Just noticed G5 is launched a climate dashboard for the city of Bloomington. Why don't you fix the fucking traffic lights around town so you don't literally get stopped by every single lie in a row it's in this one goes green driving the speed limit you get to the next one it goes red
The water company is a monopoly that runs itself like its the 4th Reich. They offer zero assistance or help, unless your unemployed and not trying to better yourself at all. If you just quit on life and being productive, then the city helps you. If your a hardworking man, that fell on hard times due in no fault to himself, that guy can kick rocks. His only option is to pay his bill in full or else. The water company actually put a lien for 200 bucks against a paid for home worth 225,000! My family has had 3 or 4 generations of perfect bill paying with water company. Just my gma, dad, mom, aunts and uncles have paid city of bloomington water for well over 250 yrs combined, and that garners you zero good will or even common courtesy. They can't even acknowledge they're screwing you over and be polite. They know they're the only game in town so they treat people like crap and it's not ok.
See tix 187165. Local merchants don’t flood the community with criminals, mental health patients, and drug users that are responsible these carts being abandoned all over town…the city does!! Like all the other issues in this town, local government passes the blame on others (property owners)….hard working tax paying citizens and employers! Stop accepting state money for rehabilitation of all the states delinquents! I highly advocate for people to lawyer up take action against this city with answers like that!!!!
We live just a few blocks north of Bryan Park. At 4:09AM Saturday, Jan 15 my family was woken to what sounded like 8 gunshots, followed by two more a few minutes later. These noises sounded like they originated only a couple blocks south. Then there were 2 more shots (much fainter) at about 4:19AM. I never heard any sirens. Anyone have any insight into this occurrence? What is going to be done about the current state of affairs in regards to violence and drugs in the city of Bloomington? My wife and I have been increasingly concerned with the general state of "health" in Bloomington for the last few years. We have had random weapon-bearing tweekers and would-be thieves wander/stumble into our yards and onto our porches, we have had packages stolen from porches and mailboxes, we have had items stolen from our vehicles and property. My wife even witnessed a man masturbating in public! We now have cameras set up on our property to monitor 24/7 and I have a baseball bat next to my bed that I have already had to use once to run off a potential thief. We are two productive members of the community who pay our taxes and contribute to the local economy. But, we are considering moving due to the eroding quality of Bloomington. We know many others who feel the same way. In the last week alone we have heard of at least one stabbing death and one gunshot death. And upon a bit of reading of the Bloomingtonian it appears that Bloomington is doing rather poorly overall in this category. According to BPD Chief Mike Diekhoof, from a March 2023 article in the Bloomingtonian, in 2022 in Bloomington a gun crime occurred every 2.77 days. And someone shot at someone else every 5.2 days! And this is an upward moving trend. What the hell is going on here!? The previous mayor seemed to care little about this. Is the new mayor working with you to do something about all this? What do you plan to do about it? thanks. Ian Miller
When is the electronic billboard case going to move forward in court? This has been non compliant for so long, is an eye sore, and sets a precedent for more distracting and tacky signage to enter this county and city. Please provide the public an update so we know that the same issues are still being addressed in the new year
Where is information about the new commuter program? Is it true that electric vehicles get money back but hybrids don’t? There is still a cost barrier to most for getting electric vehicles so that doesn’t seem inclusive. Additionally, it seems many employees do not live in city limits and cannot afford to. Where is data on this? Most would not have access to biking routes or bus route. Is an alternative being thought of for those groups not eligible for this commuter program?
What benefits are to be applicable to all employees in the upcoming year? This information is not easily available as certain programs were passed and allocated funding for apparently only a “trial basis”. Is paid parental leave still occurring? No information about this has been provided to staff or public for 2024. Additionally, where are the results of the salary study that was supposed to inform this upcoming years budget (voted on in 2023)? This information will already be behind, and the COLA is behind as it is not keeping pace with inflation or similar employers (see the County at 8.5% raise for 2024). Is any information going to be provided about how these things previously voted on by council are implemented, working, not working, etc.?
County is getting 16 paid holidays and discussion of 8.5% COLA raise with starting salaries already at a higher wage than most comparable positions within the City, in addition to many roles working 8am-4pm. Will this continued deficit in pay and benefits be addressed in the upcoming budget decisions for City staff?
Can someone from the city comment on what private property owners can do with scooters abandoned, left, or staged on their property? Calls to the scooter companies to have these moved are not often met with a prompt response.
Some comments ahead of budget approval: Are staff members being considered throughout this budget cycle? This question comes up frequently from the employee perspective, but it does not seem to be at the forefront of council, the administration, or even HR’s agenda. Staff are continually told how valuable their benefits are while being grossly overworked and underpaid, often carrying the duties of multiple positions because this organization cannot keep a full staff employed. Employees and citizen onlookers watch this dance every year as the mayoral and department head staff continue to get inflated wages while the vast majority of workers are severely underpaid with high expectations of their output. Yet promises are made during the approval of each budget for things that will benefit staff, however staff never reap the benefits. The staff health clinic has yet to have even a proposed plan discussed to internal staff but was promised last year, a compensation study was to commence yet the results have not been provided internally to staff and the amount allocated is laughable seeing as there are still LARGE wage gaps between the work performed at the same pay grade level accross roles within the organization let alone just in individual departments (pay data is public after all), the bonuses were delayed in getting released to staff via paychecks let alone the other health benefit reimbursements that are constantly delayed in processing, and alleged “progressive” benefits such as paid parental leave (in which the city is just behind in offering such a benefit) are still currently a “trial” so no one employee can actually calculate the value of the “benefits” because they don’t exist or do not apply to them (i.e. the bike cash out program that the majority of staff members cannot even use due to location of where they live, yet this is the topic of concern?). It seems that the organization is constantly asking how can we get people to stay in their roles, when the answers are right in front of them every year - skills based hiring, retention pay incentives, and adequate market/competitive pay. Our municipal counterpart in the County and federal roles work less hours (often closing at 4pm), have more paid holidays, have remote and hybrid work options without repercussions, retention incentives, higher pay rates, larger bonus incentives, and continue to float higher cost of living adjustments than the City. When did it become the case that City civil servants should bare the brunt of public backlash and demand, yet make so little that they cannot afford to live in the city they work for? It is very concerning to watch on every year as the average worker in this organization falls off of the organization’s top priority list. After all, how are citizens’ needs and demands going to be met if there are no people running the city each day? It’s really sad to see that the only individual throughout this process so far to discuss the employees’ treatment is the Clerk. This organization should be doing better than this, and set the same priorities for employees with the newly incoming administration. Someone truly needs to address the large pay gaps, the systemic staffing issues, etc. because it has yet to be accomplished.