Who is responsible for checking all playground equipment for safety? Who is responsible for making sure our city parks have garbage cans and that they are emptied when full? Who is responsible for keeping our roads clean and in some cases where there are no homes, who is responsible for sidewalks, fences and areas in association with those items? Who was responsible for allowing the liner for the ice rink to be pulled up and tossed into a heap for at least 7 to 10 days?
It appears that the 28th street park has playground issues that are going untended? There are frequent complaints about overflowing garbage cans at Baker Lake and sometimes McKinley Park.
Complaints about areas near ravined or wooded areas in town have become laden with debris and garbage and numerous complaints since last fall have not produced any cleanup. Residents mostly do a very good job of keeping their own yards clean and in good repair
By the way, there is a petition being circulated to eliminate 4 aldermanic positions, one from each ward. The state has recently made changes in municipal government and cities are now allowed to place this concept on a referendum. Do you feel the need to have 2 people representing you on the city council?
75 comments:
We the residents of Peru need to have as much representation as possible. Eliminating representation is the wrong way to go about getting things done. Please remember your Alderman or women are not in charge of running the city on a day to day operation. That task falls on the Mayor's plate. Having 4 less council members gives the city 4 less points of view. Is the petition done to make the City of Peru a more effective government or to eliminate more voices. My guess is that this petition drive is grasp more control of the City for a selected group. A bit vindictive to say the least. Its also very predictable that a union with the resources in place would put alot of money in for control of only 4 spots. Will that help Peru or create more jobs for you? No, but it would be a big benefit for those on the payroll or looking to get on the payroll. When the petition comes to your home, ask who benefits from less representation? And if they say we are saving money, ask them how much will this really save Peru?
No referendum to increase our taxes, now our Mayor wants to eliminate those who oppose his regime. It must be getting too hard to deal with 8 elected positions, so we now we want fewer? You would think that 2 appointed alderman would sway the tide? Now we want to have all 4 appointees? Get serious.
This petition has nothing to do with the current administration, it is an attempt to develop a more effective governance in this city. Many times, I have heard people say they have contacted both of their aldermen and neither one would respond to them. After watching the city for many years, I do not see a benefit to 8 people being elected to work for us and I have signed the petition. Sometimes more is not better. This has not been mentioned on the petition but I would prefer to have a city manager working with a mayor and 4 council members.
As we all know this city is not at present working to the maximum benefit of its residents.
We definitely need to keep two aldermen. Remember, most of the time there are two sides to each issue.
You have a city manager.....its called the MAYOR! If the city is not working as you listed garbage, ditches, unatteded. It looks to be a management probLEM and who is elected to manage the city? Its called the MAYOR. If you have problems, why not contact the mayor? I would think that changing the format would'nt answer your main problem...Nobody listens to me! The solution is to get somebody that listens to you.
can you cite the section of the municipal code that has changed and when it changed? I have read the law several times in the last year and do not remember any changes being considered by teh legislature. Are you sure the petition is not one to adopt the Managerial form of Government?
3:26 PM
It may well be true that there are 2 sides to each story, but on the Peru City Council, that is usually not true because we see 8-0 most of the time. Once in a while 8-1 when it comes to a vote that either Potthoff or Perez objects to.
Brian, reading from the petition is
"to place a referendum on the ballot to reduce the number of elected Aldermen from two (2) per ward to on (1) per ward as allowed in House Bill 2069 passed on August 11, 2011 and which amended Illinois Municipal Code Section 3.1-20-10 and became public act 097-0301. This act allows the reduction of elected aldermen per ward from two (2) to one (1) per ward as per (65ILCS 55-2-3 from Chapter 24 per 5-2-3".
The above comments raise some question. The savings of a reduction to four alderman is a pittance in the finances of Peru. The availability of having two alderman to contact gives the ward more political exposure and is fairer to the citizen as most likely for some reason he/she prefers working with one more than the other.
In response to the comment sometimes more is not better, there is no guarantee that less is better. Being that this particular party wants less and wants a change it is up to them to prove less would be better.
I have never had the experience of my two alderman or any alderman not listening to me. I do co-operate with them to make our conversations convenient time wise to them as well as myself.
A very strong point has been brought up by Brian in regards to this petition - is it even legal?
There is nowhere a city manager is mentioned on this petition and therefore is irrelevant to the topic.
Because the city council votes 8-0 or 7-1 on issues reducing the council does not mean you would not get a 4-0 vote on issues.
A city council of eight offers a greater number of citizens the opportunity to become more politically experienced and possibly a opportunity to go further on in politics.
Also why is this a question now when there are so many questions and projects to be answered which are of so such greater significance?
Everyone has a idea and everyone has a question on how to govern Peru. I'd just like to see all the things which have been started get completed.
To me it doesn't matter the number of aldermen you have representing your ward it's how approachable he or she is. I have experienced a lack of communication with both my aldermen and do not feel comfortable discussing ward matters with either one of them.
Anon 7:19 Sit back, take a deep breath and try to figure out what you are doing wrong.
9:48 PM
Maybe it is not what the citizens are doing but what the elected officials are not doing.
IT would be great if the aldermen spoke their own mind, but there are still 4 of them who are controlled by the past mayor. Please don't tell me I'm crazy, he is still calling a lot of the shots. One of my alderman is fine and will listen, but the other goes off the deep end when you approach him for anything. So we could do without him.
Lois, when have you ever had your Aldermen in the 1st ward ignore you or not listen? They may not agree, nobody agrees on everything. Last I reviewed the local news there had been a number of 5-4 votes about credit cards, sales tax, loans. There seems to be much discussion on many important issues. Your energy to eliminate your council representatives may be a little bit misguided. When you discuss garbage cleanup or job duties with city employees, is that not the job of our Mayor? Think about your frustration and will elimination of the City council help out your concerns.
9:53 AM
Sounds like you heard my concerns from our conversation on Monday evening. It may be the Mayors responsibility but you happen to be a representative of the city government and if you are my alderman that becomes your job to go to the Mayor for me. At least that is how I understand it and what part of your "job" as alderman is. And I have gone to my aldermen (2) since last summer.
i don't get it. everyone is screaming change and when something is brought up for a change you sceam that we can't do that. not sticking up for the mayor here but when you complain to your alderman is it getting back to the mayor for him to look into it? the mayor can't fix something if he don't know its broken so maybe you need to look at your alderman since he has the vote and the mayor is the tie breaker only. yeah with less alderpeople it will save a small amount of money but its a start and if it don't work out well it can be changed again. lets quit creating problems and create real answers instead of pointing fingers
What about a referendum to eliminate appointed positions on library boards?
As a Councilman I would like to see one alderman per ward along with four aldermen at- large.
How this would work? It would go to referendum in November.." if passed".....
2013 election- four seats will be up for election. ( normal election ) The following election- Four seats would be open "at large", meaning, any qualified candidates that reside within city limits would be on that Ballot. If 10 candidates are on the Ballot.. you would vote for 4.
I have not seen the recent petition being passed around that has 4 Alderman only, however, As long as "facts"are out in the public, and makes the November ballot, then the choice is up to the people, As it should be.
The city has many committees that can come with some very time consuming research and homework.
I feel that one pro-active alderman per ward could handle constituents concerns, along with dedicating time to their committee. My concern would be if that one alderman would be sufficient in handling their ward and multiple committees that come with homework. It's always better to have 2-3 aldermen per committee for input and decision making. These may be simple details to work out, just something to think about.
Teamwork is the key to success!!
Rodney Perez
Why doesn't the City hire a City administrator on a trial basis; who reports directly to the City council not the Mayor. The aldermen write the ordinances so write an ordinance; it is apparent the City is not moving in the right direction. If the City administrator is successful; perhaps then a referendum for City Manager form of goverenment should be researched. The salary of the Mayor could eventually be reduced since the position would be a "figure" head and the council and City Manager would make decisions for the best interest of the City.
Kristy
From my conversations with the individual(s) who are circulating the petition to reduce the number of "alderpersons" from 8 to 4, the motivating factor has nothing to do with an expected cost savings from salaries. That savings would not be substantial.
The impression I get is that there is a realization and recognition that while there is no shortage in the "quantity" of aldermen in Peru, but that some folks are convinced the same cannot be said about the "quality" of some of those individuals.
While I certainly agree with that sentiment, I am not convinced that slicing the "monster" in half with one swipe is the best approach.
The problem with that lies in the very real risk that by severing "the beast" in half in hopes of eliminating just the "dead weight" you might just end up removing the brain instead.
While I support any type of citizen participation in the political process, I am concerned about the possibility of this measure making it even more difficult then it has been to achieve "quality" representation on this city council.
In my opinion this referendum, if successful, will be a high stakes gamble that could pay off big-time.
Or, set us back a long, long way. Well, place your bets ladies and gentlemen.
11:39 well stated. You need a variety of different opinions in any democracy. What is the reason there is a petition to remove 4 alderpeople? Maybe a recall election would be better define the intentions of this individual? Is it about one guy from the road committee that is angry about the result of the work of the group of volunteers and alderman that formed the infrastructure committee? Mad about democracy?
Rod, would you include a salary increase for the 1 alderperson?
3:13 pm
no one is angry on the road committee aka as the infrastructure committee. The way it has been managed did sot seem very democratic to me and other observers. There are some very good people and the Mayor maybe should be doing more listening instead of being headstrong.
Who is chairman of this committee? Elected or appointed? How many members to start with and how many of the original members are still on the committee? This is the first time that Mayor Harl has been accused of being too head strong most criticize him of being too hands off rather than hands on.
8:32 PM
The most complete way to get that information is to go to the city web site and read the minutes of the Infrastructure committee. There should be about 3 meetings with minutes online.
Most of the Alderman/woman have a job that they need to support their family or themselves. I don't think 1 alderperson per ward could handle all they do . What happened to the mayors campaign promise to cut back the number of monthly meetings ? Is it that he likes the money too much ? or certain alderman are use to getting 4 meetings in in a month ? Cut back the spending and friveless waste instead of cutting our representation so to speak . With 8 alderpeople its less likely for them to be swayed by our corrupt system . There is more of a chance to have 2 or 3 people with some morals and a backbone to represent us . The mayor can't even do his job why cut back our representation . The mayor is more worried about fundraising for himself than doing anything for our town . There was no "tightening " our belts his entire administration . We've squandered away so much money in the last few years that we're deeper in debt than ever before . There is noone in control of the department heads which leaves the employees on their own all day long . We have superintendants that have no clue how to run their departments and only got their positions because of their names . This is not how city government is to be run . The mayor is no leader what so ever and will not be reelected because he has lied , ignored , belittled , back-stabbed, humiliated publically citizens , and road both sides of the fence his entire term .
Overflowing garbage cans? My family has been to 4 different city parks in the last week and none of them had any garbage cans at all!
I am the person behind this petition. I strongly believe less government involvement is better. Just look at our US government. Too many elected officials. Now how many are doing there jobs or out politicing. No different than our State of Ill. As far as Anon: 8:32 do you read the paper or attend any council or committee meetings. It is obvious you don't. Do you people know the oustanding debt of the City of Peru? +- $32,000,000 from the previous admin and the present. How much debt can you live with? Everyone talks of change but no one wants it. WHY?
@ 10:21
Haha that will take some overtime to get accomplished !
@10:21
and probably a new truck !
3:59
No reason to increase a salary to a single alderman. The ward alderman would have four other aldermen (at large) to assist with any issues within their ward.
The "at large" alderman wouldn't have any more, or less work to do.
@ large would also give citizens additional choices in representation; there are times citizens reach out to aldermen from other wards asking for assistance, most of the time those citizens have to be directed back to their ward aldermen. ( to avoid toe stomping).
Thanks,
Rodney
Steve - we finally agree about something.
Mike, Less representation is the the key to corruption. The State of Illinois problem is a result of politicians bending to the special interest of those employee unions that control those politicians we elected. Having less elected officials makes the process for control much easier for the special interest to gain control. Less government is much different than less representation. Less governement means less involvement in business, less control over our lives. Fewer laws that limit opportunities. I asked a knowledgeble council member about the debt and was very surprised about his response and his breakdown of the exact numbers. You should do the same. And unfortunatly most elected officials have to politic and campaign for funds to run for office in State campaigns and now Mayor of Peru campaigns. I don't believe you have any Alderman that are out raising money for politicing. Most countries that are dissappointed with the leadership change the President, Prime Minister, Czar. You want to keep the Czar but change the village?
At large Aldermen would be able to do anything they want? Rodney, you sound like a expert on this reorganization. You have spent how many years serving? And now want less homework?
Lois, shame on you calling the Mayor headstrong.
I think to save money, we could get by with only 2 meetings a month.Mayor Harl when he took over, the council voted him down 8-0.. he wanted only 2 meetings per month. He also wanted a Superintent of Public works, from outside the city, voted down 8-0. So you have a man that there 30 years, lots of friendships, hard to boss your friends. This city should have been really cleaned up during this winter, no snow, curbs could have been swept. the street sweeper could have been out a lot of days. Nothing done. Too bad.
Peru is not the leader of the Valley anymore. Sorry!
Kristy, you can't have a position bypass the Mayor and report to the city council. We are all inventing ways to best serve the residents and all of the arguements are avoiding the role the Mayor plays in the leadership of our town. We want to hire managers, get rid of department heads, eliminate elected positions. Many the problem is not the thousand different reasons. Maybe its just one?
10:33 AM
I want TERM LIMITS in Peru. Give the people of this town the responsibility of running their city government. Kind of like investing in their community, put in 8 and no more than 12 years and be done and step aside for someone else.
Was that Harl in the backseat with Blagojevich pulling into the federal prison in Colorado ?
I thought the petition was for removal of 4 positions? Now its for term limits. Less meetings and less representation won't give the people more investment into their town.
Anon 11:30 please review the city meeting minutes and you will not be able to find any vote taken on elimination of meetings or hiring a outside super. And you may remember that the Mayor who was in charge for 30 years is not in office. Who do we blame now? Does this recall petition include the Mayor?
11:29
I apologize if that post wasn't clear. I went back to read it wondering how one would assume- " I " wanted less homework. I have been on the council for less than a year, although my fellow aldermen do a fine job serving the city, not all have the same work schedules, or family obligations that can give 100% as a "single ward "alderman, serving on 2-3 committees.
My work schedule is great, my kids are older, and my wife is very supportive. If you know me at all..you'd know I have my book-bag full of "many" homework assignments and passionate about what I get out of each assignment I take on. Point is..keep my assignments coming because each one is a new challenge:-)
With that said.. I would be concerned with the one alderman per ward- it "may" lessen the interest with good qualified candidates, knowing of the sole responsibility of a ward, and extra " homework assignments" that would have to be taken on by serving on multiple committees which are now shared amongst 8 aldermen.. then cut to 4, Could be quite a challenge that carries a four year commitment to the people, and City of Peru.
To Mike: Thank you for stepping up and taking this on! If the citizens want it we will make it work!!
Fresh ideas are always welcome.
Good Luck:-)
Rodney Perez
1:36 PM
Thank you, you got to post before I checked on that. Fewer meetings were all election talk and when push came to shove the aldermen won because some of them told the mayor, they needed the extra cash. I guess he felt sorry for them and backed down on his campaign promise.
As to the hiring of the engineer and spw, the mayor was informed that the council would not agree to his choices and so to not cause any further problems in his new administration, the mayor backed down and that is how we ended up with Bleck as SPW and a continuance of Chamlin. I wish he had brought this up and forced the aldermen to vote on it and they would then be on record.
1:24 PM
The TERM LIMITS are only my thoughts and have nothing to do with the petition to reduce members.
How can a city as large as our county seat, Ottawa, manage to run their thriving city with 4 COMMISSIONERS.
They are really looking good these days.
Rod, again you have further confused all of us. You want 4 or maybe 8 or maybe 1 for each ward. You support the petition or you want to have 8? Not another yes or maybe no idea!
You may want to expand on how the commissioner form of government is different than the aldermatic form. I am also confused about this headstrong Mayor, as you described backing down on all those promises. To compare Ottawa vs Peru, I would review the tax rates, electric rates, water rates, quality of city services. I did read in the Times about the nasty sewer problems in a large area of town that didn't have seperated sewer systems. And we have school systems, why is everybody moving to Peru for the school system? I do notice that the Ottawa Times reporters take a much more positive approach to covering Ottawa news as opposed to the local Peru coverage. You would think by reading the Peru news that the city has a obsession with fireworks displays, parades and running a few adds for the Walleye tournament. Sad but true.
@2:38- please don't say all of us are confused. Maybe you are but I'm not. It looks to me that the petition plan has only one alderman per ward with four for the city.
Rodney's plan is one Alderman per ward with a four more to cover the whole city. Total of eight aldermen. Now who's confused?
Th SPW is the Mayors position to appoint and does not need to be ok'd by the city council. The city engineer position was objected by council members who stated that there was not even a ordinance for a city engineer although if anyone looks up the city directory the last Mayor had a appointed position of city engineer.
The Mayor informed the council that he met with his two choices for (SPW and City Eng.) and that he would introduce them at the next council meeting. After way too much POLITICAL MANEUVERING by the council and a recently elected unconfident Mayor the Mayor gave in to the wishes of the council. If the Mayor had made his appointments he would have made his term a lot more efficient and easier.
The last attempt by the Mayor to decrease the number of city council meetings called for less council meeting and more committee meetings with a monthly salary and a pay raise of 2%. The present coucil gets paid $93.00 per week whether they attend the weekly meeting or not so they can be considered to be salaried.
With the present cost of meeting all the obligations of Peru the cost of the city council pay is too small a fish in the ocean to worry about, there are way bigger fish to fry first.
*Roads
*Sewers
*Water Treatment
*Taxes
*Engineering Costs
*TIF'S
*Business' closing-loss of jobs
*Attracting new business-creation
of jobs
*Completion of unfinished projects
*ETC., ETC., ETC.
Last year the uphill battle was getting the fireworks off the beautiful historic riverfront. This year year it is about a decrease of aldermen. Its going to get interesting to see what the next years bring while Nero fiddles and Rome burns! Some of the recent ideas make as much sense as Shermans March Upon the South.
ANON6:09 I agree with you but, All the above you have mentioned were small fish at one time, The old administration kept frying what they thought were the Big fish and not watching those little fish grow into what Peru is having to fry today. We need an administration that focuses on handling "ALL" issues.Take a look at our current administration,they can't even scale the small fish let alone frying big ones, all i see are ego battles amongst our council.I really disagree with many of Alderman Perez issues he brings up. what i have noticed is he stays on top of what he believes. at first I believed he was singling out certain people and groups but appears to be across the board.Our current administration needs to start frying all fish or we will start frying them come election time.As far as that petition,forget it!!! Peru does not need only five city representatives they just need to learn to work together without corruption.Term Limits would settle that. if anything is going to a referendum it should be term limits. THINK PEOPLE, THINK!!!!
6:25 PM
"beautiful historic waterfront" I think you have been down there recently inhaling too much asbestos dust.
8:51 PM
You stated that they need to start working together and I can assure you that will not happen because there are:
1. Too many outside influences affecting votes that take place on the council.
2. Friendships from too long ago along with the "that is the way we have always done it" mentality.
3. Some of tho members genuinely dislike the Mayor and other council members and publicly have mocked them.
4. We have an elected Mayor, an alderman who thinks he is mayor and a few aldermen who really dislike the Mayor. Too many factions at play.
I have seen the sneers and comments and this group will never work together even if it is for the betterment of Peru.
Give some serious thought about reducing the council and how it might make the sitting members become more independent and willing to work with each other because they have to. Their vote will be their vote and there will be no need to worry about trying to get more people to vote your way. Because of the reputation of the council, good people say I don't want to be a part of the Peru council and I have heard exactly that
All of the current committes only have 2 members on them now instead of 3 and most of them are getting the job done.
Do you wonder why the state changed the law governing the number a city can have sitting on the council?
Lois I have seen my fair share of criticism and mockery of the city council from this blog. My question to you is; do you see any potential future candidates who could lead us in a more productive manner? Surely you have to have some perspective from attending so many meetings/ committee meetings.
Lois, last election a number of people ran for office. Were all those people not "good people"? You also mention that the 2 person committees are getting the job done? Would this not mean that the work is getting done. Outside influences are? The CSO? The Unions? Maude Powell celebration? Peru Little league? And there are friendships? It all sounds like alot of grasping for straws to get rid of all those preceived "old guards". It makes you wonder what you will get or end up with.
At one time Peru had ten aldermen with five wards. Personal opinion is that 6:09 is correct that the present number of aldermen is way down in the lineup of important concerns to the city.
I also agree that there are too many incomplete issues to finish before new unnecessary ones are visited.
Also of major concern is to add to the number of citizens who participate in Peru political life. This would be the most positive act to improve Peru that could happen. If you need proof that our city and LaSalle County need help take a look at the unemployment figures released today. Remember this is a election year in which historically a great economy is present.
If you ask most people in Peru the last item is less voices in government. Fewer councilpeople! It rates behind the topics of free dinners at Olive Garden and a few dollars to support the band or little league. The problem is that we have too few focused on the issues like unemployment or protecting your tax rates. Enough about fireworks, parades, garbage cans. Fewer is not a solution.
Some things will never change until you change the guards....same alderman controlling everything...same companies still getting the contracts...should be interesting come 2013 with other big contracts...some of those alderman act like 13yr old boys playing kick ball and throwing temper tantrums GROW UP or get the heck out of city government!
To 10:52 a.m. - I like the sound of your comment where you suggest "add to the number of citizens who participate" and "this would be the most positive act to improve Peru".
Citizen involvement and volunteerism has a greater potential than I think alot of current elected officials realize.
Folks wanting to contribute ideas should be welcomed by elected officials, if not actually embraced by them.
Speaking of volunteerism, LaSalle is celebrating my favorite day with a St Patrick's Day Parade tomorrow afternoon. I do believe this is considered a volunteer effort which is becoming a yearly event. Thumbs up for them.
LaSalle is becoming the "LEADER OF THE VALLEY"
Anon 1:27 if you value fresh eggs and chicken farms, more bars, more arrests. Then there is no question about who the leader of the Valley is!
There is no leader. There never should have been a leader. We should work together as one "the Illinois Valley". Nothing gets accomplished if towns try to outdo each other. Remember "United we stand. Divided we fall". Politics on all levels has become ugly.
Peru has a lot to offer its citizens. (Low taxes, low electrical rates, ongoing street and sewer improvements) In addition Peru has a outstanding educational system with a state of the art new grade school. Beyond the elementary level, Peru has a distinguished public high school and a nationally known parochial high school.
Peru's retail section is as good as any town of 10,000 as you will find in the country, along with outstanding restaurants at very reasonable prices. Peru provides beautiful parks with complete recreational facilities. The Peru
library is the envy of many towns of much larger size.
Peru has IVCH in town, IVCC a few miles down the road and a modern airport at its north edge. The YMCA is so advanced that I will let it speak for itself.
I could go on and on as I hope many others will comment to the blog on what they LIKE about Peru.
I realize that there is room for improvement, ie... the appearance of the downtown starting with the old Amcore Bank bldg (an unsafe eyesore for way, way too long)
I also would appreciate more citizen participation and volunteerism. I don't believe that Peru needs slogans or trophies with #1 printed on it to be proud of our city. This Pride in Peru is what makes it #1 to us as the pride that residents have in their city makes it #1 to them. Let's keep improving upon "our" Illinois Valley and #1 will take care of itself.
A few corrections Art:
La Salle Peru TWP H.S. is actually located in La Salle and it is shared with Oglesby and La Salle and Peru. We have the stadium and track field in Peru.
The Catholic school known as St Bede is actually located in Bureau Cty and has an association with Spring Valley more than Peru.
Hey people, I went over 7th st. today, and it looks great, somebody must have heard my complaint. Now if you could get the Horticulrist off his butt, and clean up the flower? beds on Shooting Park, would be the best time to do it before it greens up, or is he waiting for the high school kids to do it???
Are all the members on the infrastructure committe qualified in public infrastructure. What are the qualifications to be on this committe? Or is it people who think they know what they talking about? Any experience for these members?
I wouldn't count on high school kids this summer. Unemployed adults should be hired first with LaSalle County having a continuous 13% unemployment rate. When is Peru public works dept. going to start hiring as I have not seen any advertisements yet. Being the last hiring before the next election the number hired will probably break all previous records if it is not watched by the taxpayers.
It is going to be very difficult for the city to hire full timers because a couple of years ago when this administration granted special incentives for early retirements which have been taken advantage of by many former city employees the promise was that it was a win win situation and the retirees would not be replaced.
This brings up a interesting question. How many city workers took the early retirement and how many people have been hired since this offer was granted? When was the last city employee hired? I don't remember any advertisements since a certified plumber was hired.
In regards to city hiring there was a number of men hired last summer for cutting grass etc. Some of these individuals were retired collecting good pensions. People who are unemployed should be considered before a pensioner. This procedure would enable both to receive a monetary stipend.
It will be interesting to follow the hiring methods of the city once the applications are advertised in the paper. Fair hiring and advertised applications were a big point of the Harl campaign and will be one of the subjects which he is to be graded on.
To Art:
Very well said sir. This is gossip and complaint central for anonymous people which is why no one takes it serously.
You are correct that we have many great things to be thankful for. Great schools, low taxes (sales and property taxes) decent shopping, good restaurants and we are close to interstates and beuatiful state parks. Not bad for a town of 10000. There are few I would trade.
The constant compalints about public officials is exactly why it is hard to get more good people to run but overall I think the people doing it now do a pretty good job. If you don't think so, run for office!
As for Peru being the "Leader of the Valley" it was a slogan people! Many cities have them. Take a look.
Thank you Art for saying what needed to be said.
1:33PM
Not sure about qualifications as some of the names were unknowns to me. Mayor Harl personally picked the members from a list of people who had expressed an interest in being on this newly formed committee.
Maybe someone on the committee could answer this question about qualifications.
To 1:33 p.m. - I would hope that members of any committee, elected or appointed, have a certain level of confidense that they, as you so nicely put it, "who think they know what they talking about".
While I'm pretty sure you are only fishing for an argument, I'll take your bait just this once and provide you some background on the qualifications of the "non-aldermen" members on the committee.
We have members who are currently employed professionals or retired professionals in the following areas of expertise that more than qualify them to serve on this committee. Here you go:
Water Supply Systems design and construction, Sewer Collection Systems design and construction, Street and Highway design and construction, Street and Highway construction inspection(Quality Assurance), Asphalt Plant Calibration and Inspection, Asphalt mix design, Municipal Water Treatment operations, Municipal Wastewater Treatment operations, Municipal Water Distribution System operations, Municipal Sewer Collection System operations, Industrial Water Treatment System operations, Finance and Financial Markets.
We have more than enough professional qualification and credibility to go around.
We are highly motivated to improve our city and we all work for free.
If you can identify any other city committee, commission, board, or council with members more qualified for their resepctive mission, please share that information with us.
I provide this information as a (one time) courtesy and I will not participate in any debate with the haters who have nothing to offer anyway.
Maybe they're not haters Steve. Maybe they're interested citizens with legitimate questions looking for honest answers. Why does everything have to be confrontational?
Possibly everything politically stimulated in Peru is so confrontational because:
1. Politics nature is to be confrontational.
2. To challenge the previous administration of forty four years the two candidates and their supporters had to be extremely confrontational and this mood has carried on.
3. Those who had strong beliefs in their candidates and the candidates are still highly politically active.
4. Even though the change promised is transpiring at a moderate pace it is still change and change is not often accepted or appreciated.
5. The present world, country, state and city governments, economies, religions and mores are experiencing tremendous confrontation which the population is continually exposed and reacting to.
As long as there are two or more sides there will be confrontation.
To 11:08 a.m. - If they are "interested citizens with legitimate questions looking for honest ansewers" then they are now much better informed.
If they are haters they will criticize regardless of the information they are provided. Many things are now and will remain confrontational because some people are simply unable to accept any alternatives to the way Peru governement had operated for decades, good, bad, or in-between. They cannot be reasoned with.
They hate what they are threatened by, and they are threatened by anything that is different from what they have known in the past. They cannot comprehend progressive thoughts and ideas. Especially if those ideas originate from people they view as "outsiders".
Sad, but true.
Better recheck your analysis of Peru when it comes to bars and arrests. Add to it money in planes, and do not forget all the gambling establishments.
Post a Comment