City Performance
401 N Morton ST
- Case Date:
- 9/19/2022
In regards to resolved uReport# 181500:
Reply from City: Up until recently, we've been relying on the scooter companies to enforce their users behaviors with illegally parking of the scooters. We have two positions that we are currently hiring for that are funded with fees from the scooter companies that will focus on moving into a system where fines will be issued for improper parking.
My reply with two (2) questions: I do not understand Adam Wason's reply in light of what was stated by City Attorney, Mike Rourker, in 2019 (please see below for quote). Additionally, I worked from March 2019 until October 2021 as the main point-of-contact (POC) working with the entities licensed by the City for providing the service and product of motorized scooters, and neither was I informed of any efforts to ticket the companies nor the users of the scooters. Can someone please explain to me what the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for holding the licensed entities accountable for the stipulations in the ordinance governing use and management of the scooters was prior to the recent creation and hiring of a new staff position? Also, why were no violations issued and no fines collected in over three years?
Thank you for your time.
"At its July 31, 2019 meeting, city attorney Mike Rouker told the city council that scooter companies would be fined if their users violated the parking restrictions.
Rouker put it this way: “So just to be clear, at the same time, that Bird or Lime or another scooter company may be taking those additional steps against their own users, the city, if this is an issue, will be fining them every single time we see a parking issue.”
Rouker continued, “I suppose if the company wants to move very slowly and pay lots and lots of fines to the city, until we’re fed up enough that we either revoke their license or geo-fence an area, that’s a business decision. But I don’t know if it’s a sound business decision.”
For an improperly parked scooter, the fine called for in the city’s ordinance runs $30. The fee connected to impoundment is $100, plus $10 per day storage, and another $150 for disposal.
As it turns out, the only payments the scooter companies have had to make to the city of Bloomington are the $10,000 annual licensing fees and the 15 cents a ride. The three companies now operating in Bloomington are Lime, Veo, and Bird."
Source: https://bsquarebulletin.com/2021/11/22/electric-scooter-parking-violations-zero-citations-in-over-2-years-since-local-bloomington-law-was-passed/
Additional source: https://otter.ai/s/56nnFv2HQX2elRJ40z1X8A?snpt=true
Traffic Suggestions
401 N Morton ST
- Case Date:
- 9/27/2022
Greetings.
We need moving violation enforcement and an increase in people who can do traffic law enforcement. Can someone in BPD as well as OOTM please read this article and consider how the City of Bloomington may work to make their streets actually safe and civil... Please take note of the quote about their goal. I think Bloomington needs to make the goal of public safety a top and most important priority!
This is what the city of New Orleans is doing to help their police department with their staff shortages.
'They will have duties such as monitoring phone and online reports, issuing traffic citations, surveying major events like Mardi Gras and the Essence Festival and even doing some investigative work.
Civilians would additionally be dispatched to calls that may not require an officer, such as collecting preliminary evidence, securing loose pets and responding to forgery, certain medical episodes and some thefts, New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said last Thursday.
'The goal of all of this is to make our officers feel safe so that they can make our citizens and visitors feel safe,' Ferguson said. 'This is also to reduce some of the workload currently placed on our patrol and district personnel. But more importantly this is designed to reduce response time and address the backlogs in which we have in some of our districts.'"
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/09/26/1125055305/new-orleans-police-civilians
City Performance
401 N Morton ST
- Case Date:
- 9/27/2022
In response to uReport case # 181637:
"Greetings. We need moving violation enforcement and an increase in people who can do traffic law enforcement. Can someone in BPD as well as OOTM please read this article and consider how the City of Bloomington may work to make their streets actually safe and civil... Please take note of the quote about their goal. I think Bloomington needs to make the goal of public safety a top and most important priority! This is what the city of New Orleans is doing to help their police department with their staff shortages. 'They will have duties such as monitoring phone and online reports, issuing traffic citations, surveying major events like Mardi Gras and the Essence Festival and even doing some investigative work. Civilians would additionally be dispatched to calls that may not require an officer, such as collecting preliminary evidence, securing loose pets and responding to forgery, certain medical episodes and some thefts, New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said last Thursday. 'The goal of all of this is to make our officers feel safe so that they can make our citizens and visitors feel safe,' Ferguson said. 'This is also to reduce some of the workload currently placed on our patrol and district personnel. But more importantly this is designed to reduce response time and address the backlogs in which we have in some of our districts.'" Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/09/26/1125055305/new-orleans-police-civilians"
RESPONSE: "BPD already has a program such as this in place in an effort to lessen the workload on sworn officers so they can focus their efforts on criminal behavior.
MY REPLY: Thank you very much for the information. I was aware that there were Community Service Specialists but since I have still been told repeatedly over the past three years that BPD does not have the staffing to do traffic detail or do much work outside of responding to 9/11 calls, then I respectfully suggest COB budgets for and approves several more CSSs.
Also, admittedly I had a poor opinion to the CSS position due to a car collision at a bad intersection that was attended to by a CSS and not a sworn officer and was never included in the official stats for that intersection. When I requested a four way stop from P & T, they cited there had never been a collision there when that is blatantly false. Please consider checking the protocol on how collisions attended to by CSSs are handled for reporting purposes as well as increase the head count, please. There is a problem with public safety in this town that the current business as usual is not curbing.
Thank you for your time.
City Performance
401 N Morton ST
- Case Date:
- 10/14/2022
City Vehicle #689 has a headlight out. When will the city have its employees make sure their vehicles are in working order. This has been about the 5th time I’ve reported city owned vehicles not in working order.
City Performance
401 N Morton ST
- Case Date:
- 10/17/2022
I believe there is a problem with distracted driving in Bloomington despite there being a state law about hands-free driving for a few years now. Please inform me what BPD is doing to directly address this danger to the public safety of this city. Thank you.
Marnina Patrick
City Performance
401 N Morton ST
- Case Date:
- 11/17/2022
Followup to case# 181838 (I believe there is a problem with distracted driving in Bloomington despite there being a state law about hands-free driving for a few years now. Please inform me what BPD is doing to directly address this danger to the public safety of this city. Thank you. Marnina Patrick)
I took Captain Pedigo up on the suggestion to contact the ISP and am now sharing the replies I go:
"Thank you for taking the time to send us a note of concern for drivers utilizing celllular devices while driving. We have listed the statue below for your review and will forward you concern to the commander of the bloomington district. If you see a violation, please don’t hesitate to report the driver to your local police/sheriff's office or the closest ISP post."
"The bloomington police department is still responsible for traffic infractions even if they have staff shortages. Police departments throughout the nation are experiencing staffing shortages however still continue to serve the public."
City Performance
401 N Morton ST
- Case Date:
- 11/29/2022
Hello - This year I have twice alerted the City to issues with individuals who were still actively receiving uReport cases in the uReport system and listed on the City directory as employees despite having terminated their employment with the City. I would suggest the City look into how it deals with former employee accounts and emails in City systems as it is wild to be that the City does not seem to have controls in place for it. See Case # 181859 and Case # 180664 for the two examples of the City allowing uReports to go sit in inboxes of ex-employees and go unresolved for the concerned citizens of Bloomington reporting issues to the City government. Time to audit the systems and clean this up! Good luck.
City Performance
401 N Morton ST
- Case Date:
- 12/1/2022
Vehicle #876 has a passenger brake light out.
City Performance
401 N Morton ST
- Case Date:
- 12/5/2022
Garbage truck #960 has a headlight out.
Accessibility Problem
401 N Morton ST
- Case Date:
- 12/7/2022
Men's bathroom behind vending machines near ITS rear door: Accessible stall toilet seat is disgusting and damaged, apparently a regular water leak (or condensation) occurring behind same toilet.