A Facebook page has been set up for information regarding the petitions being circulated in order to place some new choices for Peru on the March referendum.
The question will be:
Shall Peru Restrict the number of Aldermen to Six with one alderman representing each ward, plus an additional two aldermen to be elected at large?
The title of this posting is the title of the Facebook page. Please stop by and add your like to it.
31 comments:
The problem is not with the number of Aldermen we have. The problem is with the executive branch of the government. We need to change to a Council / Manager form of government and remove the day to day operaion of the City from the Mayor's office. At the same time, we can do away with the position of Treasurer and elected city clerk.
7:34 AM
If we change from 8 to 6 with 2 at large, you will have 3 people you can reach out to if needed. As it is now, aldermen are very territorial and will not answer questions about problems that are in other wards. With the change you will now have 3 aldermen to go to for answers. It will eliminate the answer of that is not in my ward. At present there are at least 2 wards where people have little to no representation. At large aldermen will change that. This is not new, many cities use this form of governing and have for many years.
7:34 am, You are absolutely correct. However, in order to stand a reasonable chance of someday changing the city of Peru to a Managerial form of government we must start by electing aldermen who are agreeable to that change. Yes, it will have to ultimately come in the form of a referendum, but you need elected officials on board who understand the value in that form of government who will endorse it in open meeting and not mbe afraid of retribution from the status quo executive the current majority of minion aldermen.
We definately need a City Manager and the best start to that ultimate goal is to begin by electing aldermen who are on board and understand that need.
So, lets all get on board with this petition drive.
More representation with less tax dollars in aldermen salaries is a great start.
In a age of super software, self driven cars and creative financing in which all revenue is put in the general fund and transferred to a expenditure which normally will be paid off by our children or grandchildren a change of city government which will lower costs, increase every citizens amount of representation and enable interested and capable individuals greater opportunity to be a member of the city council is a positive and much welcome idea for the City of Peru. Show me this petition, I'll find the line to sign.
I AGREE WITH 7:34 ON THIS SUBJECT !!
I think this is agreat way to go. I wish I had 3 aldermen to call if I have a problem. The east end of Peru has no one to represent them.
I have called both my aldermen,woman on a problem and got nowhere, but if there were 2 not connected to this first ward, we might get some representation. One of our alderman has been in two long, the other is new, and shes afraid to step on any toes, so she follows suit with the rest. She doesn't think for herself. And the male alderman can't think at all.
I'm not from Peru but I follow this blog because I like to be Nosey with all the mess Peru is in. Your officials don't seem to have the people's best interest at heart so I think it would be great for citizens to take the bull by the horns and do a petition to show government the people have a voice.
We need to start talking about merging LaSalle and Peru.
AMEN 8:24, We need one town, one mayor, one city council. If that was done the population would still only be just over 20,000 residents.
You have outside individuals making post about changing forms of government for Peru, consider their motive before you dash to the other side of the fence. Consider the real-estate taxes in Peru that are much lower, the cost of water, the cost of electricity, the sales tax base. The new schools. Yes, these are a result of the past government in Peru in action. You do have a small group that has other designs for Peru, self interest, self promotion, self-serving. Beware they visit the site often, the authors of how to kill a community!
Well said, 9:56. Who in the world comes up with these ideas? I love Peru. It's not a town of 500 or 1,000 people, although all of them also have their own mayors and councils of some kind. So what? Are you telling me it would be "cheaper" if they all consolidated with other little towns around them? Please.
This is the same argument about school consolidation, that it will save money. No in almost all cases it will not. It will usually cost you money. This has been proven with study after study after study.
Criticize things you don't like but those of you who want to restructure or give our local control away, please find a new cause. By the way Lois your Facebook page has 21 likes. Sounds like a revolution in action.
I love my town. Like 9:56 said I love my lower taxes, I love my services, I love our schools and I love this community. It is far from perfect, but there are many things here to love.
But I think MANY of the commenters on here are NOT from Peru. This blog is bad for our community and bad for business. This is the place in the Illinois Valley I would want to live, and it is absolutely the place to do business and everyone knows that.
Can we celebrate anything positive? No because then there would be nothing to blog about.
How many revolutions have they had. The revolution to get Baker out of office-won. The revolution to get Harl out of office-lost. The revolution to eliminate the number of city alderman-lost. The revolution to eliminate home rule-lost. The revolution to change the form of government-pending. It appears that some of those circulating the idea have no idea what they want. Then once they win, they have no idea what they gained if anything. What would you gain by changing Peru's form of governement with less representation? Fewer elected officials with larger responsibilities? Will that work?
9:56 AM
You are trying to make noise about something that will have no effect upon:
Your real estate taxes
The cost of water and electricity
Sales tax base
Good Schools
We are talking about making government smaller. I have watched this city and its government for many years and particularly the last 5 and see that much more could be accomplished in a more effective way without the 2 aldermen per ward and this is even more important since the redistricting has taken place. We now have wards where I would think that as many as 40 to 50% of the residents don't vote and it has become very difficult to find people who wish to run for office. We have other wards that have many people who would be interested in being a part of the decision making in the city. By encouraging at large representation, we are covering those poorly represented areas with several aldermen. These problems have only increased since Peru is undergoing a demographic and age change in their population. The proposed change in my opinion can only be a win win for the city.
11:48 AM
I suggest you look up and study the word "revolution"
Major corporations and successful businesses have a 5yr goal plan always in place. They consider this change over a must to stay updated, competitive and acheiving better business practices.
How many years ago has Peru City Council changed from 5 wards and 10
aldermen to 4 wards and 8 aldermen (always 2 aldermen/ward)?
Some would question why the suburbs with all their traffic problems, lack of employees, and growth difficulties have not expanded this way. I believe the main reason everything has stopped expanding west is that we do not have jobs! And, until we have representation that knows how to change this and creates positive growth we will not have jobs.
Presently LaSalle County is a retirement community. LaSalle County should be in a booming envirnoment simply because Chicago cannot expand to the East and our property is considered dirt cheap. The transportation is in place and with updates and additions we should be growing with leaps and bounds. Instead we are stagnating and remaining a 1 horse town. We are losing industry, retail and more importantly the youth to drive our area into the 22nd Century.
We need leaders who have vision - not leaders who continue to self serve themselves.
ok Lois, we get the idea. You have someone that wants to run but lives in the same area as someone they don't want to run against. And if you can get a election with that would allow you to vote for 8 out ? candidates, you may get the one person you want in office. What if all the candidates are from ONE AREA of town. Do you get more representation? Unlikely. I think the most logical step is to get those that represent you to buy in on what your issues or needs are. Who is your representative and what issues are you unhappy with?
1:58 PM
I am talking city wide and I don't know anyone who does not want to run against someone in particular. Each ward would be able to vote for 3 candidates, one for ward alderman and than hopefully we would have a pool of at large candidates. Say we had 5 people running at large, each voter will be able to vote for 2 of them.
I have no one in particular in mind as I don't know who will be running. If all candidates are from one ward and they all have excellent qualifications, that is excellent to get a pool of qualified people. Would you rather vote for an unqualified individual just because he lives in your ward or perhaps someone who lives in an adjacent ward but has excellent qualifications to be a good alderman?
The petitions are only to get this proposition on the ballot and the people of Peru will decide.
1:42 I sense that you have touched on a few issues. The lack of jobs has stagnated the area. The area had a large manufacturing base and the entire USA has faltered in Manufacturing jobs. Not just the LaSalle County. Yes, education goes to the areas with the jobs and when you lose young talent you lose a great deal.
I don't think you can blame government for the slow economy and any local elected officials for the economic slowdown. Wall Street, greed and the many that live beyond their means may be the blame.
LaSalle County as a retirement village. According to statistics we are average in retirement, nothing more and nothing less. We may think we have alot of retired people, but we don't.
Over the last year retail sales are up across the country, and industrial manufacturing is rising. Much of is the recent success of the auto-industry.
Government has created many problems like the pension crises, health insurance, assistance programs. I live in a community that has a low crime rate, affordable taxes, good education and outstanding fried chicken. I like my neighbors. I don't ask for much more. Why blame anybody but yourself for living in LaSalle County?
Lois, have you ever voted for a unqualified candidate?
3:15 Pm
Sure I voted for Mayor Scott Harl.
Under the current government structure, Peru will most likely never have a qualified Mayor again. The job does not pay enough and the political nature of it can be detrimental to a private business person. So, the pool of people that are qualified to be Mayor is reduced to either a retired person (best case) or somebody that is politically motivated. Our current leadership is purely political. Just look at the campaign donation list.
The best hope for Peru is to change to a Managerial Form of government. Under his form, the City Manager is isolated from the politics and answers only to the full council. The Mayor becomes a voice and does not have executive power. The Manager must have specific qualifications and experience. The Mayor and Council cannot interfere in the day to day operations of the City. They cannot play with accounts (like taking money from the electric fund to pay for the water fund) without legislative action. The council and mayor set the direction, the Manager leads the way.
If we keep the current government, Peru will never grow beyond the little backwater town it is. Twenty years from now, everything will be the same with the exception of the names on the City payroll - the names will gradually shift to the friends and family of the new "Don".
Whoever the scholar is that believes everything is cheaper in Peru should talk to the factory managers. This person will get his eyes opened wide very quickly. Just the price of electricity compared to LaSalle will be a "shock"!!!
@2:40 LaSalle County area lost its large manufacturing base in the 80's. This is long before other areas in the United States and these other areas have returned to being thriving locations. LaSalle County has not.
Government has alot to do with this slowdown and local government has been greedy and self serving to a great excess.
Wall Street is not in a slowdown, presently it is at a all time high.
This is a area which is above the average in percentage of retirements and also high in average age. The community does not have a low crime rate in comparison to other areas of our size. Because you don't ask for much does not mean that you can't get alittle back for what you are paying so much for. Personally I would like to see Peru improve and not have the idea such as you that anyone is to blame for living here.
No matter which direction you travel Peru is 60 miles away when you get there and where you have gotten to is twice as big as when you where there before. No matter which direction travel 60 to 90 minutes away and there is progress. Than come home to where 80 and 39 intersect, the Illinois River flows, rairoad track runs and a airport exists. The population never increases in Peru or LaSalle County but we have outstanding fried chicken. No jobs but outstanding fried chicken! WHY?
The video is on the city web site for the October 21 meeting. This is the mtg which named the Fire Chief and Building and Zonging Inspector etc. and their explanation.
Be careful when comparing the stock market to the economy. They are not one and the same. The market is being held at an artificially high level because the FED is holding interest rates at essentially 0%. The stock market is the only place to put money.
On the other hand, many businesses are still stockpiling cash or buying back their own stock. They are not investing in the future.
Locally, LaSalle County is stuck in slow gear because, frankly, the voters don't want the area to grow. They like it they way it is. The average age is nearing retirement and they "already got theirs." All you have to do is read the paper whenever somebody comes up with a business idea. If it goes against the grain, it is resisted. The sand mining is only one example (don't get me going on that one... sand has been mined in this area since the 1800's....). Another example is fish processing - a company wanted to take advantage of the Asian Carp and open a processing plant in Spring Valley - but no, people thought it would smell funny. They did not care about the fifty full time jobs.
No... people around here like it just they way it is. They want to keep the outsiders out. They are happy when people stop and spend money, but the feeling is that outsiders need to leave before sundown and not upset the normal flow of the day.
The Building and Zoning Inspector position has done very little if anything for the City of Peru with the cost of $50,000 plus fringe benefits to Peru.
Presently it is mainly being utilized as a means of creating a part time position of Fire Chief into a full time occupation abnormally raising the Fire Chiefs pay from $4,000/year to $84,000/year, or $335 to $7,000/month. This NEW position was not published as a job opening and someone or some group must of have thought they could not only make a automatic appointment but grant a $80,000 pay promotion without notice. Presently "Peru City Government" conducts business with the theory that you don't skin the whole cat when you can continue to take alittle bit at a time.
What position is presently responsible for such excessive expenditures? Who is in the line of check and balances?
@8:45 When you sign multi million dollar contracts without competitive bidding you also don't concern yourself with check and balance procedures.
With paperless procedures implemented in city government how does the citizen create a through background of city business practices? What will be the final cost of the city to go paperless. What assurances does Connecting Point make that this program will be a success?
When the Next mayor comes in I hope he knows he's gone!
11:44, you would think the next mayor of peru will use this as part of their campaigning strategy. 8:45, you are so correct. The previous building/zoning inspector did basically nothing. So hiring a full-time chief wasn't necessary. What was perus population in 2009,10,11,12? Now? No growth? Needless to say, not much growth going on now. To top matters off, no degrees of either an associates, bachelors, or masters in fire science. King donates though to Harls campaign fund. Did Liberty Fire Company donate to Harls Campaign Fund?
You know how they define responsible government in Peru? all the crap goes down and everybody starts pointing fiingers and , " who's responsible?"
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