to pay for something else. So I say EVERYONE who works for the city hall should be buying a ticket for every event at that drainage ditch called the coliseum it should be mandatory you gave it to us now shut up and buy your tickets!!! "

Simple Solution wrote on Sep 6, 2007 6:48 AM:

" Charge a one cent tax everytime someone whines about the arena. That'll solve any budget problem we have. "

to Woodford Pundit wrote on Sep 6, 2007 6:44 AM:

" Your answer is the most obvious and correct, however, the people never could vote on things like the Judy or the Heartland Athletic Complex and Conference Center. "

Taxpayer wrote on Sep 6, 2007 6:43 AM:

" It'll have to be cuts. There's nothing left to take. Start by cutting the Big Judy. Sell it or leave it derelict. "

Wat Tyler wrote on Sep 6, 2007 6:42 AM:

" The city budget is business as usual, continuing the programs of yesteryear without a thought of whether the services are necessary or needed. Why not review every line item of the budget with a critical eye and determine how that expense benefits the common weal? If the answer is "It provides jobs for long time employees" or "It justifies the manager's level of compensation" then do the right thing and cut that job. I don't believe in mixing religion and politics, so it is not against my principles to slaughter sacred cows. Let's hope that some of our politicians have the same philosophy. "

TO: Jimmy the Greek wrote on Sep 6, 2007 6:26 AM:

" All the city council people that PROMISED that the arena would break even and wouldn't require tax subsidies are now GONE: Mayor Judy, Mike Sprague, Mike Matika, Rich Vitengruber, and Tommy Whalen. At the time, most of us saw that as an empty promise, and thats why we rejected it by a 2-1 vote, but those people wouldn't listen and passed it anyway. We now know that we the voters, and not those five, were right. But being right is a bittersweet and expensive victory, because now we have to either pay higher taxes or see some of our services go away. OK, we have to live with that, but if it was my decision, I'd rather see the 25 cents (per hundred dollar purchase) increase than see my real estate tax go up. "

To Jimmy the greek wrote on Sep 6, 2007 6:01 AM:

" In 2006-07, the first year of its operation, the coliseum lost almost $2.5 million. The city just passed its 2007-08 budget (I think in April), planning on a $1.6 million loss for the second year. Both of those years, no new taxes were added to pay for the losses, but there is a limit as to how much the city can (in Huette's words) "suck it up". This discussion is the advance planning for the budget that runs May 2008 through April 2009. It's not clear from the story how much the state's new pension requirements for police and fire will cost the city, but I bet that's a 7-digit number. And then there's the "Little Judy" (cultural arts center) and the usual inflation in costs that we all deal with. Bad situation to be in, because something's eventually got to give, either more revenue or some cuts. But it's good that the city council is no longer discussing a property tax rate hike. "

To: What? wrote on Sep 6, 2007 5:27 AM:

" Hello to Judys bud! Good morning. You said it not I...the nasty Judy word. Barf. "

Taxpayer wrote on Sep 6, 2007 5:15 AM:

" The saga continues. Tune in next week: will John and Karen find another 25 cents per $100 for a year or two? Will Kevin and Jim find ways to make a Buick look like a Cadillac? Will the mayor be able to continue his program of street repairs? Will the problems caused by the villain Big Judy (whom we all thought had been written out of the script) ever end? Seriously, this is a drama that will eventually have to be settled one way or another. On the bad side, most tax increases have a way of becoming permanent. On the good side, only 25 cents on a $100 purchase, paid by residents and visitors alike, is a good option if most of it actually goes to streets, police, fire, and other basic city services. I also like the idea of putting a small tax on arena tickets. I go to some events there and wouldn't mind a dollar per ticket extra to help pay for entertainment. "

Don't you just love~~ wrote on Sep 6, 2007 4:42 AM:

" our fine political foes? They are certainly not friends, they want more money. For what? I haven't seen anything they've done to merit a raise. They can't get enough money so they'll beg for more then they'll vote themselves a raise. Sell that big ugly box on the corner and use that money. That thing isn't worth what it was paid. It's just an albatross around the cities neck. It was built and then left for others to figure out what to do with it. Let's all give a big round of applause for Judy! Everytime I go by there it's dead, and I never see anyone around or the lights lit. They don't need any more tax money, people are TAXED TO DEATH!!! "

Woodford Pundit wrote on Sep 6, 2007 4:09 AM:

" What do I know . . . I'm just a hick out here . . . but perhaps an alternative would be . . . stop building stuff you can't afford or need and have NO increase in taxes or cuts in "services". "

Cut the Fat wrote on Sep 6, 2007 4:05 AM:

" Why not review the Budget and trim the fat? I cannot afford any additional taxes!!! "

What? wrote on Sep 6, 2007 3:45 AM:

" No comments blaming Judy Markowitz or the city manager yet? The tongue waggers are getting lax... "

Jimmy the Greek wrote on Sep 6, 2007 2:38 AM:

" A 75,000,000 dollar budget and the city council can't figure out how to squeeze 400.000 dollars out of it without cutting services. Instead they want to raise taxes, assess higher fees, or add a fee to colleseum tickets. This isn't what they promised the people of Bloomington prior to the election. You dropped the ball on curbing and monitoring the expenses of the colleseum. Then you report a 400K shortfall in the city buget at the second to last meeting before it would have to be voted on about raising the sales tax 1/4% to raise 2.6 million dollars . Where will the other 2.2 million dollars go? To cover the 1.6 million shortfall on the colleseum? ". But didn't you promise that you would not raise taxes to cover the losses at the colleseum? "

Garbage wrote on Sep 6, 2007 2:12 AM:

" Charging more for garbage to make up for your shortfall with the arena is illegal since the voters never approved the building of the arena in the first place. Why don't you raise water rates again. It's already high price stinking algae and fish scales any way. Raise the price for car dealers who use the arena for special sales events!!! "

Oh yeah wrote on Sep 6, 2007 2:11 AM:

" This'll go over really well... Let the comments begin... "

Raise The Ticket Fee wrote on Sep 6, 2007 1:54 AM:

" Hell the extra money is needed for the white elephant anyway, charge a ticket fee and then lets see how many of these loyal supporters of this place who LOVE to brag about this dump, react with a $25 ticket fee increase to cheer for their team or see some has been rock band. "

To: Mr Mayor wrote on Sep 6, 2007 1:48 AM:

" If we are short 400,000 and the loss from the Coliseum is going to be 1,600,000 that would mean we need to cover the operating loss with some type of revenue stream or loss of service because of the Coliseum. The City Manager did tell us it would break even. I do attend events at the Coliseum. I like the Coliseum. I do not like how it was sold to us by the City Manager. At the same time how long do you give a CEO(city manager) to complete a project like revitilizing downtown. Why does the city council continue to protect Mr Hamilton? "