This blog is maintained for the sole purpose of allowing the people of Peru and those interested in the cities of the Illinois Valley to express their views.
“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
I wonder if this group will soon be making a decision on how to advise Mayor Harl on how to proceed with management of this city.
They do answer questions so if you have one, plan to be there.
33 comments:
Anonymous
said...
If this committee decides the city would benefit from hiring an administrator where does that put our ASM and PSM? Do they go back to just running the police and fire departments and their previous salaries or do they keep their new salaries but return to their original jobs? And, we would be adding another top paying individual to our payroll and another chief to supervise the dwindling indian work force.
When (not if) Doug gets this position they will take care of Mr. King. The only way I see that not happening would be the announcement of the new combined 911 center and Doug might retire and take the huge paying gig there. Then the city could hire him as a consultant why they pick his replacement as chief of police. Gonna get very interesting but it will, no matter what, cost us all more money.
Is anyone from Peru familiar with the popular saying "You get what you pay for". The City of Peru's ASM, Doug Bernabei , has evidently acquired the necessary skills along with astute timing in today's professional job market to demand a outstanding pay scale for our locality. Your statement of the several jobs the city ASM is possibly in line for justifies the reasons of his yearly income. Also the desire, determination and pride upon which he confronts his assigned responsibilities for Peru are outstanding.
7:02pm you get what you pay for: what if you could get as good or better for less? Acquired: given too you or provided by those under you. Necessary skills: the ability to manipulate those below you to fear your power. Astute timing: when there is no one to stop or challenge you. Professional job market: political appointment Outstanding pay scale: well you got me there.......he's making a ton of money in all his positions for an employee of Peru and township I believe your last paragraph is so strong you should go get a bronze plaque made with those words and his name and post it on that poor excuse of a building those poor guys and girls have to work in.
That is how it is done in Illinois. Stack up appointments to boards and commissions, have a public service job, get elected to inconsequential government bodies, and the next thing you know, you can retire with a six figure pension.
Nothing will change until we dump Madigan (both of them) and the elder's cronies.
7:02PM corresponding to 5:54PM Between the two of us we have touched briefly upon positive and negative highlights of employing a person for government positions. What is discussed at the June 24 meeting of the task force group should be interesting and it is a open meeting plus each attendee will have a opportunity to express themselves. I have never heard of a person who cannot attend to communicate by a signed written letter to be read at the meeting but I do believe it would be honored. Sadly most wait to when the decision is already made and than complain rather than participate earlier.
I think is really sad we need to hire someone for this position- why was he elected to be mayor then? Isn't that part of being mayor such a sad state of affairs
8:39, very few people, including the current office holder, are qualified to do what is expected of a Mayor in our current form of government. Mr. Harl wants to keep the power yet hire out the actual work.
Anon 5:34 AM What do you expect of the Mayor that you would consider him qualified in our current form of government? No one should expect Mayor Harl to fulfill each and every professional position which is necessary and expanding to manage the city. For years many wanted the city to update and manage the city as a business. The Mayor has accomplished this task within a very sensible time frame. Others have complained of a lack of leadership which the Mayor has made vast improvement and shows no hesitation in getting necessary projects accomplished. Mayor Harl has stepped forward and has done much to promote Peru throughout Illinois by being elected to the board of the IML, to be appointed to the area Chamber of Commerce, to travel to business conferences and to partake in the important IMEA.
8:15, you totally misunderstood my comment. I do not believe our city is large enough to practice the form of government it currently has. The person that is qualified to do what is required of a Mayor will not work for what we pay our Mayor. We would also be lucky to find an individual from our community that is willing to do the work while maintaining their actual gainful employment. We do need a City Manager. The point I'm making about our current Mayor is that he does not want a City Manager. He wants to hire an Administrator with some degree of qualification that will answer to him. The Mayor want to retain political control as well as overall control of daily activities within the various city departments. However, what is really needed is a City Manager that has legal authority to run the city without the worry of political pressures from the Mayor. That is the Council Manager format. Essentially, the legal authority for daily operations, all hiring and firing, and finances are turned over to a City Manger that is hired and cannot be replaced on a whim. In fact, most personnel issues would never reach the council's attention. The City would be run similar to a business and if the Manager needed to fire or discipline someone, it would be done in accordance with the law. No need for a closed session of the Council to discuss things like this because they would have no legal authority over the employees. The Manager would also negotiate with labor unions from the point of view of the taxpayer. The Manager would also purchase items from the point of view of the taxpayer - living within the budget he is given by the council. It would be rare for a City Manager to purchase an unbudgeted fire truck half way through the fiscal year based on a simple "we got the money" vote. It would need to be budgeted. One thing that would change is the Mayor would get a vote on the council. That being said, the elected officials would not be without power - they still set the budget and provide master planning and the general direction that the Manager needs to follow.
To 8:15 AM, And Harl's head continues to swell with each and every phony appointment that you mentioned. Nothing that provides any real benefit to the people of Peru.
Well stated 10:19 AM. You are very in tune to the reality of the current political situation that plagues Peru government. You are obviously intelligent enough to understand the "facts" of the matter. Unfortunately, there are not enough Peru residents willing to take the few moments necessary to think about it and come to the same sensible and sound conclusion that you and I have. Also, you have suggested something the elected officials and most people in Peru are deathly afraid of, and that is "CHANGE". What is really funny is the fact that one of the reasons Harl set up the phony Task Force to declare Bernie the City Administrator was because Harl knew he was becoming more and more vulnerable based on his poor overall management of the city. He is not well liked by the majority of citizen voters and he knows it. By "arranging" for Bernabei to control the day to day ops of the entire city, Harl can unleash his "appointed employee" on the entire city work force and distance himself from any "unpleasant" issues that would damage his popularity even more. Then he can always step in when something good happens and take full credit for it. He gets all the good and none of the bad. It's pure, unadulterated, phony, political crap. The only question that remains is if enough of the aldermen have bought into the blatantly obvious scam. I say yes they have becuase that's what they do. Sad, sad, sad.
Tonight is the big night. We find out when Chief B. starts his new job! I wonder who from within Dog Patch, IL USA they will promote to take over the PD. Maybe somebody from the Streets Department?
It is easily predictable to see the Harl Task Force putting all their ducks in a row leading up to the announcement and formal coronation (crowning) of the Grand Political Czar of Peru, aka City Administrator. Yesterday's "interviews" with the assistant chiefs of police and fire were yet another farce in terms of honest and accurate information gathering on the part of the Task Force. How does anybody think that these assistant chiefs would respond to questioning about the performance of their superiors? OMG! Also, when it comes time to hand out the pay increases for Bernabei and King, there might just be a little something extra for the assistants. OOOOHHH, of course. Evereybody is doing such a great job taking on all these additional duties and responsibilities they must be rewarded, right? I am not familiar with Deputy Police Chief Pyszka, but I am quite familiar with Assistant chief Duncan and his obvious shortcomings as an assistant chief and firefighter. This guy has been an ongoing joke within a department that itself is an ongoing joke. It's bad enough that Duncan is sucking a phony salary off the taxpayers and driving a city owned vehicle for personal use. But to actually allow him to endorse himself as capable of anything other than cashing his city checks is just embarrassing. So the situation just continues to evolve into more and more of a tangled web of questions about who's in charge, who's gonna back up who, whos's gonna have what duties, who's gonna get extra money and how much more, etc, etc, etc. The new Task Force form of Government that Harl has installed just gets "curiouser and curiouser". Peru would be better off bestowing the title of assistant fire chief on a Dalmation puppy. At least we wouldn't have to give it a vehicle.
10:47 You sound like you work at the Fire Dept. and you want to be Chief. I have figured out who you are??? you are the dog,and you think you would ever get that position NOOOOOOOOO WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
What alderman Lois? Why are you keeping secrets for them Lois? Why have you not informed us of the last meeting of Harl's Task Force Lois? Have you gone over to the "Dark Side"?
Lois why won't you answer the question about which alderman was interviewed by the task force committee? We would like to know and not everybody can attend a 4:00 meeting.
First off I agree with 10:47. Reread the comment. Why do you think several years ago the fire dept. No longer has listed and shows fireman's pictures and what they are certified in. Why taken down?????? Probably because the taxpayers would see what certifications one has such as firefighter 1, 2 ,3, emt, etc...... cuz alot of them don't have certs more than a firefighter 2. Don't forget anybody could put on a document whatever they want. DON'T TRUST THE CHIEFS I SAY. ALSO, BEEN TOLD MANY LIVE WITH IN A BLOCK OR 2 OF EACH OTHER. GET THAT WEBSITE BACK UP MR. JEFF KING, YOU DO GET A VERY HIGH SALARY. WONDER WHAT ASSISTANT WOULD GET APPOINTED TO DO THE WEBSITE JOB? Pass the buck!!!!!!!
33 comments:
If this committee decides the city would benefit from hiring an administrator where does that put our ASM and PSM? Do they go back to just running the police and fire departments and their previous salaries or do they keep their new salaries but return to their original jobs? And, we would be adding another top paying individual to our payroll and another chief to supervise the dwindling indian work force.
Government salaries NEVER go backwards.
When (not if) Doug gets this position they will take care of Mr. King. The only way I see that not happening would be the announcement of the new combined 911 center and Doug might retire and take the huge paying gig there. Then the city could hire him as a consultant why they pick his replacement as chief of police. Gonna get very interesting but it will, no matter what, cost us all more money.
Is anyone from Peru familiar with the popular saying "You get what you pay for". The City of Peru's ASM, Doug Bernabei , has evidently acquired the necessary skills along with astute timing in today's professional job market to demand a outstanding pay scale for our locality.
Your statement of the several jobs the city ASM is possibly in line for justifies the reasons of his yearly income. Also the desire, determination and pride upon which he confronts his assigned responsibilities for Peru are outstanding.
@have another cocktail
7:02, sounds like Bernie wrote this, nice
7:02pm
you get what you pay for: what if you could get as good or better for less?
Acquired: given too you or provided by those under you.
Necessary skills: the ability to manipulate those below you to fear your power.
Astute timing: when there is no one to stop or challenge you.
Professional job market: political appointment
Outstanding pay scale: well you got me there.......he's making a ton of money in all his positions for an employee of Peru and township
I believe your last paragraph is so strong you should go get a bronze plaque made with those words and his name and post it on that poor excuse of a building those poor guys and girls have to work in.
Heard Bernie is positioning to township supervisor also
He would double dip into imra
That is how it is done in Illinois. Stack up appointments to boards and commissions, have a public service job, get elected to inconsequential government bodies, and the next thing you know, you can retire with a six figure pension.
Nothing will change until we dump Madigan (both of them) and the elder's cronies.
7:02PM corresponding to 5:54PM
Between the two of us we have touched briefly upon positive and negative highlights of employing a person for government positions. What is discussed at the June 24 meeting of the task force group should be interesting and it is a open meeting plus each attendee will have a opportunity to express themselves. I have never heard of a person who cannot attend to communicate by a signed written letter to be read at the meeting but I do believe it would be honored.
Sadly most wait to when the decision is already made and than complain rather than participate earlier.
I think is really sad we need to hire someone for this position- why was he elected to be mayor then? Isn't that part of being mayor such a sad state of affairs
8:39, very few people, including the current office holder, are qualified to do what is expected of a Mayor in our current form of government. Mr. Harl wants to keep the power yet hire out the actual work.
Anon 5:34 AM What do you expect of the Mayor that you would consider him qualified in our current form of government? No one should expect Mayor Harl to fulfill each and every professional position which is necessary and expanding to manage the city.
For years many wanted the city to update and manage the city as a business. The Mayor has accomplished this task within a very sensible time frame. Others have complained of a lack of leadership which the Mayor has made vast improvement and shows no hesitation in getting necessary projects accomplished.
Mayor Harl has stepped forward and has done much to promote Peru throughout Illinois by being elected to the board of the IML, to be appointed to the area Chamber of Commerce, to travel to business conferences and to partake in the important IMEA.
8:15, you totally misunderstood my comment. I do not believe our city is large enough to practice the form of government it currently has. The person that is qualified to do what is required of a Mayor will not work for what we pay our Mayor. We would also be lucky to find an individual from our community that is willing to do the work while maintaining their actual gainful employment. We do need a City Manager. The point I'm making about our current Mayor is that he does not want a City Manager. He wants to hire an Administrator with some degree of qualification that will answer to him. The Mayor want to retain political control as well as overall control of daily activities within the various city departments. However, what is really needed is a City Manager that has legal authority to run the city without the worry of political pressures from the Mayor. That is the Council Manager format. Essentially, the legal authority for daily operations, all hiring and firing, and finances are turned over to a City Manger that is hired and cannot be replaced on a whim. In fact, most personnel issues would never reach the council's attention. The City would be run similar to a business and if the Manager needed to fire or discipline someone, it would be done in accordance with the law. No need for a closed session of the Council to discuss things like this because they would have no legal authority over the employees. The Manager would also negotiate with labor unions from the point of view of the taxpayer. The Manager would also purchase items from the point of view of the taxpayer - living within the budget he is given by the council. It would be rare for a City Manager to purchase an unbudgeted fire truck half way through the fiscal year based on a simple "we got the money" vote. It would need to be budgeted.
One thing that would change is the Mayor would get a vote on the council. That being said, the elected officials would not be without power - they still set the budget and provide master planning and the general direction that the Manager needs to follow.
To 8:15 AM, And Harl's head continues to swell with each and every phony appointment that you mentioned. Nothing that provides any real benefit to the people of Peru.
Well stated 10:19 AM. You are very in tune to the reality of the current political situation that plagues Peru government. You are obviously intelligent enough to understand the "facts" of the matter. Unfortunately, there are not enough Peru residents willing to take the few moments necessary to think about it and come to the same sensible and sound conclusion that you and I have. Also, you have suggested something the elected officials and most people in Peru are deathly afraid of, and that is "CHANGE". What is really funny is the fact that one of the reasons Harl set up the phony Task Force to declare Bernie the City Administrator was because Harl knew he was becoming more and more vulnerable based on his poor overall management of the city. He is not well liked by the majority of citizen voters and he knows it. By "arranging" for Bernabei to control the day to day ops of the entire city, Harl can unleash his "appointed employee" on the entire city work force and distance himself from any "unpleasant" issues that would damage his popularity even more. Then he can always step in when something good happens and take full credit for it. He gets all the good and none of the bad. It's pure, unadulterated, phony, political crap. The only question that remains is if enough of the aldermen have bought into the blatantly obvious scam.
I say yes they have becuase that's what they do. Sad, sad, sad.
Tonight is the big night. We find out when Chief B. starts his new job! I wonder who from within Dog Patch, IL USA they will promote to take over the PD. Maybe somebody from the Streets Department?
Maybe in the spirit of the Honorable Rod Blagojevich Harl will sell Chief of Police job to the highest bidder. Hell, maybe that has already happened.
Ha ha ha! Peru Mayor Scott Harl has instituted the "Task Force form of Government". Now that's funny.
8:46 What makes you think tonight is the night when we find out when Chief B starts his new job?
The task force has "interviews" on their agenda. Who do you think they will interview?
Lois, did you go to the meeting? If so, what transpired?
5:43 PM
Yes I did go and listened to interviews with the Deputy Police Chief, The Deputy Fire Chief and an Alderman.
What alderman Lois?
Which alderman and why?
hmmmm. so the Deputy will take over the cop shop when Bernie is appointed Czar.
It is easily predictable to see the Harl Task Force putting all their ducks in a row leading up to the announcement and formal coronation (crowning) of the Grand Political Czar of Peru, aka City Administrator. Yesterday's "interviews" with the assistant chiefs of police and fire were yet another farce in terms of honest and accurate information gathering on the part of the Task Force. How does anybody think that these assistant chiefs would respond to questioning about the performance of their superiors? OMG! Also, when it comes time to hand out the pay increases for Bernabei and King, there might just be a little something extra for the assistants. OOOOHHH, of course. Evereybody is doing such a great job taking on all these additional duties and responsibilities they must be rewarded, right? I am not familiar with Deputy Police Chief Pyszka, but I am quite familiar with Assistant chief Duncan and his obvious shortcomings as an assistant chief and firefighter. This guy has been an ongoing joke within a department that itself is an ongoing joke. It's bad enough that Duncan is sucking a phony salary off the taxpayers and driving a city owned vehicle for personal use. But to actually allow him to endorse himself as capable of anything other than cashing his city checks is just embarrassing. So the situation just continues to evolve into more and more of a tangled web of questions about who's in charge, who's gonna back up who, whos's gonna have what duties, who's gonna get extra money and how much more, etc, etc, etc. The new Task Force form of Government that Harl has installed just gets "curiouser and curiouser". Peru would be better off bestowing the title of assistant fire chief on a Dalmation puppy. At least we wouldn't have to give it a vehicle.
"I had rather be first in a village than second at Rome."
- Julius Caesar
10:47
You sound like you work at the Fire Dept. and you want to be Chief. I have figured out who you are??? you are the dog,and you think you would ever get that position NOOOOOOOOO WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
I heard they are buying a cat for City Hall.
What alderman Lois? Why are you keeping secrets for them Lois? Why have you not informed us of the last meeting of Harl's Task Force Lois? Have you gone over to the "Dark Side"?
Lois why won't you answer the question about which alderman was interviewed by the task force committee? We would like to know and not everybody can attend a 4:00 meeting.
First off I agree with 10:47. Reread the comment. Why do you think several years ago the fire dept. No longer has listed and shows fireman's pictures and what they are certified in. Why taken down?????? Probably because the taxpayers would see what certifications one has such as firefighter 1, 2 ,3, emt, etc...... cuz alot of them don't have certs more than a firefighter 2. Don't forget anybody could put on a document whatever they want. DON'T TRUST THE CHIEFS I SAY. ALSO, BEEN TOLD MANY LIVE WITH IN A BLOCK OR 2 OF EACH OTHER. GET THAT WEBSITE BACK UP MR. JEFF KING, YOU DO GET A VERY HIGH SALARY. WONDER WHAT ASSISTANT WOULD GET APPOINTED TO DO THE WEBSITE JOB? Pass the buck!!!!!!!
Post a Comment