I have the job description for both the Supt. of Public Works and the Zoning and Bldg. Inspector.
Without a doubt we are ignoring both the qualification aspect and also what they should be required to do because they are not doing it. Why would the city put themselves into such a position by ignoring rules they have established for very important jobs within this city. Many residents have become aware of the discrepancies and even city employees realize this situation and again we all know where "the buck stops". When government at any level is not functioning at its best level, it is up to those who head this city to take hold of the reins and do what is right for the city and not for those who while drawing a good salary are not doing what they should be doing. There is enough blame to cover all those involved in the top level of the city government and please start running the city as the business that it is.
18 comments:
I have repeatedly heard individuals complain that many of those on our payroll are failing to peform the duties assigned to them. They seem to have to be taken by the hand and shown what needs to be done (many of the things are a part of their job descriptions). The saddest part is that no one will do anything about it and those who are failing to meet the requirements of their jobs are at the top of our pay scale. 15 of our over 200 employees salaries for a one year period totals over $1 million.
Lois: After you took pictures of the posssibly dangerous and definitely sad looking bench in a park you stated that it would probably be taken care of quickly now because it was brought to attention. WRONG!! Would that be an example of something that belongs under this heading?
INTERESTING I sent my resume in for the job of Bldg. Inspector.I guess the 35 years of state Inspector just wasn't enough for Peru's HR.I would like to see the job description if they can be posted.
2:19 PM
Yes I can post them, perhaps later today or tonight.
Mayor Harl at the beginning of his tenor, wanted a person with no connections to Peru, for the job of Supt. of Public Works. The man was very qualified. Bakers Boys voted 8 to 0 not to let him hire this man. So now you have a SPW who has too many friends that he works with, he can't really Boss so to speak. Its too bad this went on, and Baker had his fingers into everything then, Maybe he still does.
You can blame Mayor Baker all and his boys all you want but if someone who is highly paid is not doing his or her job they need to be replaced. Your tax dollar is being wasted and things are not getting done.
ITS NOT THAT EASY TO REPLACE SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN THERE THAT LONG.
Anon 2:19 What specifically were you state inspector of for 35 years and what pay were you asking? How much of a effort did you extend to become a bldg inspector for the city because as far as known the job has never been advertised or filled and Peru only has a assistant bldg insp. What decisions the HR person makes, the Mayor makes and the city council makes are a unknown factor to the general population. What Peru is doing with a full time HR person is also unknown.
Anon 6:00 are you sure there was a formal vote for SPW? If there was a formal vote could the Mayor still have made the appointment without the OK of the council? The council has had changes in personnel and in its viewpoint of the past. Its changes offer fresh opportunities which were not available in the past if the Mayor would challenge these opportunities as he did with the sales tax.
Anon 9:43 Your comment is easy to comprehend. Reality is not difficult nor are annual or semi annual job evaluations to answer the simple question of whether or not a person is doing the job he was hired to do and at what compensation. It appears that Peru has a very high payroll for a town of 10,000 and too much manpower, including pensions to pay for. Out sourcing and privatization are becoming the trend of existence in the presence and the future. Also competitive bidding to hold costs down is a must.
Mayor Baker has not been in office for 2 1/2 years, sufficient time for Mayor Harl to make the changes which he feels are necessary and the CHANGE he feels is needed for a better Peru. This is the promise he was elected upon.
9:47 With proper documentation you can replace personnel for inefficiency. Who are you referring to that has such longevity in their current position? Longevity does not give anyone the excuse of inefficiency, but it is the responsibility of those in charge to hold the inefficient responsible and to make them answerable.
Bingo 12:02. I feel that is our current or at a least part of our current problems in Peru - no one is responsible and taken control of the situation. People are recognizing weak links in our chain but those in charge are ignoring them.
We had a mayor that knew how to run a city and now we have a mayor that knows how to run a backhoe. Nice change.
So what is the problem with this job description? The position was never filled. So who was hired as Building Inspector that was not qualified in a position that was never filled? The person with 35 years of experience was not hired because no one was hired. Let's get our facts straight before making false statements. People complain when a position is filled and too much money is spent, then people complain that the position was not filled. Can't be both ways.
2:13 PM
So that is ok with you that the city of Peru with 10,000 residents does not have a building and zoning inspector? My question is "Is our assistant bldg and zoning inspector to do the work of the former bldg and zoning inspector? Since he has no one to assist, what is his job description?
Answer is that he has no Job description! Does that mean he is free to pick and choose what he wishes to do? Pretty much what he does.
This is a situation that should not have existed. Supposed to be a cost saving move but I dont find it to be when unqualified people are getting paid for filling a job as asst to a position that is not filled. The paper says he reports to the Public Works Superintendent. Does anyone really think he does?
2:13 PM The answer to your question is that the position of building inspector has not been occupied since the last building inspector was relieved of the position and the assistant building inspector was retained in his than and present assistant building inspector position and title. The person with 35 years experience was not hired as no one else was hired because the position has never been opened, a position must first be made available before it is filled. Since you are the first to open the topic of money in your confusion between a wage scale and a job opening I will inform you that over $27.00 per hour with unlimited hours is way too much money for a Assistant in a town of 10,000 with very little to do in this economy or do you believe we are in boom years with a tremendous amount of building? What other part time position do you know of which pays this amount of money in our geographical area?
Please refer to Lois and her comments of 2:25 and Hope this clarifies your comments about false statements and things cannot be both ways.
Response to Anonymous 1:20 PM, November 08, 2011
Your comment: We had a mayor that knew how to run a city and now we have a mayor that knows “how to run a backhoe”. Nice change.
Mayor Baker & the Council was asked for several years by Wilcoxen & Associates to change to the current GASB 34 accounting format that was recently completed in 2011 by the Peru Treasurer and Clifton Gunderson Company. (Auditor report documents this request to the Council)
During and after adapting the GASB 34 format the residents are “finding out weekly” how the City of Peru was being managed for many years.
Having Job Description’s for Department Heads is one change being discussed today.
Other subjects uncovered are the City’s poor financial condition.
The lack inventory of properties owned by the City.
The lack of any inventory of equipment owned by the City.
The lack of any inventory of the Electric Departments 2 to 4 Million dollars of cable, transformers. ect.
Total lack of expenses and wages being assigned to each department in the City.
Absolutely no master plan to maintain the roads, the pool, sewers ect.
Now let me ask the residents a question.
Do you think we would be better off not uncovering all these deficiencies?
Maybe we did need a Treasurer and a new Mayor who could “Do a little Digging”.
(pun intended)
Anon 3:28 Uncovering all these deficiencies what has been done about them in the last 30 months of the present administration. The election was for a four year term (48 months). This list plus the changes the residents were promised are going to take more than a shovelful at a time to complete in 18 months.
If nothing is done about deficiencies what is the benefit of knowing about them and if you know about them and do nothing to correct them you become part of the deficiency and are just as guilty as those who created them. Good Luck!
3:28 i suppose you can blame the former mayor for the wind today too huh? i think with the treasurer we have in there now we need a good accounting system-scary at best hurry up election time
3:28 We really needed more accounting.Thats what we needed, sure. I sure am glad that we know how many beans we have. Are you kidding. What we need is a leader. The problem with this whole blog discussion is the city is a rudderless ship. If we had someone in control of the ship you would see some progress. The clock is ticking on this mayor and let's hope we don't rewind it.
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