Monday, July 30, 2012
Soon the Council Will Have the Room to Themselves
Fewer and fewer people are attending Peru City Council Meetings. Beside the News Reporters, Department Heads, Engineers, and about 5 people, that was it. Actually all the action had taken place at the Public Property Meeting where one could see the city in action and let it be said that the 3 of us non elected residents walked out very discouraged about the representation the citizens of Peru have at this time.
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29 comments:
Lois can you be more specific?
Who were the brave 3 and why were you 3 so disgusted?
I heard the news this morning Rod wants to video record meetings? and why would the others want or approve that? Mark my" word" it will not pass. No how No Way!!!! I can't wait to follow this headline because we will all see just how hypocritical that council is when it comes to spending. They will use spending for the reason why they will not do it but yet they blow money on other waste such as Harl signs. Those signs are more than I'm sure a camera is.
Another good try Rod but No Thanks!!!!
Signed:
Fellow Council Members
Could you explain in detail further? Most of the details you mention will answer the question of poor citizen participation. Also the sass involved in public comments has damaged council meeting attendance.
Another self promotion episode! Prime time on NBC, I hope they won't cancel the Olympic coverage so we can watch PERU LIVE.
I think citizen participation is down because of the constant coverage of items like fireworks and pickleball. Too much nonsense for most residents!
There seem to be several aspects of opposition.
Some are opposed to entire administration of Peru, both its structure and interactions with citizens. They seem opposed to any action by the government.
Some seem to be opposed to specific actions and activities more than other activities. Some support or attack certain representatives.
I am assuming that the disappointment in attendance comes more from the low numbers of citizens there, no matter what camp they are in. But believe me, transparency fires up activism. Be tireless in shining the spotlight and eventually the average citizen will care.
Watch who champions real transparency and who opposes it. That will tell the voters all they need to know.
11:02 AM
You don't have to worry your favorite programs won't be interrupted.
Live streaming means that you will go to the city web site and click on a link within that site and you can then choose the date of what meeting you wish to watch in the convenience of your home on your free time.
Go to the Princeton web site, they have been doing it for a long time.
11:35 AM
I can't stress enough that committee meetings are the place decisions are made and because it is fairly informal you will see the aldermen and what they believe in in an informal setting. Thanks to the Open Meeting Act, you can always attend and even audiotape if you like. Several of the meetings are held prior to City Council meetings, so I do encourage you to check the agendas on the city web site and come to see your city in action, making decisions and sometimes differing points of view.
All I have to say is~ It's about time!!! I've been a traveling business man for the past 8 years. How I would appreciate to log in to view a meeting now and then.
I read the trib on line and many times I wished I was at that meeting to get the full story.
Good Job Alderman Perez
Gary C.
Well said Gary C. and Lois.
I might as well share this here as well as on FB. Voting records, agendas, minutes, packets, e-mails, podcasts, etc... all in one spot. You will also notice that notes from the individual board meetings are embedded within the council minutes. This is terrific. Check it out!
http://naperville.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2
I tried that link and it would not allow me in without user name and pw. Is there another route to travel through.
Search on google
Naperville, Il+ city council +video and the site above should be in your search results. I had no problem navigating the links without a login. Scroll to the bottom links including City Council and from their you can see the list of recent meetings. To the right of each meeting, you can choose to view or download the video. Hope you can get to it. If not, I'll try to post some screen shots.
Thanks that did work, I am listening now.
Pretty impressive city council
Is it mandatory that every member of the public , whether scheduled to speak or not, must sign in to the meetings and be reported in meeting notes and or videotaped if the meetings are streamed? I would guess that requirement might stop some residents from attending because of retaliation worries around here.
No sign in at council meetings but sometimes they do at committee meetings.I think sometimes it protects you to sign in because you can see yes you heard something and your name on a paper proves you were there.
Al least some people are putting their high I.Q's to work. Yes I agree all meetings of every aspect of our city departments should be FULLY VIDEOTAPED AND MADE AVAILABLE TO WE TAXPAYERS WHO DON'T GET PAID TO ATTEND MEETINGS BECAUSE WE ARE TOO BUSY WORKING 60+ hours and raising our children who hopefully will become the future taxpayers. Why not have the meetings available to us. The only reason anyone would vote nay to this is because of the possibilities of corruptions of government and it would possibly reaffirm one unprofessional behavior towards taxpayers who may be in attendance at meetings. Follow the yellow brick road. This needs to be on titled blogs on the left of this site to make it more accessible for ones viewing. Thank You. If the city can spend and approve vehicles that were unnecessary than they can budget cameras.
This topic of meetings being videotaped and made available via the Internet shouldn't be a major issue by Mayor Harl. It wouldn't surprise me if this issue is drawn out until after spring of 2013. One can only imagine why that would be. HUM. DONT FORGET VETO POWER, HUM!
I can almost guarantee you that this issue will not be received with open arms nor will it pass without months of debating the issue.
If the city can afford to donate a 2002 Chevy Blazer (was driven by asst. fire chief Duncan for 5-6years, he would drive to and from his full-time job (I heard), (? Who paid for gas?), to Peru rescue, then evidently coughing up the monies for video cameras to record meeting should be no problem. I CAN SEE IT COMING THAT THE COST IS TOO HIGH. Again, monies was there for the mayors dinner at Olive Garden. And don't forget what Peru could have made on the concerts. Road projects signs with
Harls name on them too costs taxpayers. Pickleball equipment too. Only one discussion at council meeting should approve the meetings being televised not months. There should not be any "grey areas" on this issue.
You are right, it doesn't even require a discussion. Just a few weeks ago, I heard Ald. Radtke make a remark at a meeting with some individuals connected with Brownfield projects and the EPA. He said "What do you do if you are an affluent city like Peru?" It rather knocked my socks off because I have been hearing for the last several years that we had to money for extras. Not even a small aplash pad for our children. I think he needs to tell others where the "moola" is hidden.
Who are the 3 independant voices that brave these meetings for liberty and justice for all? Who are these 3 super heroes that fight for freedom against the forces of The Dark Knight of City government? Who are these 3 that stand up for equal representation of fireworks? Those 3 with a unbias opinion? Who are those 3 that were described as leaving the meeting disgusted and outraged by the height of the fireworks? Who are those masked marvels and where is their headquarters?
This alderman is also on the finance committee. Would he study the city debt at present and research the meaning of affluent.
A town which is 10,000 in population and over $40,000,000 in debt is not affluent.
A town which has retail stores as it main occupation paying minimum wages and going up to $9 dollars per hour is not affluent.
Maybe the problem is that the alderman doesn't understand the meaning of the word and actually thinks Peru is a affluent city.
10:25 Maybe one will run for office?
10:25
You know, when you cleverly mock the three in that way, I am sure it makes many who agree with you laugh. But it has funny effect on people like me who did not really have a horse in the race. Kind of makes me want to dedicate every spare hour I have to support them. I wonder if that is an isolated reaction. Who knows.
If the vocal minority gets mocked enough, maybe some powerful allies will be found. Denigrating the few often spurs a groundswell of support from the most unlikely sources.
7:24 You would first have to find out what they support. Then you would want to find out which horse they have in your race. And which direction the horse is running. It would be best for you to study the issue and make your own conclusions about the outcome. If you care about where pickleball is located or which company gets the fireworks show, then join the club to remove the rec. group and city council. If you have gone or got a accurate report of the rec. groups meetings than you may less dismayed about the so called issues. There may be a groundswell of support, but you may be surprised that its not for the horse in the race carrying the red flag against the 3rd of July fireworks tradition.
Whooo are the 3?
9:42 it is nice to see you can write a non sarcastic and considered reply. Thanks for the advice. Are you saying you don't care where new park activities are located and you don't care who gets the fireworks, and anyone who does care about those things wants the rec com eliminated? I don't see it that way. In this case the symptoms may be outwardly minor but the disease, like some of the attitudes of those in power, seems very serious. I had no idea until I started paying attention and reading the minutes of meetings. Maybe when others do, they will agree with you. Making fun of the minority just makes me lean the other way. From my experience, showing a lack of respect toward the opinions of the opposition, no matter how trivial or bothersome the issue, is often an indicator of what side I tend to avoid.
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