Taxes – The Dissident Democrat

The BEDC “Economic Vitality Project” Needs to Hear from You

By Peter Dorfman The Bloomington Economic Development Corporation is launching an initiative to involve citizens in the formulation of ways to promote “economic vitality” in the region. “The Economic Vitality Project (EVP) convenes partners across sectors to prioritize and collaboratively address shared economic development challenges,” the BEDC website declares. They’ve created a survey to inviteContinue reading “The BEDC “Economic Vitality Project” Needs to Hear from You”

The Mayor’s Denial

One can accept the administration’s denial that this proposal aims to fund plex development, but remain wary about the mayor’s dancing around what the missing housing type language really means. To those of us who have heard Hamilton use this phrase again and again over the last three years, it has one clear connotation, and it’s not co-ops.

Where Do We Put the New Catalent Workers? It’s a Trick Question

It’s tempting to point out that proposing tax abatements worth more than $29 million for a large corporation and then immediately turning around and hitting the rest of us poor suckers up for another local income tax hike (all of this immediately on the heels of the Mayor’s unpopular and still-very-iffy annexation of the suburbs) is a very bad look.

Must Bloomington Grow?

It’s too late to avoid the eventual responsibility of maintaining the new parks, bike infrastructure and other amenities Bloomington has created over the last decade. But we can consider alternative strategies for managing the city’s assets and future liabilities. We can stop blindly accepting that urban growth is an inherent good.

County Residents Report on Their Petition Drive to Stop Annexation

By Peter Dorfman On Tuesday, August 3, County Residents Against Annexation sent the Mayor and the Common Council in Bloomington the following: Memorandum for the Record: County Residents Against Annexation is a group of County residents whoare circulating petitions among residents who have been targeted forannexation, especially in those areas without an active group alreadyContinue reading “County Residents Report on Their Petition Drive to Stop Annexation”

About Those Postcards…

By Peter Dorfman Last fall, a lot of us received an educational postcard alerting us to proposed zoning changes in the core neighborhoods. Members of Bloomington’s City Council sharply criticized that postcard, and attacked the Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA) for distributing it. Council members especially hated two of the card’s contentions: First, that propertyContinue reading “About Those Postcards…”

Overextended City: Bloomington in the Twilight Zone

By Steve Popolizio I’m a retired executive for an international humanitarian organization headquartered in the Chicago area. My wife and I decided to move to Bloomington, where we met as IU grad students, for the culture, the educated community, wonderful natural resources and charming neighborhoods. We have lived here for eight years but have been troubledContinue reading “Overextended City: Bloomington in the Twilight Zone”