The City of Peru's mission is to provide top-quality, fiscally responsible municipal services in a manner that promotes the high standards of our City. (Peru Mission Statement)
Is this a new fad for a city to have a Mission Statement, many communities do not. I could not find one for LaSalle, Ottawa or Spring Valley although some of those have Mission Statements from their Police and Fire Departments.
I found cities that have a Vision Statement and a Mission Statement. I started thinking about whether this was just a cluster of words put together to make someone look responsible. I have never heard anyone in the city say that they have a mission.
Since the city will be redesigning their web site soon. Would you like to see something different and would you like to have input into the statement?.
We at this time do not offer much information on our police or fire departments. I just checked with Ottawa and both of those departments are easily located from the city web site. Both have extensive amounts of information about their employees and units within the dept. Plus statistics of crime for the last several years in Ottawa. La Salle is also very informative about their Police and Fire departments
Would you like to see Peru do something similar to this when they redesign their websites. Maybe we could learn how to be more effective and also more informative to the public by establishing a more comprehensive city web site so that we don't have to search the internet to find our fire department and the police department does not have a separate web site.
If you know of a city that has a great web site, please share with us. Let's offer some constructive information to the city about what you would like to see there.
16 comments:
I understand that the old Peru bank has been sold at auction for $35,000 to someone from New York. Was this a mistake by the city to not have purchased this property?
The price included the building and a large parking lot in back of it. Lets not get yet another "absentee owner".
Lois are you sure the trust is not with a bank ...New York Mellon?
Kristy
About what i'd like to see on new web site . Where to start . How about two year terms for mayor and alderman . New faces and new blood to bring our city back to what it once was !
Kristy, the News Trib did not give any names so your guess is as good as anybodys.
I would like to see some semblance of organization to start with. If I am looking for a committee agenda or minutes, I don't want to look through January, November and June in that order. All agendas and minutes of meetings and committees should not be intermixed but have their own link to follow and be organized by date.
The lot behind the bank is owned by IVCH .
Anon 1:03 All property west of the medical building site and its parking lot is owned by the bank and now, it seems, will be owned by out of town investors from New York. The new owner will own property behind the bank and the the rest of the block behind the frontal properties.
The city failed to purchase this property but did resurface 3rd street to the south for approximately the same amount of money which was borrowed. A $3,000,000 loan for roads but no money to support a much needed downtown improvement. If you truly want something to improve you have to show support for it. Pick up trucks, signs, borrowing money for roads, but would not bid for this large amount of real estate to improve downtown Peru. What a farce! Who is directing this comedy? Time for a new director (mayor). Someone who is a visionary and understands economics.
What has the city administration done with the $81,000 they rec'd from TEST for the property where the Hotel Peru was located? This is property which would have been clear profit for many many years.
TEST being pushed by the Peru Design and Review Board to do it their way and running up expenses beyond their budget has decided to purchase the Coke Plant. Therefore downtown Peru has lost
a $1,000,000 investment and in return is to receive a private parking lot.
Within the same month someone from over 900 miles away buys a huge amount of property for $35,000 in the heart of downtown Peru. Property which could have been a gift horse to the city. Oh I forgot Peru has no money but the Rec. Board somehow continues to receive $75,000 per year, every year, that they do not have to account to anyone for.
Has anyone thought that maybe, just maybe business practices such as mentioned are some of the reasons that Peru has no money and that the biggest reason is that Peru always has money when it is something that is wanted by the particular but not necessarily needed.
Anon 4:48 Along with the new director a city manager would be a move in the positive direction. Than Peru would have a individual who understands development and economics.
A city manager, With the appointments made in the last three years for professional positions? Forget it!
I read this on a friend's facebook wall..I believe this is the kind of person we are looking for
As I was lying in bed last night and thinking about the current state of our city. The potential that is has for the future and where we have come from. Rich in traditions and a city built by blood, sweat and tears how proud we are that we are raising our family in Peru, Illinois. Recently, I have witnessed and heard many comments from people about changing this and changing that. Without action we will never be the positive changes that we could make for our city. So as I drifted to sleep I though what would I do if I was the Mayor of Peru……..
An economy worthy of Peru
We need to set an example for our area that our city is prosperous, stable and fair. We need big ideas, but we also need a city that makes things happen. More than ever, our community needs jobs, and not just basic jobs but jobs that create opportunities with good wages and benefits whether or not people have a college degree. A mayor can’t turn an economy around, but a motivated, focused team can accomplish great things. Together we will make it better.
Better Government
We need to be focused and determined to reduce our budget and stop overspending. Looking at every situation I will listen and evaluate to make sure city government doesn’t control the families of Peru. As a city we need to look at our city payroll as a whole and begin to prioritize our services and front line employees to save money in certain areas of our city. These are tough decisions but they must be made for the viability of our community and to shelter us from more tax increases so money can be spent on things we really need and not on things that waste our precious reserves. Also we need to audit major projects — from major projects to expensive side projects that do not directly affect the people of our city, spending will be targeted and monitored. I believe everyone should have an active part in better government and I believe in a true transparency I urge everyone to get more involved by attending meetings. For those that cannot attend meeting I believe everyone should be able to view our government at work. City Council and committee meeting should be televised through our local cable company for anyone to view. This allows for accountability for every member of city government to be held to the highest standards.
Economic Gardening and Entrepreneurs
When talking about jobs, we often talk of “hunting” big companies to relocate, yet most new jobs actually come from younger, smaller, homegrown companies. Through economic gardening strategies, we can cultivate businesses already here. This process would set forth a long-term strategy to grow jobs by providing a targeted range of services to small companies that demonstrate potential for fast growth. Research shows that investments in these types of companies can produce outsized results-when the city of Littleton, Co lost its biggest employer, its leaders invested in economic gardening. Two decades later, they saw a 100% increase in jobs and a 333% increase in sales tax revenue, with only 25% growth in population. We need to help small to midsize companies get the tools they need to expand. By expanding our economic gardening efforts within out broader business development strategies we can see more job growth with a smaller investment. Economic gardening is not a silver bullet for Peru’s economic situation.
Smart Projects
We need to keep watch against wasteful spending. My approach to big infrastructure projects will be to focus first on whether the project meets our priorities and our community’s values. Second, on whether we can afford it. And third, you cannot change what you tolerate, in order to create a teamwork a leader supports and inverts the current structure. It is our community and together we will make a difference. Lastly, I will have department heads manage their areas like a business being fiscally responsible for each part of our city and holding them accountable to metrics to meet those challenging goals set forth by our current economic conditions. Change is not always easy but it is necessary and department heads will be forced to make tough decisions that make sense to our city.
Our greatest challenge is to develop a committed and determined community. Community is not defined by economic class; it is defined by people with class. My door will be open to every individual, organization and union. Decisions however will be beneficial to both sides of every issue. It is our community and our issues. Therefore you collective voice will help create the Peru that will be featured as a model of success. Together we will make it better
This is the type of leadership Peru need fiscally responsible and conservative in hiring and sound economic growth for this struggling and fragmented city. If anyone knows how to reach this person please let me know.
Steve, this is pretty basic stuff and you sound like a politician. My door will be open and teamwork wins? Together we will make it better? Broader business development strategies? Your reading too many political blogs before you go to bed. And decisions will benefit all sides! That only happens in the unreal world. Warm and fuzzy! It reminds all of us about the I Promise campaign we bought into last time. A model of success....is this taken from some two week conference of school administrators? Please before you decide to knock off Harl, give us something significant. Text book ideas that give generalizations are for our students. We need something for our residents!
Two decades later is the example of economic development you are using. Think of what Peru had 20 years ago vs today. Two decades ago we still had the effect of Westclox closing and very little development North of Shooting Park Road. I believe if you checked the statistics Peru has raised its sales tax by at least 200%, more companies and less population. Before you put Peru under the bus, think about using statistics fairly. Steve, we don't have time to sit and listen. Another person looking to sit and listen is the last thing we need in government today.
Steve S, you just need $20,000 and a bunch of dirt seeking supporters and you will be KING or Mayor.
Anon 11:14 Steve is not trying to knock off Harl. If he was he would be to late. Harl has already knocked himself off.
Post a Comment