TIME: 10:00 A.M. PLACE: 1901 4TH STREET, PERU, IL ROLL CALL: Alderman Waldorf & Alderman Lukosus I. APPROVE MINUTES OF JUNE 20, 2011
II. REPORT FROM TOTAL ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICE TECHNOLOGIES, INC. ONOPERATIONS OF WASTEWATER PLANTS
III. CHAMLIN REPORTS
IV. NEW BUSINESS
V. OLD
And I bet you thought that the committee selected of Waldorf and Lukosis were in charge of this committee. No, it is Chamlin Engineering and TEST that have been contracted to serve our city.
Now why is it that La Salle has their own water treatment plant and their own city engineer and we contract this work out at a huge expense.! Who is doing the right thing for its residents at a lower cost?
16 comments:
I'm a bit irate today as I see what is happening in our city and it hasn't got any better. We paid Chamlin $600,000 last year for engineering services and it is true that the City Council 2 years ago refused to allow the hiring of a city engineer. At the meeting on Thursday, the Mayor was again asked about hiring a city engineer and he responded saying it would not save us 600,000. We don't expect to save the total cost but even if we saved 1/2 of it, it would be a savings. It is time Mayor Harl.
Lois,
Would you please for once and for all show what the city pays for Chamlin and TEST and what it would exactly cost to do it themselves? For 2 years you have said the city can save money but never say how much? If the City can save money AND get the same quality of service and knowledge, great! If not, find another punching bag. There are a lot of quality causes that need immediate attention!
Using the figures of 600,00 last year and then use the amount of perhaps somewhere between 85,000 to 95,000 salary for a civil city engineer. You do the math.
There would be a consulting fee for some projects but no where the amount we are now spending. I do know that an alderman took Chamlin out to show him some roads that needed work done and he asked him some questions. And of course the city was billed for his time. Give us a city engineer and he is already on the payroll and you would not have to worry about extra charges.
Not using anybody for a punching bag, even Chamlin has admitted that the city would save money, so what is the problem? Unless you are working for one or the other, you would not even be asking those questions. I'm not interested in your gotcha game.
Lois...
at 85 to 90K per year...that translates to almost $200,000 true cost with benefits. i think the city should force the issue!
9:26 I agree with you there are lot of quality causes that need immediate attention. Two of the biggest, if not the biggest, are Chamlin and TEST. Lois, if someone accuses you of using poor business practices as a punching bag KEEP SWINGING. When was the last competitive bid advertised for water treatment by the City of Peru. How easy to prove what a great deal the taxpayers are getting than to layout facts and
FIGURES.
When was the last time a consultant OTHER than Chamlin was employed for roadwork, sewers and their standard Peru projects. For someone to ask you to prove if money could be saved is a ploy. Mayor Harl promised in his campaign that he would submit water treatment to open bids. He said he would hire a city engineer, so now let him. The MAYOR who has the authority to prove what could be saved financially needs to fulfill the reasons he was elected.
If he had followed through on these promises there would not be such a rush by the city administration for a 7 1/2% retail sales tax.
The knockout punch that needs to be discussed are the huge salaries paid to administrative employees and the increases requested in this recession.
Why is it that only Test and Chamlin give reports at this city committee meeting? Don't we have a Public Works department and superintendent of our own? Shouldn't they be giving reports on what they are doing for our city? If having a city engineer would not have been a smart move why did our current mayor attempt to hire one immediately upon taking office? I too thought it was a lame answer by him at his town forum when he stated "I tried. They turned me down." We have a new council - put it to vote and see what happens.
La Salle has their own water treatment plant and they run in themselves? How can they do that and we can't? La Salle has their own City Engineer? Do they pay him or her $600,000 per year? Please someone answer these questions and let us know if we're getting a deal.
The Mayor of Peru recently went to Washington D.C. with fellow politicians from the State of Illinois. Whether this trip was paid with taxpayers money or his own, he owes the citizens a summary report of his political activities as the Mayor of Peru.
There is a strong possibility that the high unemployment rate is causing weak funding for the upcoming Democratic Presidential campaign which traditionally has strong backing from Unions. This campaign is gearing up for 2012 election. Although the President is a great campaigner, he has a 9.2% unemployment rate, a huge debt impasse and many other issues which he can no longer blame on President Bush. He has been in office for over two years.
Since there is such a demand for campaign funding and a need to lower the unemployment rate it looks as if the Democratic Party has already sent its fundraisers back to their reigning locations to attempt to cure this problem. (Such as filling the need for $7,000,000.00's of roadwork to increase campaign funds and lower unemployment.)
President Obama has already tried a national "shovel ready" program that failed. My question is, "are we being exposed to another attempt to decrease unemployment with a directive to increase his numbers with jobs being filled to improve roads". In retrospect not a bad idea but can the small city sector sustain the cost of doing it all at once? It can be done with
planning and cost accounting. The roads didn't break down at all once, they cannot be repaired all at once. Again, even if we had the money in hand, time would preclude us from doing it all at once and our "Home Rule" gives me pause to wonder where the money would end up before the next summer season would be upon us. What do you think? Remember there aren't any politicians left that shoot them from hip like Harry Truman.
11:33 YOUR right on target. Tax increases to pay for political agendas. And yes our hook, line and sinker Mayor got right on board. Peru has to decide if we want a union steward or Mayor running our city. The vote on the sales taxs is much more than fix the roads, its a key fundraising point for Harl. Count on your Alderman for the vote that determines if Peru will or not be part of this campaign funding. Remember we have one Alderman preaching 99% of our residents what this. What the predicted tally of the rest of the city council? You need to contact your Alderman.
Did some selected employees receieve raises just recently and this was in addition to the yearly 3% raise in April? Please find out. And who approved the raises?
99% want a tax increase. Who said that? Ald. Perez mentioned 98%, get your facts straight 8:58. If someone rides around with a city contractor or meets with the city attorney, they should pay the bill.
A cold slap in the face for Peru is the political party syatem we now have in Peru, as stated by anon 11:33. We lose when your leaders have political party afflications. The agenda is now reelection and what can your leaders deliver for those campaign contributions.
To 11:33a.m. & 8:58 a.m. - I'm betting you two are big fans of FOX Newscorp. You have it all figured out.
So, as you see it, Harl's visit with Illinois lawmakers in Washington which by the way was financed fully by Harl himself, and the mayor's initiative to improve Peru's infrastructure with revenue derived from a sales tax increase is all just a ploy to solicit democratic campaign funds from unions in return for providing jobs on those infrastructure improvement projects? That's quite a conspiracy you have figured out.
Just one little problem with your theory.
Harl's trip to D.C. was organized and arranged through the office of U.S. Representative Aaron Schock, an Illinois "REPUBLUICAN" as a "REPUBLICAN" fundraiser/meet and greet event.
Could you guys possibly be any more un-informed and out of touch with the facts?
Ooh wasn't he the handsome buff representative on Men's Health cover? I would have signed up too. Yummy!
6:05 p.m. - Are you saying that you would have no problem inviting Republican Congressman Aaron Schock over for a private "Tea Party" meeting? Just the two of you.
I'm pretty sure Congressmen Anthony Weiner (D)
New York has an open calendar right now. I'm sure he would be happy to e-mail a photo if he can't make it in person.
Yikes-Anthony Weiner...
Yummy-Congressman Schock...he could bring the "tea" and I would bring the "cookies"
No joking aside, I wonder the % of people who vote based on looks. It apears that many visually appealing people are being elected to hire office and I imagine that is one of several attributes in a candidate now a days?
Post a Comment