Exposing the Past and Building a better future.

Where has the tax money gone? Where is your current tax money going? What will Kim Benda do to prevent this from happening again.

Where are your tax dollars?

The #1 issue we have in this city is a missing paper trail showing where our tax money is going, and where it has gone, in the last 50 years.

As a business owner for decades, Kim Benda has spent her career working through the red tape and laws of the real estate world and she is ready to redirect those skills toward combing through the tax records and property acquisitions of Granite City for the last 50 years. We believe that by going back through the records, Kim and her team will be able to follow the money and create a transparency within the community about the fiscal actions taken in City Hall that have, until now, been a mystery.

Exorbitant spending on daily operations, under-the-table deals, and inaccurate bookkeeping are only a few of the many things expected to be uncovered as Kim and her team conduct an audit through forensic accounting of the city’s past financial activities. By following the money, we believe we can begin to return those funds to the tax players through City improvements at cost as well as reforming the go-forward with developing revenue for the city as a whole.

As a realtor, Kim has first-hand knowledge of where leveraging the value of property owned by the city can begin to pay down outstanding debts to initiatives like sewer repair, flooding mitigation, and ensuring the future City costs are covered- keeping the city out of long-term debt. Through properly cataloging all city-owned properties- a task not yet completed by the current administration- Kim will create a transparent database that is accessible to investors and citizens to create a sense of what the city own, and who is responsible for what properties.

By networking in her professional community, Kim believes she can generate a new revenue stream for the city that has never been attempted in the past- making this City an earning entity, not one simply spending with no concern for the deficits being created.

Step One: Digitizing the Books

As the current administration has left us with empty promises of updating the functions of the City Clerks office, we have instead been left with an outsourced website that functions some of the time and contains less than half of the information the old site offered.

When Kim Benda is Mayor, she will establish an internal team of talented staff who can run and update the website in house, costing the city no additional website administration fees.

Once those employees are in place, Kim’s team will then expedite a “digital transformation” of the city’s records and bookkeeping for every department, starting with Building and Zoning. This process will streamline requests for permits, access to licensed professionals in the city, and will create transparency within the community about who they can access for home repairs and property maintenance.

Step 2: Increasing Communication in Granite City

Making City Information available on multiple Social Media Platforms

Gone are the days of simply opening a newspaper and knowing everything happening in Granite City. Today we have to navigate a number of social media platform to gather information, and as a city, Granite needs to move into accepting this way to communicate to its citizens.

Moving away from dying social media platforms like Facebook, we will begin advertising activities in the community via more effective platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube leveraging social media as a way to share community events and the growing city real estate market to those both inside and outside of the community.

Adding community events to the Granite City website

Kim’s staff’s knowledge of digital platforms and web development will allow for a direct marketing system for this city unlike other municipalities in Madison County.

Her team will leverage part of the city website to post upcoming events in the community such as yard sales, fundraising events, and social gatherings. Maps and flyers for large events like Trunk or Treats, Parades, and Holiday gatherings will mitigate the disorganization we currently have with all of this information being hidden throughout dozens of pages accessible only with a Facebook account.

Establishing a Digital City Newsletter

As many of you know, a number of members of the community have come together to establish a printed and digital newsletter that will begin distribution in early 2025.

As Mayor, Kim and her team will support the development of this digital and printed form of communication in the city to help grow the attendance to city-funded events and city fundraising endeavors. In the age of digital media, we cannot forget how important paper advertising can be, since most of those modes of communication are few and far between. Because of this returning to nostalgia, we believe this will continue to loop in our aging population during the updating of our digital platforms in the city.

Step Three: New Resources

  • Kim’s team will enable FOIA requests to be directly submitted from the city website.

    Currently, the only way to submit these requests is to fill in and download the PDF and then email it to the city attorney. This creates unnecessary steps and prevents ease of access for public records

  • The city website will have a section for a digital registry of city-owned properties with detailed information and pictures.

  • Kim Benda understands the importance of bringing the next generation of Granite City residents into politics.

    She will offer a range of city hall internships that leverage students from Granite City High School, SWIC, and SIUE to get real-world experience in our City Hall.

  • In the past decade, we have seen a number of businesses fail in our community.

    Leveraging the classroom space in The Mill, Kim will plan speaker series with educational classes on small business ownership, legal processes, and government resources free for residents of Granite City. Kim looks to partner with the Six Mile Regional Library and Madison County for this endeavor.

“It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”

— Squarespace