Motion to authorize Human Resources to seek applications for position for part-time Economic Development Staff Liaison
Motion to hire selected candidate for part-time administrative assistant in the City Clerk’s Office
From the agenda of tonights City Council meeting.
67 comments:
How much do you have to give at the golf outing for it?
Will probably be one of the city decision makers family or neighbors....Bernie?
Salaries need to be lowered if a department has an asst. My.godness, has our city increased that much over the last couple years for all this hiring. Heard another couple graduates leaving the illinois valley to other states.
So please tell us, who at City Hall has a job because of a golf outing or what they gave to a campaign? Also, please share who at City Hall is related to a city council member who helped him or her get the job. Please be specific.
9:46, it is a joke. get over it. If we actually knew all the answers to your passive aggressive line of questioning things would be much different in Peru.
not the right place to post this but...
How much is the State of Illinois going to end up paying for this goofy hockey win? Lets see, old Rahm is going to put on a parade. How much police overtime last night to prevent the denizens from rioting to celebrate the "Hawks Win." I bet the City of Chicago dumps a million dollars or more down the toilet over this stupid sports celebration. At the end of the day, the City of Chicago is flat busted broke and the bill will be transferred to you and me via the State of Illinois. I say, make the one percent owners of the team PAY for it all. Furthermore, when are we going to outlaw that racist name they are using???
9:46 PM, Ask and you shall receive. So pay attention as all of the following have attained their respective positions due solely to political connections and patronage hiring. They are not all related by blood but they absolutely are all related by politics and or campaign cash. I will list the positions instead of the names for those I do not know by name and also those who will be hired soon by the HR's "application process". Yea, right!
Vickrey, Vickrey's assistant, Bernabei, Bernabei's assistant, King, King's assistant, Carls, Carl's assistant, Bartley's assistant, and the recent Book-Keeper hired to work in the clerk's office, and finally, each and every part-time summer employee on the payroll.
You asked and I provided. Please let us know what you think.
Anonymous 5:17AM & 5:23AM
Wouldn't you be a happy soul to meet early in the AM. With your Doom and Gloom attitude to start the day off have you ever thought of posing as Santa Claus in a Chinese Prison Camp?
8:08 - no. I'd rather not go to China. But tell me one good reason that tax dollars should be spent on a professional sports team. And don't give me that B.S. about economic activity provided by the games. The only obligation the government has to economic activity is to stay the heck out of the way.
We should not spend a dime on this "celebration" it is a total waste of time. Waste of money. No No No - this is not the purpose of government. Instead, the government should be out there preventing this thing from getting out of hand - and sending the bill to the owners.
7:53 your answer amounted to nothing at all. You have no names and a list of positions. No linkage and no relation. What is the patronage? They are simply qualified professionals hired by a application process. Why so bitter? Go to school, study and get some qualifications that may get you a good job without daddy's help.
More admins and pencil pushers than ever before.
9:33, you can't put peoples names out there even if everyone knows. But if you want to, go back through the Boss's campaigned contributions listing on file with the State. It paints a pretty good picture of how things are done in the New Peru.
9:33 AM, What are you talking about? I listed all the politically connected individuals who achieved their positions by way of political cash or political connections. The "application process" you mention is a scam with no legitimate or honest procedure. I am not the least bit "bitter" and I would welcome comparing my professional credentials for the position I have attained (earned based on my skills and abilities) and paystubs to yours any day of the week. I'm just pointing out corruption as I see it. Why are you defending corruption? BTW, employment in Peru has a long and sordid history based on "who's your daddy", or do you deny that historical fact also? There is no honest "hiring process" in Peru. Not now. Not ever. End of story!
9:33 you know why and how very a in people have gotten positions here. Don't try and belittle the person who gave positions. Secondly, don't play stupid about an application process, there has been none for some positions, they were appointed positions by Harl. As far as qualifications: MY OPINION AND KNOWLEDGE OF SOME, QUALIFICATIONS DON'T EXIST. CHECK IT OUT FOR TRUTH. TALK THE TALK SO TO SPEAK. SOME ARE EXPERTS IN THIS DEPARTMENT.
7:53 interesting attack.......go to school, study, ect ect........what are Bernie and Kings educational background? I think you should check on who has what qualifications in the city.......if you could even find out I think you'd find most are not higher education people especially for the salaries paid.......
Hey 5:23 AM, You gave yourself away. I know you, you're the old man/ old woman who used to run out and take our baseball when we hit it in your yard. Glad to see your still living that miserable existence and pulling that big black cloud behind you everywhere you go. I know it's been a long time but can I have my baseballs back now? I have grandchildren now and I want to teach them how to deal with people like you. If there is an after-life i suspect there will be a "special place" for you there.
9:46 asks a reasonable question and just gets the hate. Wow.
7:53 King and Bernabei have been here for years. Bartley was ELECTED. I know several kids who worked part time with ZERO connection to anyone at the city.
You are so full of lies and hatred I almost feel sorry for you. Lies, lies and more lies. No connections. ZERO by blood, even after the accusations of "family". How pathetic.
the woman hired to take Heidi's position is Bernie's good friend/neighbor
@7:53 AM
Of the list you have made up the C,PPD would require a highly trained police officer to handle all problems the Chief would normally handle when the Chief is not available. So this is really a mandatory position.
As for the technical assistant to the engineer it was a studied process and a proven money saver to add this job on.
Truthfully the other jobs seem being hired as assistants to avoid a loss of control of the potential employees rather than including them in a assigned group. This is a practice being conducted throughout the U.S.
11:03, I got your Frisbee to! You will never get it back! I'm also the guy that files the complaint with the PD whenever they blast every siren in town for some stupid little league team.
Just read the NT on-line. Funny - we are between elections and finally the City of Peru is going to enforce the sign ordinance that took two years to write and has never been enforced before.
I give it until the first "Vote for Hillary" sign that is to big goes up. Then, the ordinance will be put back on a shelf and ignored until after the election. Or maybe those "Proud Union Homes" will display a multitude of Hillary signs - like they did for the current occupant of the house on Pennsylvania Ave.
12:35 I hope you realize that what is in the NT is about event signs. Political signs that are within ordinance size regulations do not apply and can be in yards year round.
2:37, you are correct. My statement was about enforcing the ordinance as a whole. There is a size restriction and number restriction on political signs in this same ordinance. The ordinance also makes it illegal to place sings in the public right-of-way, which could be 3 feet or even more into private property.
They need to enforce ALL of the ordinance.
event signs should not be allowed to advertise beer. it looks so tacky having those signs all over town. I don't need to be reminded that they will have ice cold beer at every charity event "in the Valley"
4:25, didn't you get the memo? We are no longer the "Illinois Valley" - We are "Starved Rock Country" - Brought to you by Walt Willey.
11:09 AM, So 10:23 provides answers and he/she gets the "hate" from you. Why are you so pathetic? Do you not want answers or do you just not like the answers you get? Pathetic!
8:37
This is the response. There is no evidence that any of the posts of 10:23 are anything more than lies. It is pathetic that people who applied and been hired are questioned by those who sole intention is to destroy Peru and those elected officials in Peru. Each candidate has to fill out a application that is reviewed by the professional resource manager. Those applications are then based on qualifications interviewed by various department heads and officials. Have you gotten any information that would tell us that those administrative aids, police officers, finance, engineer, are not qualified?
We all understand that you may like the old fashion way of getting a city job by helping out a campaign or being related to someone. Please boost your education, experience and maybe there will be a job that meets you skill set. You can respond by giving us all the recent hires that are not qualified. Please, save us your 50 years ago fables.
8:37. Pathetic - adjective, arousing pity, especially through vulnerability or sadness."She looked so pathetic that I bent down to comfort her"
I "hate" when people use the word "pathetic" to indicate that someone is worthy of ridicule instead of its actual meaning which is that the person is in need of help.
I WISH THE OFFICIAL WHOM SUPPOSED TO BE IN CHARGE OF GRASS CUTTINGS IN DRAINS, GRASSES NOT CUT AND LOOK TERRIBLE, SOME ON RT. 6, AND OTHER PLACES IN PERU, WOULD GET HIM OR HIS ASSISTANT OFF THEIR BUTTS AND START WRITING WARNINGS. THIS TOWN LOOKS VERY SLOPPY.
11:53, your writing style is worthy of ridicule. Let me see if I can interpret what you have so boldly stated. You are upset because the grass has not been cut in the drains? And that some places in Peru and Route 6 look terrible? Well, I can't help you with some places in Peru or Route 6 looking terrible - that is just the nature of the beast. As far as grass cutting goes - if grass is growing in the drains, it is indicative of another issue that will not be resolved with a lawnmower. Perhaps you are talking about the grass growing in the ditch along the highway. Well, the would most likely be a State issue, not local. But, please do keep in mind that since most of our highway money goes to maintain the infrastructure in Chicago, not much is left over for cutting grass "down state." You should also take a look out the window - I think it has been raining for 40 days and 40 nights - it is quite possible that the ditches along the highways are just plumb full of water and the conditions won't allow the grass to be trimmed until July.
10:34, can I have some of that Kool-Aid? But, seriously, what you describe is what would happen IF we changed to the Council-Manager form of government. As it stands now, elected officials (The Council and the Mayor) have the final say in all hiring and firing. They can make their decisions behind closed doors using the Open Meetings Act exemptions to render their decisions in the dark - just like cockroaches. Furthermore, the same elected officials negotiate salaries and benefits in the dark and only reluctantly make this information available to pubic scrutiny.
Soon we will have a City Administrator hired by the elected officials and used as a shield. Not a City Manager that has legal power to run the city without fear of reprisal from the political class. Rather, a City Administrator that is beholding to the Mayor and Council and can be fired if their bidding is not carried out.
To 10:34 AM, PATHETIC!
To 10:34 AM, PATHETIC!
10:34 AM, I will give you the most glaring recent example of the dishonest and unethical hiring practices in Peru that were officially "condoned" and approved of by the Peru City Council.
Example: The most recent opening for a Full Time Engineer / Firefighter position was referred to the Police & Fire Commission to review a list of applicants and arrange for the necessary exams and interviews of qualified candidates. The Peru Police & Fire Commission, which is comprised of Peru residents did everything right up until the point where they "bypassed" the highest scoring candidate who was from out of town and instead recommended a lower scoring candidate who is from Peru. Now this went down pretty much under the radar and the city is very lucky the higher scoring candidate did not file suit for the unethical and probably illegal recommendation from this commission. Now pay attention 10:34 AM. This commission showed favoritism to a less skilled and less qualified candidate solely based on the fact that he lived in Peru. Maybe the Police & Fire Commission members were encouraged to do so by city officials, elected mor otherwise, including Chief King so that he could fill the position with one of his loyal drinking buddies. Or, maybe they did it because the commssion members are Peru establishment types and they understand very clearly the "Peru way of doing business" and they came through as expected. The bottom line is Peru failed to execute the hiring process fairly and honestly and a less qualified candidate was hired and each and every elected official in Peru knew exactly what was happening and did nothing to correct it. Now 10:34 AM, please tell us why this true and correct example of "lowering the bar" for hiring in Peru is acceptable to you. I'll hang up and wait for your answer mand please don't just deny, deny, deny. It's factual and it happened.
I think cutting the grass in the ditches along the highway is a waste of time and money. Just let it grow, it is not hurting anything and it can only get so high before calling over and dyeing.
@10:34 - you did not address the 11:13 a.m. comment about Bernie's neighbor. There were approximately 90 applications received for that position, and it just so happened to go to his neighbor. I'm not saying she's not qualified, but was she the best qualified or the only qualified? Did her friendship with the chief in any way get her that job?
why so many assistants? this is still only a town of 10,000 people!
Remember when we use to have a part time mayor, fire chief, and building inspector?
Know all those positions are full time (not sure about mayor)with assistants!!
Is it maybe because our fire chief/building inspector is not qualified?
I know for a fact that he has had other poeple do his reports for this city!!
We need to wake up!!
Bypassed the high scoring candidate? Another fable from 1:18. The hiring process was done by the book and had the Fire and Police commission hire without any involvement from those elected. How more honest can this be? There may be many part-time firefighters that are interested but according to State Law those may not meet the qualifications, that may be the reason you 1:18 are upset. Your comment about drinking buddies is a little bit far fetched. The chief has no involvement with the hiring process. None! You mention a book about the Peru way of doing business? I haven't seen this book on amazon, is it under the self help or fiction section and who is the author?
You sound like you want a job with the fire department? They are always looking for a few good people. For a full-time spot, you may have to get those qualifications that the commission is looking for. It has been a long time since the only qualification was to be able to hold a hose. If you are a current paid volunteer. Either be part of the team or resign. I would prefer the firing squad but these bleeding hearts in Illinois have outlawed that solution to knocking your fellow firefighters.
The Peru Kool-Aid Stand is open for business. :)
The hiring list is public knowledge and was foia'd when the last full-time position was filled proving they hired the #3 spot ! I guess #3 is good enough for Peru's taxpayers . And yes this is illegal and unethical !
3:16, are you on the fire department, it sure sounds like it! What credentials has our chief provided to warrent his existance as chief? Can you answer that? The fire department is nothing more then a boys club in Peru, created by our chief! I do have alot of respect for the firemen in general, for what they do-they put thier lives in danger to protect us and our belongings. But our chief, who deverts calls to the asst chief after 10pm, is he really acting as a chief who has the citizens of Peru best interest at heart? He has abused his position to try and get what he wants by hiring teenage boys to work at the fire department, having other people do his reports to present to the council,(edited) the man is not a professional. Again, i ask, what credentials has he brought to the table in regards to being a fire chief/building inspector? As a citizen, i feel i have the right to know his credentials!
To 3:16 PM, All you did was deny, deny, deny. It is clear the case is verified that the top scoring candidate for Engineer was "bypassed" for a lower scoring candidate by city officials, elected or otherwise and everyone knew exactly what was happening and nthey turned a blind eye to it. That is proof positive that the "Peru way of doing business" is being enforced from Harl on down and has even contaminated the members of the Police & Fire Commission.
@3:16 PM 6/17/15 & 10:08 PM 6/17/15
Both of you appear to have adamant differences of opinion of C,PFD and Building Inspector Jeff King. Thankfully you have openly express yourselves and as citizens deserve a answer equal to the interest of your comments.
Hopefully a conclusion between each of you can be reached. I ask you 3:16 & 10:08 why you believe such a difference of opinion exists. 3:16 would you please share with us the positive practices of Chief Kings management of the PPD, Building Inspector and a overall viewpoint of him in his position of PSM.
10:08 to be fair to your questions and Jeff King also would you feel comfortable in stating some of your complaints in a more specific manner. Than would you please list the credentials that the PMS should maintain. I do acknowledge that I do not believe one person could achieve all the qualifications that Peru PSM would need to adequately perform the position described.
Ouch. Credentials of asst fire chief who is in charge after 10 pm? There is this little thing called fire science degrees that takes 4 years at an accredited academy/university. Is this on a resume? I've spoken with building inspectors in other areas and the requirement for them is rather extensive with certification in electrical, pumbling, construction, etc.. does our building inspector have these?
Anon 7:19 AM
The scoring is one of the important aspects of selecting a candidate for a occupation but it is only one of the selective processes. There are many other attributes that are as important as a score in a selection. As a example of consideration would be teamwork and the chemistry of how the potential employees will work and blend in with the existing crew.
Possibly the most important attributes would be the candidates ability to take orders from others as a new employee and a desire to occupy a long term leadership position in the future.
Taken verbatim from (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6.3)
Whenever an appointing authority authorizes action to hire a person to perform the duties of a firefighter or to hire a firefighter-paramedic to fill a position that is a new position or vacancy due to resignation, discharge, promotion, death, the granting of a disability or retirement pension, or any other cause, the appointing authority shall appoint to that position the person with the highest ranking on the final eligibility list. If the appointing authority has reason to conclude that the highest ranked person fails to meet the minimum standards for the position or if the appointing authority believes an alternate candidate would better serve the needs of the department, then the appointing authority has the right to pass over the highest ranked person and appoint either: (i) any person who has a ranking in the top 5% of the register of eligibles or (ii) any person who is among the top 5 highest ranked persons on the list of eligibles if the number of people who have a ranking in the top 5% of the register of eligibles is less than 5 people.
10:34 6/17 Silence? No rebuttal to 1:28 6/17 comment? It's like the All State Commercial with Dennis Haysbert where the woman is making a statement that women are just as good of drivers as men because she got a bonus check. What could the man say because she is so correct.
1:28 is correct and there's no way you can say that wasn't a hire because of who she knows.
I believe the living quarters is a duplex home, so no comments will be aceepted or should be on this.
I believe the responsibility for the mismanagement presently taking place in Peru is the responsability of the head of the city and certainly not the people who acepted the jobs and titles. Who would not take take on more tasks at more money and know that the boss will never call them out on anything or will expect no more than what he already knows they can do. It is a win win cituation for the hirees. If the work is not getting done they will hire more assistants. (and more votes)
Because a person (you,me or anyone else) is Mayor will not and cannot know everything that is happening with city employees, elected officials, appointments, contact clauses, equipment supplies and maintenance, roads, water and sewerage, electrical power, security and fire protection, finances and engineering plus much more. This is why he has appointed officials to maintain each department and report to him. At times he has asked for a Assistant Department Head to assist in department managers and all kinds of controversy was brought up. No one questioned that these assistants would be the catalyst to enable the department to become proactive rather than reactive which has always been a primary goal of Mayor Harl.
So it is obvious 9:21 that you are someone very closely connected to the city, otherwise you would not know this information. What are the examples of controversy that was brought up? In what departments? And you know for a fact that this was the mayors plan all along? That he knew that controversy would create a proactive response rather than a reactive? Please be specific with your answers.
To 9:21 AM, Give us a break, OK? Harl has one primary goal and only one. that is to advance the personal and political influence of one Scott Harl. Narcicistic behavior is commonplace among elected officials. Harl has become the poster-child for selfishness and arrogance in public office. Anyone so enthralled with their own self-interest has little time to waste on the concerns of the people they are supposed to represent. Yea, I know him pretty well.
To 9:21 AM, Give us a break, OK? Harl has one primary goal and only one. that is to advance the personal and political influence of one Scott Harl. Narcicistic behavior is commonplace among elected officials. Harl has become the poster-child for selfishness and arrogance in public office. Anyone so enthralled with their own self-interest has little time to waste on the concerns of the people they are supposed to represent. Yea, I know him pretty well.
10:34 6/17 - still silent? No defense of Peru hiring friends/family??
10:34, yes; Peru continues to hire friends and family. They are just a little smarter now and keep a paper trail that makes it look like it is on the up and up. The other thing to keep in mind is that preference always seems to go to the local guy. Therefore, they can't help it since the pool is extremely limited. The one and only hire from outside the area got ran back out.
No. They don't hire friends and family any more so than what would be normal in a town of this size.
I just read through this comment string and I still don't see a list of the "friends and family" a couple of you are talking about. some of the crap was put to rest by the person who pointed out that someone accused the city clerk of being that when in fact he ran for office and beat an incumbent. In a town of this size many people are related or know someone. At my place of business, many people are "friends and family" but actually I don't see much of that here. I see all these accusations at Harl and yet many of the people mentioned were already in place.
This is the problem with blanket accusations. When you say things like this it takes away all credibility when it is found to just NOT be true. Then you will accuse me of "drinking kool-aid" or that I must be an "insider." No. I just have common sense and I know for a fact that a lot of business gets done very well and very ethically despite foolish blanket accusations that are outright lies. Those of you who think the city just keeps adding jobs to hire friends clearly do not understand that the payroll has less jobs not more. We have some great people working for our city.
What I really don't understand is if you are so unhappy, why don't you get out from behind your computer or phone and just run for office? Or support a candidate who shares your concerns?
That's right. I forgot. It's not fair. Everything in Peru is bad and it's not fair. Those evil people just want to hire all of their friends and family and hoard all of that money.
In other words, you know absolutely nothing.
3:17, go ahead and have another swig of that Kool-Aid. Every hire by the City of Peru is strategic. They are hired for a reason. If they can accomplish the job, all the better.
Like I keep telling you. I've seen the light. I left the Illinois Valley behind and moved to a city and state that at least tries to hide corruption. In Peru and Illinois in general, the corruption just smacks you in the face. So, I can't run for office in Peru because I already voted with my feet and guess what - the grass has never been greener!
5:23, since you don't live in this terrible place why are you so concerned with this town now. You are irrelevant, just as anyone on this blog who doesn't live here.
6:35 PM
Perhaps they have friends and family still leaving here and are interested in how they are faring in this community. Honestly your attitude irritates me and is part of the Peru problem. I know I irritate you too.
But in all honestly your attitude and others who think like that are causing the demise of the city. Since the state is loosing manufacturing jobs and holding steady on the white collar jobs, this city is going to have to change something.
3:17 you must admit that the mayor's secretary (who is chief PPD's friend/neighbor) was a hire because of who she knew. There were approximately 90 resumes received for that position, and it just so coincidentally went to his friend? For you to say "we" know absolutely nothing, I do know that this was an inside, who you know, friend hire. Will you admit that?
8:39 The credentials are 4 year degree with 10 years of experience. Can you match those? 8:39 am ?
10:52 yup and there are many others than can match that too!
@10:52 depends on what the degree is in. Art? History? Business? What's the experience in? Related field? Daycare? Sales?
1:28 Personable and able to multi-task would be additional qualification that many writing this nonsense would not be able to perform.
lol 2:42, good one! What about the other 90 that applied for that job? I'm pretty sure they aren't commenting here. Nobody else was qualified, personable and able to multi-task except the chief's friend? I'd bet good money that isn't the case.
How wonderful it must be to have enough "stroke" in the city of Peru that you can "arrange" to have your friend, your neighbor, or your family member rise to the top of the list when another phony assistant to the assistant job is created by the Peru bureaocracy.
When someone finally does the research and exposes the number of employees taking up space at the city hall it will be eye-opening for sure. I predict Public Services Committee "experts" Waldorf & Lukosus will soon propose the city condemn and purchase St. Joe's Church for demolition and authorize Chamlin to provide engineering services for a multi-story, heated, city-owned parking facility to accomodate the overflow from the current city employee parking lot. Now that's the Peru way of doing business.
Post a Comment