“It doesn’t take a majority to win, just a tireless minority that will keep starting brush fires in the mind and hearts of their fellow men.”

Samuel Adams

Monday, August 12, 2013

Are There Regulations and Rules About Informing All Aldermen About Special Meetings

I don't know the proper procedure about informing all aldermen when a special meeting will be held and their attendance is requested but common sense says it starts with the mayor and in this day of electronic communication, it should only take one email and a BCC or CC to each one requested to attend.

Why is it happening that we have one alderman who is not receiving messages and the mayor and others insist he is being texted. He is the one alderman who is persistent in his attempts to work for the city and do what is right.  Last week you may have see there was a Public Works Mtg (closed session only).  I only know that because someone told me and I am absolutely sure that the other alderman don't check the city web site everyday looking to see if a mtg has been posted that they should know about.

Being an elected official involves accepting responsibility for your actions and it is not happening. I did not go to this meeting for personal reasons but certainly know many who did and I am hearing the same from each and every one of them. The slogan has become "Go my way or the highway". There is no room for dissension in this city. This video should be on quickly, I hope it does not disappear.

63 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love healthy debate among city councils, (you know agree to disagree) but after reading the paper this morning regarding the meeting last night I am embarrassed. And the aldermen and mayor should be also. What is going on with this group. Whether or not they have issues with Alderman Perez those issues should be left at the door of the council chambers. Please grow up!

Anonymous said...

How can all of the other aldermen insist that all alderman were e-mailed? Only the person doing the e-mailing would know who he or she e-mailed. Also, wouldn't the committee hosting the meeting be responsible to contact all involved? Why would someone from another committee be doing the e-mailing?

Anonymous said...

If you've ever attended a council meeting you will walk away knowing that there is definitely animosity amongst the aldermen themselves and animosity from the mayor to one alderman in particular. It's too bad that the videos of these meetings don't show the facial expressions because many times they speak louder than words themselves.

Anonymous said...

Who was at this meeting?

Anonymous said...

I like the texting argument.

You can check phone records. If the alderman was texted it would show up on the phone records. It is also easy to set up a dummy account with alderman Perez name and show him , see I texted you.

It woul be nice to see what happened. If we had a local newspaper they might investigate it. Someone should start a newspaper here. Maybe a newspaper could move into one of the buildings.

Anonymous said...

I was at the meeting and in particular alderman Waldorf and aldermen mueller ganged up on Rodney. It was a classic case of bullying. How would Waldorf know Radtke texted Perez? Mueller said the agenda for the meeting in question was online and Perez should have checked it. Does she check every committee meeting agenda to see if she should attend, or did somebody make sure she knew to be there? It's classic bullying.

Anonymous said...

The newspaper knew about Biederstedt and decided against putting it in the paper. The township assessor commits fraud, and that's not news???

Anonymous said...

I was very disappointed in Waldorf's immediate negative reaction to Perez's request to be copied on all emails to the alderman. Why the sudden outburst Waldorf? It looked like you lost control. Was Perez talking specifically to you and did he accuse you of anything? Does anybody else think it is odd that all the alderman are included on the email except Perez? And another alderman is suppose to text him about a meeting. Lots of back peddling in those few minutes. Very entertaining to see the true colors. Something smells a little like "busted!" Also find it odd that the agenda was never posted with so many quick votes to be made last night. Not good. Are we back to old politics? Why such a rush?

Anonymous said...

The chairman of the committee in question is responsible in making sure everyone is contacted about special meetings. Who is the chairman?

Anonymous said...

Mayber the city would donate a few hundred dollars so that the citizens can rent a billboard for one month that says in neon letters, Perutownforum.blogspot.com. Also a letter to the local paper asking for them to do a article that there is a blog site. If the paper is for all people who read it they should have no problem with doing this. There are so many people unaware that there is a blog site. Taxpayers have a right to be informed of the dirtiness of perus politics!!!

Anonymous said...

935 a dummy text account? I doubt that anybody would plan to omit Perez from any meeting. I do think its odd that Perez didn't see the agenda posted. I have heard that it is illegal to call a meeting without it having a agenda posted. Alderwomen Mueller was showing that she is responsible in checking the City site for meetings. Should she have to go to Ald. Perez's home and pick him up for meetings? Yes it is his responsibility to check the site for meetings!

Anonymous said...

I, too, attended the meeting and felt that Waldorf, Mueller, and Radke were a little too defensive to not come across as guilty. I wonder how the rest of the aldermen were made aware of the "PUBLIC WORKS CLOSED SESSION" meeting. I would bet they were notified by e-mail and not by the city website notice. And while we're at it why would Radke be responsible to notify anyone? It wasn't his committee having the meeting.

Peru Town Forum said...

10:51 AM

I assure you that is NOT how Ald. Mueller found out about the meeting, by checking the website. The message came through directly to her.

Peru Town Forum said...

10:30 AM

The Public Works Committee is composed of Ald. Waldorf and Lukosus and since Waldorf is the senior alderman, he would be the chairman. I can also assure you from personal experience that when Ald. Waldorf has a gripe with you, he pays no attention to common sense or proper protocol.

Anonymous said...

Lois, Alderman Perez told me Harl was in text communication with Alderwoman Mueller in regards to meeting attendance. I won't speak for Perez but believe he has proof. I was also shocked to hear that during the April natural disaster Perez said he was on the safety committee during that crisis and Harl made communications with all aldermen including Mueller and Sapeinza who were not sworn in yet informing and updating of actions and warnings. Perez was not in that group messaging. How could a mayor get away with this!
I just read the paper! Was Harl even at the meeting? No quotes or comments made by him.

Peru Town Forum said...

12:11 PM

All the while our city atty does not comment and I really think that this needs a legal opinion as to the legality of how communication is conducted and when it does not happen, who is responsible and who is given a reprimand at the least. And when does it become the municipal resposibility and who takes that responsibility.

Anonymous said...

What was this meeting about and who attended? Why such a big fiasco about a meeting?
Lois, it still sounds like the meeting was posted in the allowable time frame. Phone tree or no phone tree, was the meeting posted in time to make it a legal meeting?

Anonymous said...

12:11 Perez was not the only alderman who was not in the group messaging of the April flooding. Mayszak was excluded too.

Anonymous said...

What did Biederstedt Do. Please put it on the blog.

Alonso Quijana said...

The Mayor, members of the council, and City employees would be well advised to review the Illinois Attorney General’s binding opinion 11-006 regarding the freedom of information act and public access regarding electronic messages. All of these messages, e-mails, text, etc., are public records even if they are sent to or received by a private device. That being said, all of the messages sent to the device are subject to review by the public body for potential release, even if they do not pertain to the official duties of the office holder. Furthermore, the Attorney General has determined that e-mails and text messages sent to multiple parties could be considered a violation of the open meetings act if the mail list constitutes a quorum of the public body. A reply to all could be considered discussion as defined by the OMA. Leaving one member of the public body off the list could also constitute a secret meeting.

Peru Town Forum said...

12:35 PM

When a committee such as Public Works has a closed session only, it is a big thing. We never know what the issue before them is because it is a closed session. Many times it has been employee related in the past.

Peru Town Forum said...

1:14 PM

The people of Peru only know the information released by the Department of Professional Regulation. I believe if you go to the LaSalle County Clerk, you might get more information about the participants involved in the situation.

Anonymous said...

12:11 please consider the source before you make any assumptions. Was the meeting posted at City Hall and the web site 48 hours before as regulated? That has been determined to be affirmative by all accounts. If Perez was waiting for a text message, or a formal invitation from Harl about some meeting, good luck. He is the Mayor, not the daycare provider, not the wet nurse, not the scout master. And not his responsibility to bring Ald. Perez to meetings.

Peru Town Forum said...

3:09 PM
It is evident from your comment that you are not aware of events at city hall and how things are run or not. Ald. Perez is present at every scheduled city council meeting and has been at every committee meeting of which he is a member and he also now attends all recreation board meetings as public property is sometimes on the agenda.
This is a Public Works meeting of untmost importance to the mayor and it was done in closed session. Evidently Waldorf made the effort to get in touch with each of the aldermen beside Perez. Accidently I don't believe so, I believe this is intentional. If you believe that each alderman checks the city web site everyday to see what is or isn't taking place, you are out somewhere. Many times information is not on the web site and the web site is for you and I and others for information, not the aldermen. They get their packets of information whenever a mtg is scheduled and sometimes the mayor has been know to text aldermen he wishes to contact and sometimes he tells other aldermen to do it for him. He also does email. This may have been an oversight or it may have been deliberate. Once is accidental but after that it becomes deliberate and it would be refreshing to see some of those responsible to own up to the errors.

Anonymous said...

10:51 yes a dummy text acct. You put in a bogus number and use the persons name then text away. Surprise... It goes through...and shows up on your phone... So you can hold it up and see how it went through.

Actually..most phones won't show after whether I went through or not... But either way, it is easy enough to find out if the alderman did in fact text as he said, on public record. We could kindly ask him to provide his phone records.

Of course he might have texted one message to Rodney, and another to the others. I think that would require more detail from the phone provider that the standard phone records. But under the foia it can berequested, especially if violation of the Oma is suspected. Let the news Trib do it.

Anonymous said...

3:27 if this meeting was untmost for the mayor, who attended and why would anybody leave little Rodney out in the cold.
How do you know that Waldorf contacted everybody but Perez?
3:09 if it is fact that the proper posting was done. Then why was Perez upset?

Anonymous said...

own up to their errors?
i think they are doing the right thing.
you want a cloak and dagger story line for everything that happens in peru.
rodney would probably be more respected by the other council members and the public if we all didnt think of him as your little spy.

Anonymous said...

Ok fine. Perez didn't receive a text from somebody that said they sent one. Happens all the time with Verizon. But how do you explain the exclusion of Perez on the email trails? Guess what folks. Every time a text or email is sent out, ask for a return receipt or confirmation of the email! Basic outlook software folks. If you don't hear back, assume it was not received. Duh.

Anonymous said...

Doesn't anyone realize that most if not all of the anti Rodney comments come out of city hall or those who are assoiciated with those of city hall.
Alderman Perez has become known as the friend of the people of Peru. He is not only a representative who talks he is is a representative who does and it is a shame the others do not follow his leadership. He is currently the only elected official who will admit if he is in error and made a mistake. Rodney Perez is presently the No 1 candidate in the city for Mayor in 2017. Remember you read it here not in the News Trib.

Anonymous said...

803

Thanks for the comic relief! He will have a tough time beating Sherry in the next election.

Anonymous said...

With either Rod or Sherry the city would not lose but look for Sherry to be Mayor Perezs first appoint filling his own vacated position after he takes the Mayors oath. Good luck to both Rod and Sherry in whatever they proceed with in the city of Peru.

Anonymous said...

Nothing wrong with selling your house and moving to another ward. Simple solution. Play the game!

Anonymous said...

Who pays for shirts such as the one Dave Bartley City Clerk had on in the photo in yesterday's paper? Looks like more than a basic shirt, on one sleeve has a white strip. Is this a upgraded shirt? And do the alderman and mayor also have shirts? Who pays for those?

Anonymous said...

Since alderman vunteeded for parking cars at concerts, maybe noonan bought these shirts for them as a thank you. Ha!Ha! bottled water also at council meetings? palets or palate purchased? Stored where? Unnecessary spending of taxpayers money!

Anonymous said...

I thought the name shirts and city position are a great idea. I don't care for the quote "Had a piece lately" with the picture of a piece of pizza on the back side.

Anonymous said...

It can be fully understood why one would not want to run for mayor of a city when dirty
Politics is played by many.

Anonymous said...

Piece of - - s is what I thought. Not
A good saying in my opinion.

Anonymous said...

Don't worry. Hurl won't be running for Mayor again. He has his eyes on bigger fish to *&@( over. He will leave his mess for somebody else to clean up.
Notice how he is starting to attach his name to things... like his radio commercial for IVCC.

Anonymous said...

I thought one council member was paid for the last concert with McGraw? 2:08 who was paid anh who volunteered?

Anonymous said...

I'd like to ask one simple question. My son played in this years Central States. Where was the mayor? We only seen one representative from Peru at these games and that was Perez. Where is the support for our kids?
Made a whole lot of us parents from Peru sick.
Wake up Peru!

Anonymous said...

Probably was busy working on the agenda's for closed session council meeting 6:06. For crying out loud, there are so many of them that it's a full-time job.

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:06 Funny you should mention this. The group we sat with at the last game we asked each other the same question. We only made one Oglesby game but remember seeing Finley there. I told my friend it's not an election year, why would he.

Anonymous said...

He was probably studying for his appraisors test.

Anonymous said...

4:08 I kinda think they are all paid in one way or another to be there.

Anonymous said...

What happened with Biederstedt??

Anonymous said...

Mayor Finley, his council, and Oglesby Little League runs circles around Peru when it comes to the Central States Tournament. Peru used to have a good thing going for them by hosting this event. Now they share the tournament with Oglesby. Soon they'll have none of it due to lack of interest and participation from every level in Peru.

Anonymous said...

Just a couple of years ago Mayor Harl travelled to see L-P play in the baseball state finals. This year he did not travel to Washinton Park to see Peru play in the Centeral States.
The further Harl seperates himself from Peru the more he seems to like it. There is nothing wrong with making out of town contacts but Peru is in dire need of a strong hands on in town Mayor more tha a IML representative, a trip to Washington D.C., a assistant appraiser, a Rev. conducting weddings, a waiter, or someone giving his time and city money to music venues. Would anyone please comment on what development they have seen take place in the last five years in Peru in this Mayors administration.

Anonymous said...

6:06 there was other city officials at the games, however most don't look for the recognition or publicity that Mr.Perez so desires.

Peru Town Forum said...

9:48 A.M

Please name names of those you saw so we can get some verification of those who took the time to attend. Because your comment with "other officials" means nothing.

Anonymous said...

Harl also did not show up for the opening parade for baseball/softball. Since the election was over, there was no need to make an appearance. If the parade had been before the election, you can bet your sweet a@@, he would have been front and center leading the parade.

Anonymous said...

From what I have heard alderman Perez was the only city official who represented Peru at these games.

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:48 again, I live in Peru and my son played in this years tournament. I saw Alderman Perez at several games, I saw Perez and the new alderman guy at the breakfast, not one city official during open ceremonies(2nd year I know of the mayor never showed for) unless other officials were watching from the trees or their cars then they weren't at those games. As a citizen of Peru I expect to see our officials make themselves present. It's their job to be involved all year, not just during an election!

Anonymous said...

More self-serving comments from Perez. I doubt any of the elected officials will place their public service resume on the site.

I did hear that he was the only absent elected city official that did not park cars at the recent concert. Former Ald. Ankiewicz was also parking cars to benefit the City of Peru. Maybe he didn't get one of those text messages. Many or all small town elected officials are involved in various groups that help our community. That goes for LaSalle, Peru, Oglesby, Spring Valley and others.
Your comment suggest you are looking for some recognition for your close associate. I for one respect the one that goes quitely about their business expecting nothing in return. Serving and self-serving are easy to spot. Most of those can tell the difference.

Peru Town Forum said...

12:04 PM

I'm getting good, I can now recognize comments that come from people who frequent city hall when their job requires it.

Anonymous said...

12:04 if Perez did not volunteer to park cars for a private business, maybe it's because he is staring to see the amazing amount of emergency and civic resource, possible economic drain, minimal "charity" function, and general amount of crazy with the city when it comes to these events.

It is hard to stand up against such a popular event. I think all the aderman are afraid to point out or investigate these things. They are way over their heads.

Anonymous said...

Perez wasn't parking cars because he was working at Central States. Those who put down Perez are scared. Perez does so much for this city that it makes the other aldermen pale in comparison, and look bad. Do you see Rodney out watering the flowers at night? I do. He does that every other or every third day. Can you tell me what other alderman does half of what Rodney does for this city?

Anonymous said...

1:18 or maybe its because he wasn't paid to park cars?

Anonymous said...

I would expect the term "I do" to apply to marriage. In this case 2:18 it makes perfect sense on how you feel.

Anonymous said...

To:12:04
From:Rodney Perez

Wouldn't normally comment to such a silly post, but every so often I get nudged to come on to check out a post. Your post made the nudge:-)

You are correct in your first sentence by stating no other elected official would place their public service resume on this site; First... I wouldn't have to place my resume on this, or any other site either. There's nothing I do now that I haven't always done, my volunteerism and attending community events is something I've done way before you, and I even had anything to do with city hall:-)
What you see is what you get.. No resume needed!

As an elected official, I now go where I see my representation of support is needed the most.
The comment from 2:18 is partially accurate, I was at the Central States Game the night of the last concert, after hearing disappointment coming from organizers of Central States of no representation from the City of Peru for the opening ceremonies, I felt a need to be at the game to represent our city.
In addition... I went from the game to Maude Powell Plaza to show support for our municipal band; They have been asking for support from city officials by attending their concerts, so the wife and I make it to see them whenever possible. I hope this is an excusable "Absence" from the concert parking responsibility? I'm sure you and the others had the concert venue covered;-)

In response to your comment about recognition... It's clear to me, that you may not have been in the world of volunteerism much, if at all. The reason I sense that is because you would know that when you're sincere, and passionate about doing for others, rather than for yourself... people appreciate it, then recognition just happens.
What you may be confused with, are those of you who may be pushed to volunteer and aren't sincere about the cause, then, overwork it to get recognition. Those are the phonies who are easy to spot:-)

P.S. FYI..... I did get the concert parking texts, and e-mails. To the best of my knowledge the only one's I didn't receive were: the one's for last weeks special meeting; important updates, and notifications from the April floods, and a couple others. Thankfully at the time of the floods I had an alderman who noticed I wasn't in on the group messaging then filled me in:-)

Thank You,
Alderman Perez

Anonymous said...

I judge a politician not by when they show up and talk to supporters, but how they show up , talk to and try to work with their detractors.

The other leaders in this city never even lower themselves to address the issues, much less reach out to anyone who criticizes them.

Thanks Mr. Perez

Anonymous said...

9:15 Couldn't agree more. I had to chuckle after reading Rodney's post. He backed his critic into a corner then pleasantly whomped em. So much for them thinking Rodney was out on some pond fishing. Sounds like he was more productive than the parking lot boys.

Anonymous said...

I like the word "phonies"- and boy there are a lot of them, and they themselves know who they are. They have to look at themselves in the mirror everyday. FAKE FAKE FAKE. BIRDS FLOCK TOGETHER.

Anonymous said...

The topic subject was "Are there regulations and rules about informing aldermen about meetings". The answer to the topic subject is simple DON'T.