Now that the city has purchased an expensive vehicle for the Fire Dept. Asst. Chief, our Superintendent of Public Works has decided that he would like a new truck with a snowplow too and his old truck would be given to the cemetery workers. To be discussed further.
Also early in the Harl administration, the new mayor said he would like to reduce the number of council meetings per month. For some reason or other, it did not happen and many unnecessary meetings each month continued to take place. Now the Mayor has suggested that they meet twice a month but that the aldermen will continue to be paid for 4 meetings. It seems that several of the aldermen actually need the meeting money and since they do not get paid for committee meetings, this would help them out.
Anyone know what other cities do regarding reimbursement for public service members serving on a city council?
29 comments:
Why does Bleck want a plow truck ? About 4 years ago he was caught plowing his relatives driveways . What , is he going to start plowing friends and relatives driveways again ?? All he does is drive around all day give him a ford focus at least then it wouldn't cost us an arm and a leg to pay for his gas to use the city vehicle for his personal use same as Potthoff . When he had a plow truck before all he did was drive around from driveway to driveway and not plowing the streets . And why does the Assistant chief need a plow on his new truck ? So he can plow the chiefs driveway ? The fire department has a plow truck they never use . This town can piss away more money than a little old lady in a scrapbooking store ! Blecks job is to supervise not drive around plowing driveways . Maybe if he supervised all the workers wouldn't take an hour every morning getting coffee at Hyvee before they start their day ! What a joke this administration has become . Why don't these Alderman stand up for what us citizens want ? Stop all this wasteful spending on BULLCRAP we don't need and can't afford !
Lois: lst of all it seems to me that each time the mayor has mentioned eliminating 2 council meetings per month it's at a time when the city calendars have already been published and distributed.
Second, because of the economy I thought the mayor was making cuts in the budget to save money yet, we keep buying and buying and adding personnel to our staff. Lately it seems as though money is no longer an issue. I wonder how the debt disappeared so rapidly?
Third, I thought there were 2 reasons for limiting the number of council meetings. First, to save money and second because 4 are just not necessary. Well, what have we gained if we cut out 2 meetings but still pay the aldermen for 4????
Lastly I think the aldermen had just received the mayors committee's road proposal at Wed. meeting. If that is indeed the case I applaud those who questioned it's contents and asked for time to study it before approving it. It would have been disturbing to think that none of the aldermen cared enough about Peru's citizens that they would have approved a plan basically sight unseen.
I, for one, am not sure that there should be 4 aldermen on this committee because that is the probable potential for an automatic 4 yes votes and it's 4 totally informed aldermen who have a say in the plan and 4 who are left out in the cold.
There was another argument at last weeks meeting. Harl was begging for a salary increase because nobody will do this job for what is pays. I saw a few aldermen laugh but nobody stood up to support Harl on his salary increase. Or at least at the public meeting. The question you ask is ....Does he work for the money and feel his is underpaid? He mentioned the 4.00 a hour calculation for the treasurer, this thought process of hourly wages makes you wonder about the mentality of those who choose public service.
Anon 9:40 The votes were calculated before the forming of the committee...you always have 4 yes votes on everything.
Anon 2:19 You better not get the troops angry. Thats the supervision we receieve for our tax dollars.
Does anyone know why the Peru Fire Department web site is down? Would it have anything to do with PSI making a presentation Tues. Dec. 6th?
SPW Bleck does not WANT a new truck for himself. The Public Property Committee asked him to look into purchasing a new truck for the Streets Dept because the cemetery needs a different truck. The truck used at the cemetery is not worth what it would take to fix it, so it was decided to move a truck from Streets to the cemetery and get a new or newer truck with a plow for the Streets Dept.
As for the aldermen getting paid for 4 meetings and only attending two monthly and 1 committee meeting - do you have any idea how much time is put into being an alderman? I spent several hours over multiple days walking and driving (using my own gas) around the 2nd ward looking for roads and curbs that need repair so I could be sure I was finding the roads that need to be repaired the most. Alderman Ankiewicz and I have been having a Public Property meeting every week before the regular council meeting. I take the minutes and type them up and submit them to Stephanie. I've spent countless hours of time carrying out this position, and I just started in June. I hardly think $5,000+ is an overpayment. I certainly didn't accept this appointment for the money, but for people to expect us to do what we do for less money, I do disagree with that. We might be meeting less, but we will be working just as much. You failed to mention that we voted no to a raise for ourselves.
I attended the Pearl Harbor Day parade today on Water Street. It was an awesome experience. The rain didn't hold back those tough guys from attending. To think of what they went thru, it was truly an honor for me to attend. Ald. Ankiewicz did an excellent job organizing that event.
After that parade, I then went to the City of Peru Christmas parade. You would have been proud if you would have attended that as well. Lynda Kasik did a great job organizing that parade. There were 4 fire trucks, 3 ambulances, and lots of other cars/floats, the LP band and cheerleaders/cavaliers, and chorus. What a truly wonderful day I got to spend in Peru. I was very very proud of our town today!
Sherry Mayszak
2nd Ward Alderman
Public Property Committee
I was not present at the meeting but I am guessing that perhaps the people involved did not make it clear as to what the truck was for. I find that many times the participants in the discussion know ahead of time what they plan on saying and since they already are prepared, don't take the time to explain an unknown to the people who come to the meeting. I have had that experience many times when the council members or dept. heads have been talking about something and the council meeting is just a formality. In the meantime, the people who come to hear the meeting are kind of left out in the cold because they were not in on the initial conversations. Maybe the Mayor or the member who is on that particular committee could take a minute to add the needed explanation so there would be no miscommunication on the topic. Evidently that is what has happened and glad you took the time Sherry to clear that up.
4:48 PM
I had other things going on and was unable to attend the parade so thank you for your summary of the event. I don't think most people expect me to be there.
We should all be proud of our town not just when special things occur but always alderman Mayszak. As Lois stated above many times citizens are not fully aware of situations because they have not been provided with the proper information. Because they seek answers does not mean they are being negative or criticizing. Many times they are looking for some clarification on a subject or topic that they don't understand. Just as you asked the mayor for some time to better understand his road proposal we sometimes seek a reason for something being done or maybe even not being done. I speak for myself on this issue and hope you understand what I'm trying to say. I'm glad you and Rodney are available. Wish other aldermen and wards would be.
11:07 AM
The Peru FD no longer has a web site. The one that had been on the internet was established and paid for by Pat Riordan and he no longer lives in Peru. These are domains that have to be paid for yearly and so the life of that site is done with. There was talk of Liberty Fire maintaining a web site but so far nothing has been done. Peru is without a visible internet presence until someone in the PFD makes a change.
No , the website was paid for by Liberty and was managed by Pat and his wife . 99% of the pictures were taken and posted by the Riordan family .
8:48 AM
Thank you for explaining how the site was done.
I would like to add to alderman Mayszak' post. I will make this brief and swift with hopes of little backlash :-)
Most.. if not all public servants either run for office, or accept an appointed position because they have a passion for their community or country hoping they can make a difference during the time they serve. Whether or not you/we agree with the way they are governing, They are still out working to make a difference. If the people they are working for do not accept the work they have done, then the opportunity for their " Term Limit " will come to an end at the next election, In my opinion.. The voters set the term limits of their officials.
As Alderman Mayszak stated.. In her opinion $5000.00 is not an overpayment. I whole- heartedly agree with her.
I have never felt that any of our officials do this to supplement an income, If anyone was looking to supplement their income by $5,000.00 per year, I would recommend delivering Pizza.
The Mayor and Aldermen all deserve a raise for the amount of time put into these positions. The city of Peru needs so many other things first that we would not accept giving ourselves a raise.
I ran for alderman because I have a deep passion for our city. I continue putting in countless hours because I love serving our community. To make a difference takes commitment, dedication and the strength to turn over rocks that others choose not to turn. Some have said.. "being a public servant is a thankless job" I don't find that to be true at all.. In fact, if my boss ( wife ) agreed.. I would turn my wages back to the city, but for the amount of time, and fuel along with other expenses accrued by holding office the least I can do is deposit that check.
Although I don't have to give details of my daily schedule because I understand that with being an alderman we can choose how much time we can, or want to put into this position, besides I see many city officials with the same kind of schedule, I'm simply pointing this out due to the above comments made on this post. As you will see.. officials attend much more throughout the week then one meeting, preparing for one meeting alone can take hours.
Below is just a typical week I thought I would share because I wouldn't want the public feeling public servants are over paid.
continued:
continued:
Full-time job at Wal- Mart= 55-60 hours per week beginning my day at 3:00 a.m.
Sunday, Nov.27th- assisted with city Christmas decorations.
Monday, Nov. 28th- researched and addressed constituent concerns in field, then reports made on home PC of outcome.
Research info. for upcoming public safety meetings, studied next fiscal years budget.
Tuesday, Nov.29th- researched infrastructure info. and contacted professionals to gather info. Field info. and computer research then copy data to study.
Numerous phone contacts made re: infrastructure,
Studied next fiscal years budget.
Wednesday,Nov.30th- 4:00 Finance Meeting
5:00 New Business Open House on Progress Blvd.
6:00 Infrastructure Committee Meeting
7:30 Council Meeting
Thursday, Dec.1st- Addressed constituent concerns, studied and researched concerns with budget. multiple phone calls and computer research.
Friday, Dec. 2nd.- City Electric details with Department head, and research, sat in on re-redistricting briefing, prepared for Saturday's City Christmas events.
Saturday, Dec. 3rd- City Events, Parade etc.
Sunday, Dec. 4th- Bears Game, Blog, and family time.
Monday, Dec. 5th- Start over... Please refer back to previous week for details.
I hope you have a better understanding of the life and times of a city official. Please keep in mind my schedule may not be as busy as others but I must leave time to eat, sleep and share family time in between fire calls, and volunteering my time to educate children and families with Fire prevention and Public safety but I understand this is what keeps me healthy, happy and looking like a 25 year old with no hair:-)
Thank you,
Rodney Perez
815-245-7566 24/7 cell#
Alderman Rodney Perez ( on faceboo
No one would think that $5000 is a lot of money but it makes more sense to put on paper that the aldermen will get paid for each meeting they attend * and if there are only 2 they get paid for 2 but don't pay for 4 when when there are only 2.
I don't know how this could be done but since each alderman is at at least one committee meeting, make that something they get paid for when they attend that meeting. with 2 committee mtgs per mo., you get paid for that time spent working on city problems.
People don't LIKE MONEY GIVEN when that person is not working and that is what the pay for 4 and be there for 2 amounts to.
Or work out a monthly payment that covers all and not so much per any kind of meeting, a salaried position if you want to call it that.
Why does Finance only meet 2x a mo., and public property is meeting each week?
Alderman decided to seek election on their own...the citizens did not seek them out! Why would you complain and or expect more money for a job you volunteered to seek election for? As Ald Perez said, if you did this to supplement your income, get a second job delivering pizza!! Don't sit there and try to make the citizens of Peru feel bad about your salary and how many hours you put into the job! Maybe if some aldermen would LISTEN to the citizens of our town, they wouldn't have to spend their own time and money looking for issues. This is not directed towards Maysak...because I am sure that no other Aldermen, besides Perez, do any of this!! If you don't like the money, quit! You can do that, right? We should not pay anyone to work 2 meetings and get paid for 4!!! We don't get to work 2 days a week and get paid for 5!!!! Are you serious??? Money should not be the object of why you became aldermen!!!
Money definitely should not be a motivating factor for one to become a alderman, unless you are speaking of making a effort to save the city money. I find fault that a alderman can vote himself/herself a pay raise within their own term rather than voting for a raise and than it becoming effective after the next election. I thought that it was illegal to vote oneself a pay during the same term elected for.
Hey 9:23 am, I have a better idea. Why don't you stop complaining and run for one of the offices the next time it is open? Then you can have a taste of public service. These people are just stating facts. You are entitled to your opinion about a raise, of course, but the constant hammering of people is what stops good people from running for public office. Most people in public service do this DESPITE small people like you who feel empowered complaining in anonymity.
To Mr. Perez and Mrs. Mayczak, why do you come on here and validate these anonymous comments? Stop worrying about what 12 people think and keep your eye on the big picture. No one is going to feel sorry for a publicly elected person. Do what you think is best and stop responding to anonymous people (including me) that 95 percent of voters pay no attention to, or if they do, view it as a gossipy side show.
I'm sure you view it as every person's opinion matters, and that is fine if they give you a call or send you a message. But the bottom line is leaders have to stay focused on doing what is right and the big picture. Best wishes with your work on the council.
11:28 AM
If you think the number of people reading this blog is 12 , you are very wrong and I might say would be amazed at the number of people worldwide that read this blog. I'm sorry that you feel that people who run for elected office should be protected from unpleasant conversation. That could account for the number of bad decisions made at all levels of government.
On the contrary the more people that comment the better it is for all of us whether we like what is said or not. At least it makes people think about the manner in which they are governed.
4:48PM
Can anyone please let us know what is wrong with the truck at the cemetery. It seems to be a common happening in the city that a vehicle is no longer worth repairing and let's get a new one becomes the mantra.
No. 1, how well is the truck maintained? What part of the truck is the problem, tires?, engine?, body? brakes? transmission? This truck does not need to travel far, I assume. What is it used for? How old is the truck? Has a qualified person looked at it?
11:28 And the fact is that these men and women chose to seek the office of alderman. No one forced them to do such. I applaud them for putting in the time and energy that they seem to put into their job but no one (and I mean no one) should get paid for nothing. Maybe if the aldermen would listen to the public and search for answers (instead of making excuses) for certain problems that exist in our town they wouldn't have to go running all around town. If they would work with (instead of against) the citizens we could accomplish a great deal. I personally don't think it's necessary to toot ones own horn and tell us how much work you do. You chose to do it and though I'm sure it may seems a thankless job there are those of us who do appreciate your endeavors. However, we would like to be considered as caring, involved citizens who are seeking answers and solutions to problems we see on a daily basis. Since the aldermen can't be everywhere all the time I would think you would be thankful that citizens are pointing out flaws in our town and giving you the opportunity to investigate them and find solutions. Once again I think communication is the key to success and I personally feel we are lacking in that aspect of government.
Lois,
The reference to 12 was sarcasm and I was not trying to demean your efforts but let's not overestimate the importance of any blog with anonymous people making accusations and rumors flying. Give me a break. It is the equivalent of a big coffee shop where everyone has an opinion, but that doesn't mean anything productive really happens. It is a place to share opinions about one local city government and the people who run it. Many of your "readers" are just enjoying themselves reading foolish commentary.
Anyway, my point was not to diminish you or the blog but to make a statement to those two city council members. I AGREE they should not be shielded from comments they don't like, I just don't think the ones they listen to should be here. They should spend their time with people who come forward with concerns and express those concerns coherently, not in a place where crazy people throw out a bunch of conspiracy theories about the fire department or "PVAS."
2:29 PM
I am sorry you believe this all to be lighthearted banter because it is not intended as such. Government is serious business and if someone can put out just one idea that benefits us and even though it will be on a blog then we need to take it into consideration.
Just because someone becomes an elected official does not mean they have the time or energy to solve all problems. So if someone writes and comments with a possible solution, then it is advisable to take it into consideration even if it is on a blog.
I would like to point out the recent episode of the damaged park bench. It had been pointed out to the SPW many months ago and also to the first ward aldermen and the public property committee and nothing got done until a picture was published and comments received. Guess what the bench is gone finally. One small thing I admit but maybe next time it will be more, so don't downgrade the ideas or thoughts people express.
Many residents and I mean many are not comfortable calling their aldermen for anything perhaps because of past experiences or perhaps they are easily intimidated. Here they can be anon and can express topics or concerns without fear of any retribution or fear of being thought silly.
In fact someone recently said that nothing seems to get done unless it is pointed out on the blog.
@ 2:29 , If you look back at the meeting minutes from a council meeting in August or so , a citizen did come forward with legitimate questions and complaints about city officials and city departments and the compaints even made the front page of the News Trib and what happened with that ? NOTHING . That person has been harassed and intimidated , suspended and an outcast all year since he demanded an apology because an Officer verbally assaulted his brother last January . Why would someone not make anonymous complaints and avoid going through all that ? These blogs are read by other authorities other than the corrupt city of Peru . Attorney General statistics are that they monitor no less than 75% of All blogs . Espescially when complaints are files with them against municipalities and non-for-profits . Not all anonymous complaints are made by wack-jobs .
Could anyone inform me whether the city council, public works committee or any other council committee has refused a request to purchase a vehicle or to transfer a vehicle from one department to another. Lois has stated several critical questions which should be considered before a determination is made.
These questions are:
1. What is wrong with the vehicle that is being disposed of?
2. What maintenance program has been utilized with this vehicle?
3. What part of the vehicle is the problem i.e. tires, windshield wipers, transmission, engine, body etc.?
4. What is the vehicle used for and how much and how often is it used?
5. How old is the vehicle and has a qualified person looked at it?
6. Could some of the work to repair the vehicle be done in house? I understand that there are two mechanics employed by the city full time.
7. What cost saving devices have been utilized by the asking and purchasing parties to save money i.e. Comparison of buying new vs. used etc.
Lois and 9:11 p.m.
Thank you for the responses. I do recognize that some feel this is the only forum to be heard and that is too bad. I just feel some more direct avenues are best served to make a difference. Good luck.
We now have two fire department command
Vehicles, one recently purchased for
$28,000 plus. Now we need a plow for it. Mentioned in a earlier blog, to plow the fire chiefs driveway. Funny. Doesn't he have a personal ATV with a plow attached? Oh, I guess he would request money for gas for it's use to plow his driveway. How about the city plow it if he is to busy, they plow the fd'a lot dont they. Oh, about those command vehicles. Isn't one parked at the ADM plant? Isn't that where one member of the fire dept works full time? Taxpayers pay for personal use? Gas. Insurance , maintenance.??? Heck, I need a new vehicle to get just to and from work, taxpayers, help me!! Makes no sense, why not maintain the blazer the FD had. I guess show is for everything. At least the Peru fire department had a up and running website when the Riordan boys were involved with the dept. The use to do alot around that station without being paid. Nobody seems to mention that!! My opinion and observations over the years regarding my blog here. Was the graphic for the new command vehicle for the fd included in the price of $28,000 plus?? Just wondering.
I'm re-reading these blogs from months ago and comparing them with what is going on now! 1) new vehicle was purchased for fire department $28,000 (imagine that- the appointed fire chief donated $600 to mayor Harls cpaign
Fund for the upcoming election. ???Did the city
get re-imbursed for gas, wear n tear on that blazer command vehicle that was used and seen at ADM to get the fireman to and from his full-time job? Someone
Said this was happening for a LONG TIME. WOW!!' Was this slid under the rug????
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