Finance Committee Mtg August 20 with members Dave Potthoff, Tony Ferrari present and members Mike Radke and Rodney Perez absent.
Mayor Harl is also now considered a member and he was present with Ald. Lukosus by his side and Ald. Sapienza also present. Strangely Treasurer Hylla was not at the Finance Mtg. Definitely something going on there.
They quickly got to the rehiring of Timothy McAnarney as Lobbyist for Peru for another year and as quoted in the heading the Mayor said that any city that can afford a lobbyist has one and Peru can definitely afford one. Ald. Ferrari said the aldermen had never seen any information until he got the foia'd information but only after the information which I foia'd first was put on the blog. So that means the mayor did not feel that anything the Lobbyist was doing during the last year was important enough to share with his aldermen. But I will clarify that by saying I do believe that he shared any and everything with Ald. Lukosus but none of the others.
But today at the meeting he said the Lobbyist was doing so much for the city and not all that he had done was written on those reports and sometime the lobbyist is talking to people in the Legislature and elsewhere but does not know if anything gets done or not.
He picked out a couple of things he thought was important from the foia'd papers.
November 5, 2013 Talked to Ameren re: Unytite and the proposed move to LaSalle.
November 27, 2013 Per request of Bob Vickery he called ATT&T to look into poor reception in downtown Peru..
Lukosus said Peru could have had a grant for a bike path and that would have been because of him. ???? Also that he is of great help with the airport.
The Mayor also said something about not knowing what was in the original contract to hire and I suggest he read contracts before he attaches his name to them.
This vote will go to the Council Meeting Monday and I believe with the help of Ald. Lukosus, Sapienza, Radtke and probably Waldorf and with Ferrari being the question mark, it will pass even if the mayor has to end up breaking the tie. And those of us who disagree with this, must remember that there is an election next spring in each ward and it will determine if Potthoff, Waldorf, Perez and Mueller are returned to office. Possibly there may be a referendum to put on the ballot changing Peru's government to a City Manager-Council format.
34 comments:
Lukosus was right there by his master's side. He's a good boy! Yes he is! He's a good boy!
I think I saw him lick his master's boots at one point.
Lukosus made this phony claim about the lobbyist helping with the airport. This was another poorly rehearsed scam against the honest citizens of Peru by self-serving politicians including Harl, Lukosus, and Sapienza.
These guys are so full of themselves.
So why didn't any of the aldermen ask what the lobbyist was doing all year long? They're just finding out now and only because Lois put it on the blog. And people think this blog has no influence? Does Harl really think these meeting times are effective when 2 of the members can't make the meeting?
The vote will be 7 to 1 with Perez as the only NO vote because he knows Harl's personal lobbyist is a scam and because he is currently the only alderman with a spine. The others are basically "invertibrates" aka "spineless".
How does the Mayor explain rehiring a person that has shown no proven production for Peru. Because every city that has the financial ability to employ a lobbyist has one is not a reasonable explanation.
Follow up and documentation are proven and necessary tools of success. Both of which are lacking in this hiring and by the hired.
Three situations are stated, all three which resulted in a lack of progress and two of them which the city had previously hired people to perform. Why haven't those hirees completed the task they were employed for rather than passing it on?
Mayor Harls admittance of signing a contract of employment which a time frame of over a year has elapsed and he still does not understand it but wants to renew it is self explanatory. Sadly the constant reasoning of this administration makes one wonder if Peru did not have the ability to finance all of its employees if it would be better off. Peru is surely not living under the Mother Hubbard Theory of Economics, nor does it seem to understand to put some aside for a rainy day. Thankfully the Finance Committee has strong leadership combined with business and financial knowledge.
To 9:14 AM, I agree with most of your comment with the exception of the last sentence. The Finance, or whatever the hell they call what used to be the Finance Committee, has shown me no evidence of standing up to Harl in any way. If anyone on that committee had any "leadership combined business and financial knowledge" as you suggest, they sure didn't show it at yesterday's meeting as far as I can tell. You made the case for not re-signing an extension with the phony lobbyist, but apparently the senior alderman from the 4th ward has no problem with this scam. What will you say about all that "leadership and knowledge" when both Potthoff and Radtke vote to approve another year of phony-baloney lobbying services next Monday evening? I don't mean to be rude but your comment is a bit contradictory. I wish these aldermen had your insight into this issue but they obviously do not and maybe you shouldn't praise them when they let you, I, and all the taxpayers of Peru down as they are poised to do on Monday night. Just sayin'. Do you really know your aldermen (Potthoff & Radtke) as well as you think? Me thinks you do not!
9:14, The Finance Committee has strong leadership combined with business and financial knowledge, yes, I agree with that. But I also agree with 8:34 in that they are spineless and will not stand up to Harl. I think they are afraid to be in agreement with Perez about anything. This vote will be 7 to 1, or 6 to 2, with Mueller also voting nay. She is starting to stand up to the mayor, and I like that. Thankfully there is an election coming and I hold hope that new people will be elected and things will change.
Boss Harl's view on public finance is that if you have money left over at the end of the year, then you don't know how to spend (I mean budget) it.
Every penny must be spent to enrich the cronies... I mean stimulate the economy.
Meanwhile folks, maybe everyone should take a look at their own spending habits. When was the last time you purchased something at the mall? My habits have changed considerably in the last five years. Unless I need something immediately, I don't purchase much of anything at our local retail stores. They never have my size and we don't have much choice in the local area - so I mostly purchase on-line. I buy almost everything but food on-line. Often, I avoid most of the sales tax which is a plus.
The point is - Boss Harl needs to watch out. The times they are a changing.
My personal prediction is that the Peru Mall will close its doors in less than five years. Most of the other retail will consolidate - Walmart will probably be the winner. This area cant support the amount of retail we have now. The younger generation is more apt to buy on-line. It's the older folks that are keeping the stores going now. Over the next five to ten years, there will be fewer and fewer baby boomers. Local population is on a decline and there is nothing to bring in or keep younger people.
But Boss Harl don't care about this. He is just trying to get his ticket punched so he can move on to a bigger office. He will eventually build up enough time to start sucking in a pension. What will he do when there is nobody left to pay taxes?
If a quiver ever came into the chambers during a council meeting, with the exception of Perez, it would have an impossible time of finding an alderman's backbone of going up.
9:57, you are avoiding paying sales tax online, but Illinois requires you to report what you have bought online and pay sales tax on your Illinois tax return at the end of the year if you did not pay sales tax when you made your online purchase. You are cheating if you buy stuff online and don't pay sales tax and don't report it on your Illinois income tax return. Does everybody report what they purchase online and didn't pay sales tax on? No, but in theory, that's what you're supposed to do. It would be hard to track your purchases, put if Illinois gets desperate enough, it could happen.
Sadly Kristys blog is scheduled to come down soon. I would have enjoyed reading more about the outstanding issues. She points out in her latest post that no studies are done when the airport seeks to improve or expands. In fact little of the required studies or public hearings were done before the second runway was added.
That airport seems to be a private slush fund to me, run more and more like a club.
So Harl's philosophy is, if a city can afford something they should go ahead and aquire it. in thar case the swimming pool fundraising committee must be ecstatic that our "big-shot mayor" just admitted that we should have a municipal swimming pool. We can afford it so we should have it. If any city can afford it we can so let's get going on it. we now have the go-ahead from our very "secretive" mayor.
11:13 my guess is that very few people check the sales tax box on their Illinois return. I definitely don't.
My theory is - in order to get the politicians to start spending wisely and actually working with the best interests of the public in mind, we need to starve them out. Everyone should be adamantly opposed to EVERY TAX INCREAS - NO MATTER WHAT! I don't care if the school burns down and they want to increase taxes to pay for a new one! The answer is not only NO! but H@(( NO! Until they learn how to spend wisely, NO MORE MONEY!
Anon 11:27 Government Assistance will not entertain individual input with any patience in the Illinois Valley. A private slush fund is complimentary more so than a actuality. It gets worse as you go down the list. As a private citizen "Joe the Plumber" type you are not supposed to interfere in the demolition of the light plant, sale of any city property, or the airport. You can rest assured that the citizen our politicians want is one who pays his taxes and shuts up. Similar to the Tea Party out East years ago.
Jim L. and Mike S. are aldermen and should be addressed and treated as such. Referring to them as boot lickers is insulting.
To 12:10 pm, You are correct, it is insulting. It's also appropriate.
Correction: I meant to say, "it's also accurate. I guess it's appropriate too.
12:10 I think you are right. There is no need to insult boots.
12:31, I was going to say bottom feeders but that would be insulting to catfish.
Different subject...Does anyone know where the carved wooden statue went? It was in lower part of Cenntinial Park in Peru close to
West and 13th. St.
Different subject...Does anyone know where the carved wooden statue went? It was in lower part of Cenntinial Park in Peru close to
West and 13th. St.
I have to disagree with @ 9:57 AM
There is enough support from the ladies that they go shopping to try clothes because something looks nice in display and they want to see it on themselves and shopping is a social opportunity. Yes, I can there are at times little selection based on what you are looking for in clothing, but that can happen any town with shopping.Local stores also benefit when people need something last minute. Currently shopping online takes days to receive items. When more people shop online or other towns, then stores do not generate enough revenue to keep employees there and their doors open. There are many local retail stores opening up in downtown areas(Ottawa and LaSalle). It takes money to open them up and they are there creating jobs and revenue for local community.
Times are always changing, and it important for businesses not to fall behind which is easy for them to do. The businesses are facing new challenges with online buying, and they must identify new ways to compete with the new competition of online shopping.
When people say younger people are not here. I ask them aware of the 40 Under Forty that the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Illinois Valley Community College? This is their 4th year and they have identified 120 successful people in the IVCC district.
"I don't care if the school burns down and they want to increase taxes to pay for a new one! The answer is not only NO! but H@(( NO!"
"12:31, I was going to say bottom feeders but that would be insulting to catfish."
It's comments like these that raise the level of dialogue to real change and improvement in a community.
Same people, same comments.
1:50 p.m. this is not the place for a reasonable, intelligent post. This not the place to show positivism. Everything in Peru is awful. Don't you know that from reading the blog?
Terrible comments. Nothing to offer. Just name calling and criticism. Great posts.
If I were an alderman I would ask for proof that we got our money's worth from the lobbyist before I would vote on extending his contract. I would also ask why I was not given a report from him until Lois foia'd the information 1 year later. If the mayor and alderman Lukosis had contact with him in Springfield they should have brought that information right back to full council. Please alderman think before you vote and question before you vote.
Has Mayor Harl and his aldermen come to a gentlemen's agreement that each receives his wants without disagreement of the other?
9:22 PM
That is what I believe and is the only thing that makes sense. I have come to my conclusion from watching them over a period of years, especially the last 2 or 3.
As a newcomer to Peru I am continuously asking myself where are Perus 21-45 year olds and where is this ages city representation? To have to travel 150 miles for a lobbyist who doesn't know much about the marketing points of the town is ridiculous. What is your Mayor doing and isn't it his job to promote your town?
The question of whether Peru should open another years contract with the lobbyist becomes much deeper when one realizes that who is this position serving and who has the greater need of a lobbyist - Peru or Mayor Harl?
Anon 9:22 & 9:47, Do either of you believe that this is a good working agreement or that possibly it has a negative result? The entire council did not willingly work with Mayor Harl upon his taking office 5 years ago and therefore intentionally sopped the city's progress in a effort to retaliate for his election victory.
The Council of 2009 has had changes but still one does not truly know what the intentions of those remaining are. Certainly it must be remembered that all decisions made past and present are not the sole responsibility of Mayor Harl.
You are wrong 10:29. You mentioned "one does not truly know what the intentions of those remaining [council members] are." How about redirecting that at yourself? How is it that you seem to know that "the entire council did not willingly work with Mayor Harl upon his taking office 5 years ago and therefore intentionally sopped the city's progress in a effort to retaliate for his election victory"? There were members of the 2009 council that worked cooperatively with Mayor Harl. You have no right to fire off accusations. Shame, shame on you for insulting some of the former City of Peru officials. The only accurate part of your statements is "one does not truly know" - and that certainly includes you!
@2:12 PM 10:29 is 110% correct and their are many more who will agree that the 2009 council would not work with Mayor Harl and to retaliate for his victory as Mayor they stopped progress in Peru. This is not a accusation but rather fact at such an extent that the former city officials insulted themselves.
Many intelligent appointments that Mayor Harl wanted to make and were his responsibility to make were contested by the council because of wanting relations, friends or self serving protection of promoting within. 2:12 for a fact many, many know this and a lot more. It appears that you are aware of the attitude of the 2009 council and are trying to protect its inability to accept the change of Mayors. Loyalty is a wonderful thing but adjustments must be made , change accepted, and city offices performed in a positive, progressive manner.
Political mutiny was at its peak in 2009. The puppeteer was no longer in charge to pull his puppets strings openly from his long term stage. The comptroller also upset left town with the financial bible in possession and the elected Treasurer would not take the office he ran for.
Because of the election many featherbedding positions were ruined and potentially much logrolling was in jeopardy. Two people left and one would not leave his position as alderman. Plus the term aldermen was to take on new meaning, one in which they were no longer told how to vote but had to prepare and do their own homework. But it must be said once again that before 2009 everyone had a good time and a lot of fun with more than enough to drink. all you had to do was get elected.
The actions of the 2009 city council when Mayor Harl became Mayor are well remembered. So well remembered that they either didn't run again or were voted out of office to hopefully never run again. Those still in office are the ones in question of their true intentions.
6;25 You should judge a Mayor by their ability to get things done, not by former Mayor Baker or those who had held office for many years. Too many excuses since 2009. You can't blame Baker forever!
Anon 10:21 No one is blaming Mayor Baker. Who is being blamed is the city council and its inability to adjust to having a new Mayor in charge. Five years later the council still has a few leftovers who cannot make a positive adjustment.
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