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
Another armed robbery in Peru. This time at the New Downtown (Shooting Park Road) CVS. I'm wondering if Peru is now on the RADAR for the little hoods from the big city?
Anyway - if you have a license, don't leave home without your pistol folks. If you don't have your license - ask yourself.... "why not?"
Two incidents in two days, both quickly nabbed by the Peru Police Department. Meanwhile, other towns have been hit and are still scratching their heads. Great job, PPD.
1:14 who said armed robbery? Clearly you are not a licensed carrier. You can't use that pistol just because a couple kids jumped the counter for a smash and grab. You can fantasize about shooting someone but you will go to jail if you do in a situation like this.
Relax, quit trying to freak people out and let the professionals do their job.
1:07 that means they paid off a bond and nothing else. If you want Streator's tax rate, then go to Streator. Your home will be worth half as much but your taxes will be twice as high.
The city of Peru has a property tax ONLY for the mentioned pensions and for the library, which they reduced to the minimum required. No other town around has it this low. It is so funny reading comments from clueless people. Five percent of next to nothing is just that. You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.
I received my Peru Pride today and noted we claim a school with an address in LaSalle and another in Bureau County that has a Peru P O Box. Why not claim the LaSalle Swimming Pool, Rotary Park, and The LP Sports Complex too ? The back page has a union printing "bug" with a number identifying the printer. In truth, it's a redundancy of the city's web site.
2:22, the original report in the NT said "Armed Robbery." Looks like that has changes. Anyway, you ask if I have a CCL; answer is yes I do. But, you correctly point out that a mere robbery would not justify a defensive shooting. Obviously, you need to fear for your life or the life of another. The point I was making is that in two days, we have had an attempted strong arm robbery and a robbery. If you carry, you need to be ready to defend yourself. Even if you don't, you should be ready. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Never loose situational awareness. Trust your gut.
The Peru Pride is excellent. I appreciate the contact information among other things. Yes much of this is on the website but sometimes you have to put things in peoples hands. Do businesses just rely on you to go to their website or do they sometimes put things in your hands?
As for the school references they are all LaSalle-Peru schools. St. Bede is in Bureau County but it's address is in Peru. The Christian school is in LaSalle but so what? So is LP. These are still our schools.
Overall despite a few who can only criticize we really do have much to be thankful for with an A+ to the Police department and the Peru public school district. Both are second to none.
2:24 Maybe I am confused. When was the last time that Peru raised its property tax? When mentioning that no other town around here has it so low are you crediting Don Baker and Dick Janko for going after the business section for its taxes, they surely deserve the credit. Also the people who decided that the electrical plant would be a sound investment in the latter 1800's have always made it possible for Peru to dip into the electrical fund to stabilize other departments finances. The self owned electrical dept. and the retail sales are the two cash cows of Peru and have always paid Peru's way until the police force became the size of a middle seized town rather than a small town which it is. Extremely high wages and salaries are another problem which Peru can't afford. Remember when telling people to go to Streator and their home will worth half as much that they are going to pay half as much as Peru for the home originally.
2:24 You might be right the 5% of next to nothing is just that however, what about those citizens on a fixed income (medicare)? They don't get an increase in pay yet they have to pay an increase in taxes, an increase in their medicare premiums, groceries, insurance, etc. And, they are not out there spending money like there's no tomorrow. They have no one to turn to if they overspend. They have to live within their budgets.
2:24 here. Good discussion. What I was saying earlier is that I am pretty certain Peru only levies what they need for the pensions and the library. 6:03 makes great points about the development in Peru and the sales tax providing our revenues. Every town and community is different and for all of our flaws we are pretty blessed to be right here.
6:45 I think people overreact when a newspaper talks about a tax increase. That same senior citizen pays more at the dollar store, for prescriptions for food and everything else. I under stand that, but common sense people know that the same services cannot be provided by the government for the same amount any more than a business can.
Despite the crazy comments on here most of the time, local governments do have limits on what they spend. You can also vote those people in and out of office if you don't like how they spend your money! The people on here who think you can't are just bitter. Most of the Peru city council is fairly new and they can get voted out just as easily as they were voted in. You just need the right candidates. No grandstanders or bullshitters.
The city has not been raising taxes much at all, largely due to the continued strength of the municipal sales tax. Every single community wishes they had what we have on a per capita basis.
We can improve. We can get better. But the constant negativity and lies are so much nonsense. Talk to people involved and think for yourself. Thanks for a few great comments here!
We should always consider the entire tax bill. Everything from income tax to sales tax to property tax. While the "seniors" might complain about a property tax increase, remember that they are most likely on an exemption which prevents the assessed valuation of their property from increasing. They also receive their income - Social Security, Pension, 401K / 403B, all FREE of Illinois Income Tax.
The real issue for people in Peru is the tax revenue demanded by the schools - Peru, LP, IVCC. We need to find some other method of funding these institutions. They also need to bring costs to a realistic level. The building spree is unjustified at all three institutions.
We need to reform spending. As far as funding goes, perhaps we remove property taxes from the picture and impose a 10% public schools sales tax. And.... not exempt automobiles either. Since this would be state wide, there would be no worries about people jumping to a lower tax district. We also have the technology to distribute sales tax funds based on a person's address. This needs to be done also. That way, shoppers from Spring Valley would be supporting Spring Valley, not Peru. Finally - in my opinion, a consumption tax like this is more fair than an income tax or property tax.
I'm 6:45 Dec. 17th. What I was trying to express is that those on a fixed income cannot afford another piece of their check being taken away from them. You (8:13) and I both know that those on fixed incomes have no choice but to live within their means. They can't go to the government and say "I need more money to pay for my groceries" as government can turn to the people and say "I need to raise your taxes because I overspent". And, the fixed income individual is not out there buying "things" and paying for them by "check" as Peru has been recently.
Since LaSalle has a very nice library, why does Peru need one? LaSalle has a very nice pool, and so many people on this blog say Peru doesn't need a pool. What's the difference between an expense for a library or an expense for a pool? Why duplicate services? I think Peru would be better off getting rid of the library and going to LaSalle, just like the people who want to swim outside have to do.
Fixed Income: An income from a pension or investment that is set at a particular figure and does not vary or rise with the rate of inflation.
Social Security is NOT a "fixed income" - it will increase at the rate of inflation. An increase was not given this year because the government has determined that there was no inflation.
A property prepared "Senior" has a distinct advantage when it comes to property taxes. They have a Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption or SCAFHE.
This exemption allows senior citizens who have a total household maximum income of less than $55,000, and meet certain other qualifications to elect to maintain the equalized assessed value (EAV) of their homes at the base year EAV and prevent any increase in that value due to inflation. The amount of the exemption benefit is determined each year based on
1. The property's current EAV minus the frozen base year value (the property's prior year's EAV for which the applicant first qualifies for the exemption), and
2. The applicant's total household maximum income limitation.
If their retirement income is above the maximum, they should not be in a position to complain about paying a little bit of tax to the local taxing bodies - particularly since they don't pay income tax on their retirement income.
So - In my opinion, "seniors" have no room to complain about property taxes. The people that need the help are the 45 year olds making a median income with very little in the form of tax relief. They are the ones that continue to be screwed.
I am presently from Peru and I feel exactly the same as 9:24. LaSalle and Peru could work out some fair deal handling cost and necessities of swimming pool and library and both towns would be ahead financially also. This combination should include the police Department as Peru has proven they do not need a full time Chief of Police. Combining the police departments should call for a substantiation in numbers of police also. If a combination of police were to occur and both Peru and LaSalle combined a library in LaSalle the Peru library could become the Peru's Police Department with plenty of room and on West Street.
LaSalle has a wonderful library and the tax levy is less than half of the Peru levy. The population is about the same and the Peru library may have less square footage. Go figure? It looks like the library taxes at the maximum rate allowed by law. Why? Because they can! Do both libraries offer the same services? It's not like the government banned books and internet access. It's not like people are flocking to the library. Do we need two and do we need taxes without representation.
I don't know. It sounds like the Chicago Thugs have discovered Peru. I think we need to triple the size of the police force. I don't know how many cops we have now, but I only see a police car in my neighborhood once a day. They should be driving down every street in town once an HOUR.
I looks like Old Boss Harl just gave Skoogy Do a thousand dollars for his war chest.
Where can I get an "Anybody But Skoog?" yard sign? I'm voting for the republican primary winner. But... I'd even vote for "an inanimate carbon rod" before I voted for the Martucky Liar.
“We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?”
Since that slick "informational" book we all got in the mail, all 5.000 plus residents, how about the mayor coughing up some campaign cash to cover the cost. He can just WRITE A CHECK.
If Skoog gets some of the green stuff from the mayor, he ought to pay for his own promotional political junk, it should not be a city expense.
1:55 The state portion of your taxes exempts retirement income. We all got a kick out of the Skoog swearing in speech, he stated he has always worked across the aisle with both political parties? Did he know that his former elected position never required voting? Maybe as Clerk he needed to go to the republican headquarters to get some napkins for the doughnuts he bought for the girls once a week, while performing his no show job. He has caught on to the fundraising handouts. He may need $200,000 for the upcoming campaign. I for one look at the actions of his short stint as Rep.----taking in money and telling some tall tales about his previous political experience as a negative. We would have liked him better if he just told the truth---I served cold beer to both Democrats and Republicans and I like tips!
1:55 PM - I should have specified STATE income tax. Retirement income is 100% exempt from State Income Tax (unless you make big bucks like those college professors and judges pulling in $200K in retirement income). In all actuality, you probably get back every dime and then some on your FEDERAL tax as well. I'm willing to wager, the average "senior citizen" pays about 0 at the end of the day when it comes to all taxes except for consumption taxes (sales tax, etc.). The Baby Boomers haven't figured out a way to get out of that one yet - but trust me, they will. I can see old Madigan buying Democrat votes by making everything sales tax free for Baby Boomers.
Lies lies and more lies. The City of Lasalle's taxes are about 30 percent of my brotehrs tax bill. The city of Peru on mine is a little over 5 percent.
I have an idea. Why don't some of you who love lasalle and hate Peru run for office and tell everyone that you are going to make Peru's taxes the same as LaSalle's? Or why don't you run on a platform of closing the library and everyone can go to LaSalle? Or both?
You misunderstand the posts 4:37. That his how we get the People of LaSalle to pay for more stuff. They already pay for most of our school and street repairs through sales tax. Let them pay for a pool and library through their property taxes and we can just use them - Free of Charge! I love the Illinois Valley.
4:03 PM - I think you mean the Baby Boomers never use their own money to pay for something. Otherwise your statement doesn't make sense. But it is true - the older part of the Baby Boom generation screwed things up royally. We need to figure out how to get them to kick in a little more. Maybe it is time to apply Illinois Income Tax on Retirement Income... Just like Madigan, and by extension, Skoogs and Boss Harl want.
Now remember folks, elections are coming up. A Vote for Skoogs is a Vote for Madigan. A Vote for Jerry Hicks is a Vote for Madigan. And when it comes time for municipal elections, A Vote for Boss Harl is a Vote for Skoogs and Madigan.
4:37 Let me do that there figuring. Your bro's house has a value of about $20,000 and your house has a value of about $90,000. That is the only way his total taxes bill is smaller. Please review the rates and you will see the difference.
1. it was built in a floodplain, insurance rates are through the roof. 2. established salaries are off the chart. it will be difficult to roll those salaries back in line with the local non-government norm. 3. it is unionized. it will take a lot to bust the union.
I suggest just closing it and letting the market absorb the customer base.
I got an "American Community Survey" in the mail yesterday. If you got one, be sure to fill it out. We need to let the government know that Peru's population is getting older and there are fewer kids. This data will help consolidate the local schools into one district.
Sales tax should be replaced with consumption tax that goes to the state and is distribute to communities based on their population and NEEDS. Peru doesn't need all the sales tax. Most of it should go the Spring Valley, LaSalle, and Oglesby.
Good news, good news, good news. It looks like the Teacher's Union has been successfully busted in Michigan. Membership is down significantly. When given the option, teachers have discovered that the union does nothing for them and they will not pay their dues voluntarily. I say good for them, we need more of that. And we need it in the Illinois Valley!
School Districts in Michigan are also outsourcing most of their non-core requirements. Further depleting the bloodsucking unions of members.
Specifically what are the non-core requirements which are being out sourced in Michigan? Do you have any idea of the quality of education when a class is outsourced and what are the requirements to fill a position of being qualified to do outsourcing?
What we need in the Illinois Valley is common sense and those who have never taught and disrespect our teachers to give it a try or shut up. I wouldn't put up with some of the behavior of certain children for a minute and would be waiting for their parents when conference time comes. How can you expect the kids to be any good when their parents themselves are ignorant, loud mouths who know it all. The teachers need representation because of those that I have just described. Teaching is a strange profession but not as strange as some a teacher has to deal with. No teacher should have to meet with parents alone. Tell me where else can you obtain a baby sitter as cheap. Today's teacher is supposed to wipe the child's but and not wake him up if he goes asleep in class.
I don't despise Teachers. I despise the Teacher's Unions. The non-core activities being outsourced are janitorial, driving, administration support, cooking, and all the other things not directly involved with education.
It will be a good day when we see the end of all Unions. The first step to this is making membership optional. People should not be forced to pay for membership in any organization. Once this injustice is corrected, the union fat cats will starve.
10:29 on December 19 here is what you said: "4:37 Let me do that there figuring. Your bro's house has a value of about $20,000 and your house has a value of about $90,000. That is the only way his total taxes bill is smaller. Please review the rates and you will see the difference."
Here is reality for the liars, manipulators or maybe just completely ignorant people like you who make things up as you go. You see I used percentages to make it the same for you but apparently you need real numbers. I will use round numbers for assessed values and specific rates right off of our two tax bills side by side. You gave us both a good laugh and you made my brother a little jealous.
You see my "bro" and I are very similar in our homes. My home in Peru has a "net taxable value" of about $57,000. My homes's real market value is probably about $240,000 on the conservative side. The city of Peru tax rate is 0.26044 and the grand total rate for my home with all taxing bodies is 7.24233. My total property tax bill on a very nice home is about 4,200.
My "bro" in LaSalle has a home valued at about 60,000 but very similar to mine in actual market value. The City of LaSalle tax rate is 2.68393 or about exactly TEN TIMES that of the city of Peru tax rate. His total tax rate is 9.98273 and his property tax bill on his equally nice home is just a little shy of $6,000.
This is right from our tax bills and here are some more facts to help you out. His property taxes for a comparable home are about 42 percent higher than mine. If you dont believe that then just divide the tax rates. The city of LaSalle's is ten times than the city of Peru and the total tax rate for all taxing bodies is 38 percent higher in LaSalle.
Are you still going to say "That is the only way his total taxes bill is smaller"? Of course you are. Because you don't care about facts. You care about making things up to try to prey on people's ignorance.
Folks this is reality. You can hate Peru. You can hate people who are elected to public office. You can be anonymous and make things up. Or you can be reasonable and point out things elected people do that you don't like and express an opinion or share facts to back it up.
But what is shown right here is the truth. The lies and crap that gets shared is usually wrong. Always use facts. These are true and they are undeniable. You don't have to like how some money is spent but stop making things up about taxes. It's 40 percent higher in LaSalle and even higher yet in Ottawa and Streator and pretty much everywhere else. This is all public information and it's all exact numbers.
Come on December 19 at 10:29. Show anyone on here who cares that this is wrong. Tell me I am making it up. My "bro" and I are ready for a good laugh.
12:59 why in the world should Peru have invested in it's infrasctructure for the last 40 years and somehow managed to have all of the sales tax related businesses in Peru only to redistribute that wealth to other towns? The state already collects sales taxes and redistributes it to your town (clearly you are not from Peru) and each town can set it's own local sales tax rate. On what basis (or better yet what planet) would some asinine thing like that take place? Save your breath because your answer will make no sense.
given the option, about 7 out of 10 union members would stop paying their dues and leave the union. The other 3 are union officials.
Good luck getting $240K for a house in LaSalle.
People want their tax dollars going to the government that works for them. Every city will need to rethink their reliance on sales tax over the next 20 to 30 years. The point of sale is changing. If I place my order to Walmart from a computer in Spring Valley and have it delivered from the Peru Walmart, which city should get municipal sales tax. I think it should be Spring Valley. I think the law agrees with that. Next - what if the courts say that the taking possession does not count and that everything ordered from a location is taxed at that location? The point at which ownership transfers could become the norm. Then what?
Unions provide a service that is no longer necessary. They will go the same way as Blockbuster Video. Currently, the only strong hold organized labor has is over government employees - including schools. As the taxpayer continues to be bled dry, this will change. I think 2016 may be a pivotal year in the history of organized labor - or as I like to call them, "protection schemes."
There was a little bit of a ruckus at the coffee joint up by wally world yesterday. Apparently somebody panicked when they noticed a coffee drinker with a partially concealed handgun. The partial concealment was likely the result of the outline of the gun printing through clothing, the person bending over, or the outer garment being brushed aside. According to the radio, it was not intentional.
Anyway the radio continued by saying they locked this guy in the bathroom and called police! Do you think for one minute that if this was a "bad guy" he would allow you to lock him in the bathroom?
Anyway - he was a legal concealed carry permit holder. With almost 2% of the adult population now carrying a gun, people better get used to accidently spotting a glimpse of a partially concealed gun. The law was written so that an accidental uncovering of the pistol is not illegal. You will start seeing more and more of this.
I don't think this is the case here, but there is an active group of people that oppose private ownership of guns. They will purposely look for legal concealed carry permit holders and call the police stating that they saw a "man with a gun." They actually hope that the police will come in, panic, and shoot the person. This practice is called "SWATing." This practice has been advocated by a number of national anti-gun organizations.
A city is not supposed to make a profit. So terms like "invest in infrastructure" should not be used. The city builds infrastructure because that is the purpose of a city - build and maintain things for the public good that are not practical for an individual to build and maintain.
The current vision of the City of Peru is to expand in retail in order to take in more tax revenue in order to spend more with connected friends.
"Invest in infrastructure" does not mean "make a profit." It means that you have to spend money smartly at times to have the infrastructure needed to support the needs and demands of the local community. While I think Peru is far from perfect, we have done that pretty well over the years and it is one of the reasons we enjoy lower taxes than everyone else around.
Making comments that "The current vision of the City of Peru is to expand in retail in order to take in more tax revenue in order to spend more with connected friends" just show how clueless and out of touch you are. They do the same damn things any other city does. If you don't like HOW they do it (because it all needs to be done) then run for office or support the opposition in the next election.
I'm all for fresh faces and new people and we have had a lot of new people on the council in recent years. I think that has been a good thing and I support change but if you really want change then stop with lies and whack job conspiracy theories. People don't gravitate to negativity and pessimism. They gravitate towards a winner with a vision. Show us your vision. Show us something. But if you continue to sit in the dark and bitch you will never ever ever change a single thing.
Your preferred city would not have retail? And you don't want to make a profit. I would think you may already live in a city that is heavily taxed and has very little business and very little purpose?
Who are those connected friend that keep you awake at night?
If you were part of a city. Would you not want to expand retail areas? Would you not want to invest your tax dollars to better roads, better sewers, better electric service? Most of those who vote and are elected are those who continue to want to expand the business sector and invest their tax dollars on city infrastructure improvements. They even get the benefit of doing it without high real estate taxes.
The city also has no choice but to build and maintain infrastructure. So they are doing nobody any favors, they are merely doing what they are obligate to do. The city does not produce anything, therefore they produce no cash flow. The city takes from those that produce. How much they take and the form that they use to do the taking is the only "magic" to Peru's creative financing.
Why is it that the "police reports" in the paper list very few "things" happening in Peru? It is chock-a-block full of reports from LaSalle, but maybe one or tow "things" from Peru. Is somebody being selective in what they put in the paper, or do Peru people lead a more wholesome life than those in our neighboring city? Or maybe Peru people are just a bunch of fuddy-duddies that never leave the comfort of their home, preferring to watch "The Jeopardy" at 6:30 every night and letting the tourists from Spring Valley and LaSalle pay for all their needs.
Invest, Verb: expend money with the expectation of achieving a profit or material result by putting it into financial schemes, shares, or property, or by using it to develop a commercial venture.
I agree. The city should not look at infrastructure as an investment. To do so, they create the vision in their mind that they are somehow making money when they spend it. While good infrastructure can increase the tax base, both in property as well as consumption, it should not be considered optional.
I think a city investing in infrastructure is usually a good thing. It's certainly good for business and economic development when done the right way and Peru has done it better than anyone around for many miles.
Call it what you want but people like 10:18 have no idea how business gets done or how government and business work together. He/she will say the only job of government is to "get out of the way."
Sorry. It doesn't work that way. There is a good synergy between the two in a strong community. Businesses don't "invest" in communities where the local government (and therefore citizens) do not "invest" in infrastructure.
Of course I have a feeling this is the same person who still thinks Peru's taxes are higher than LaSalle's but I doubt we will hear a response for that one.
Thankfully our community is filled with good common sense people, not radical extremists who have no idea of ow a government or a business should run!
the word "invest" is used incorrectly. That phrase is used by politicians to justify increased spending.
I want people to start speaking plainly. "Build Infrastructure," "Maintain Infrastructure" are the proper phrases to use. Using the term "invest" is just as bad as the word "save" when spending at a lower cost. Like.. "save $1,000 this weekend when you buy a new car." You are not "saving money" - you are "spending money" - just a little bit less than if you wait.
%:45 7:40 AM Yes small amounts of money are costs but bottled water for council meetings and a employee party are peanuts not worth the time to discuss. Would it help if bottled water was distributed to the 2 or 3 guests at the council meetings. Another 3 bottles at 18 cents wouldn't break the city. As for a employee party most cities and businesses have them without the problems which are ruining Peru's and damaging the goodwill from the citizens which is one of the intentions of having them. They are going to have a Christmas Party so why not let all enjoy them and maintain the reasons for having them? As for myself I hope all in attendance have a hell of a good time and wishing all a Merry Christmas. Sincerely, Artie Giese
I'm making fun of the overuse of the term "invest" by public officials.
Here is another one - Parkview School (intentional reference to the bar) "invested" in a computerized event sign.
And how about investing in new light bulbs for the City Clerk's office.
Every time a public official wants to "spend" they insert the word invest and think they are pulling the wool over the eyes of the yokels. They also like to say they are going to sell a bond. Why can't they say what it actually is - a loan. Selling a bond makes it sound like they have an asset that they are selling to get money.
Governments say that because they are selling bonds or issuing debt. That is what public entities do to "get a loan." It's not a conspiracy.
We get your overused references to "investing" which is also not a conspiracy. To you all government spending is bad but it is not when done the right way, which you clearly would not understand. As a taxpayer and business owner I consider infrastructure an investment that is good for business. Investing in infrastructure is what helped build Peru into what it is today which is what any town of our size would love to have. This includes roads, curbs, utilities and other things as well. Businesses cannot do this by themselves and a perfect business climate includes having local government that is proactive and smart and "invests" long term. Fortunately we have that most of the time in Peru.
I don't think anyone called water bottles or a sign "investing." An investment has a long term pay off for the community. Thankfully most people don't think like you because most people have common sense.
By the way, are you the one who insisted LaSalle has lower real estate taxes than Peru? Pretty sure that was you. As others have said I hope you one day decide to become a "public official" so you can learn more about "investing."
Why don't they "invest" in the residential parts of town. Don't call that sewer project and investment - it was mandated by the EPA.
Sidewalks crumbling, side streets that looks like the runway at the Bagdad Airport after a cluster bomb attack. Heck, they can't even make a map change without the townsfolk storming the castle with pitch forks and torches.
I'll tell you why they can't "invest" in the residential parts of town - because there is no payoff.
The city is all about improving the parts of town that produce sales tax revenue. That is why they are moving all the public works to Area 51 and why the police department and fire department will follow them up there very soon. At some point in time, it appears that Peru would like to move the southern city limits to Shooting Park Road.
I can't fault any thirsty and phony elected or appointed official in Peru for not wanting to drink Peru's tap water. Peru's potable water is of the lowest quality and is heavily over-dosed with chlorination. City "bigshots" should pay for their own water for sipping at meetings. They do not deserve to have the good people of Peru pay for their perks and gratuities.
If we're so intent on moving everything northward, why are we allowing our economic developer to spend so much money and concentrate so much effort into improvements along Route 6?
To 1:23 pm, To answer your question. If Poopeye Chicken is coming to Peru the party responsible for it, as is the case with every other company that has ever come to Peru is the corporate executives whose job it is to determine where to build the stores. They study and analyze the market trends and the demographics of areas throughout the country for favorable expansion opportunities. It's their job and responsibility. It has nothing to do with any of the nymerous blood-sucking agencies like IVAC or private contractors like MCS or Vickrey's phony company that Peru's elected officials waste our tax dollars on. Those phonies just line up to take credit for it after the companies research group have done the analysis. The biggest myth that Vickrey and other parasite companies put forth is that they actually play an active role in bringing businesses into the area. Nothing could be further from the truth. They make money perpetuating that myth and Peru's elected officials dole out our tax dollars to those connected insider entities on a regular basis. It's just political glad-handing and pork-barrel spending.
7:54, Retail Stores only use water to flush the toilets. So, it is not something to worry about - good water does not produce sales tax.
10:49, Bobby V. is simply putting lipstick on a pig. If there was a serious program to improve the "OLD" Downtown, it would involve incentives to demolish buildings. Just like they did in the "NEW" Downtown on Shooting Park Road.
10:14, I don't think the Illinois Valley Demographic favors the success of a Popeye's franchise.
10:14 Get out of the egg nog, holiday is over. You continue to write about all those insiders. Who are these people that are cronies? And who is those connected to the city that dole out millions to insiders? The Illinois VALLEY and Peru are making attempts to reach out and find opportunities for business growth. If they did nothing would that happen? Business locates because they can make a profit, to make a profit good jobs are required. There is nothing special about Peru. Why don't those businesses locate in other areas? Peru is the center of activity because of the highways. Peru has reasonable tax structures. Peru has low electric and water rates. The Illinois Valley has ample people willing to work. And Peru has officials that are taking economic development seriously. Many cities spend money on locating business. Its not unusual that many towns in the area have individuals and private companies working on economic issues. we all will be better off because of the work of the entire area working in development. Why don't you invest money and take a chance on a business opportunity? There is nothing stopping you from buying a piece of property and requesting incentives to get that gold mine up and running. Take a chance.......Sitting on that lap top has made you bitter.
We need more smoke stacks. More heavy industry. More mining. More warehouses. That is what produces jobs. Both in direct production and across the various services.
1;38 Please get together with 10:48 both of you will do well in the class......How to destroy a community.
That is right up there with the thoughts that bottled water and cell phones are evils within city hall. Can we get any reasonable people to comment on the blog?
So 3:41, you don't want people to word? Where does all the sales tax money come from that Peru collects? It comes from people that work. And working at a candle shop or book nook does not pay very much. Selling corn dogs to tourists from Chicago pays virtually nothing. Even renovating the Crapkaskia Hotel will not infuse money into the local economy on the scale that is necessary to bring prosperity back to the Illinois Valley.
We need to Reform Workers Comp and put the phony baloney lawyers out of business.
We need to outlaw Forced Unionization.
We need to remove LaSalle County restrictions on the use of land zoned Agricultural.
We need to remove the Ethanol Mandate to bring the price of Agricultural land in line with reality - making it available for Industrial Development.
We need to consolidate taxing districts to reduce costs - including school districts.
We need tax incentives for any new Heavy Industrial developments.
72 comments:
while Peru raised its property tax by 5%, Streator lowered theirs by 5%. Hmmmm...
"...the decrease was due to the council's frugality when putting together the budget for the coming year, a reduction in debt service cost...."
Another armed robbery in Peru. This time at the New Downtown (Shooting Park Road) CVS. I'm wondering if Peru is now on the RADAR for the little hoods from the big city?
Anyway - if you have a license, don't leave home without your pistol folks. If you don't have your license - ask yourself.... "why not?"
Two incidents in two days, both quickly nabbed by the Peru Police Department. Meanwhile, other towns have been hit and are still scratching their heads. Great job, PPD.
1:14 who said armed robbery? Clearly you are not a licensed carrier. You can't use that pistol just because a couple kids jumped the counter for a smash and grab. You can fantasize about shooting someone but you will go to jail if you do in a situation like this.
Relax, quit trying to freak people out and let the professionals do their job.
1:07 that means they paid off a bond and nothing else. If you want Streator's tax rate, then go to Streator. Your home will be worth half as much but your taxes will be twice as high.
The city of Peru has a property tax ONLY for the mentioned pensions and for the library, which they reduced to the minimum required. No other town around has it this low. It is so funny reading comments from clueless people. Five percent of next to nothing is just that. You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.
I received my Peru Pride today and noted we claim a school with an address in LaSalle and another in Bureau County that has a Peru P O Box. Why not claim the LaSalle Swimming Pool, Rotary Park, and The LP Sports Complex too ?
The back page has a union printing "bug" with a number identifying the printer.
In truth, it's a redundancy of the city's web site.
2:22, the original report in the NT said "Armed Robbery." Looks like that has changes. Anyway, you ask if I have a CCL; answer is yes I do. But, you correctly point out that a mere robbery would not justify a defensive shooting. Obviously, you need to fear for your life or the life of another. The point I was making is that in two days, we have had an attempted strong arm robbery and a robbery. If you carry, you need to be ready to defend yourself. Even if you don't, you should be ready. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Never loose situational awareness. Trust your gut.
The Peru Pride is excellent. I appreciate the contact information among other things. Yes much of this is on the website but sometimes you have to put things in peoples hands. Do businesses just rely on you to go to their website or do they sometimes put things in your hands?
As for the school references they are all LaSalle-Peru schools. St. Bede is in Bureau County but it's address is in Peru. The Christian school is in LaSalle but so what? So is LP. These are still our schools.
Overall despite a few who can only criticize we really do have much to be thankful for with an A+ to the Police department and the Peru public school district. Both are second to none.
2:24 Maybe I am confused. When was the last time that Peru raised its property tax? When mentioning that no other town around here has it so low are you crediting Don Baker and Dick Janko for going after the business section for its taxes, they surely deserve the credit.
Also the people who decided that the electrical plant would be a sound investment in the latter 1800's have always made it possible for Peru to dip into the electrical fund to stabilize other departments finances.
The self owned electrical dept. and the retail sales are the two cash cows of Peru and have always paid Peru's way until the police force became the size of a middle seized town rather than a small town which it is. Extremely high wages and salaries are another problem which Peru can't afford.
Remember when telling people to go to Streator and their home will worth half as much that they are going to pay half as much as Peru for the home originally.
2:24 You might be right the 5% of next to nothing is just that however, what about those citizens on a fixed income (medicare)? They don't get an increase in pay yet they have to pay an increase in taxes, an increase in their medicare premiums, groceries, insurance, etc. And, they are not out there spending money like there's no tomorrow. They have no one to turn to if they overspend. They have to live within their budgets.
2:24 here. Good discussion. What I was saying earlier is that I am pretty certain Peru only levies what they need for the pensions and the library. 6:03 makes great points about the development in Peru and the sales tax providing our revenues. Every town and community is different and for all of our flaws we are pretty blessed to be right here.
6:45 I think people overreact when a newspaper talks about a tax increase. That same senior citizen pays more at the dollar store, for prescriptions for food and everything else. I under stand that, but common sense people know that the same services cannot be provided by the government for the same amount any more than a business can.
Despite the crazy comments on here most of the time, local governments do have limits on what they spend. You can also vote those people in and out of office if you don't like how they spend your money! The people on here who think you can't are just bitter. Most of the Peru city council is fairly new and they can get voted out just as easily as they were voted in. You just need the right candidates. No grandstanders or bullshitters.
The city has not been raising taxes much at all, largely due to the continued strength of the municipal sales tax. Every single community wishes they had what we have on a per capita basis.
We can improve. We can get better. But the constant negativity and lies are so much nonsense. Talk to people involved and think for yourself. Thanks for a few great comments here!
We should always consider the entire tax bill. Everything from income tax to sales tax to property tax. While the "seniors" might complain about a property tax increase, remember that they are most likely on an exemption which prevents the assessed valuation of their property from increasing. They also receive their income - Social Security, Pension, 401K / 403B, all FREE of Illinois Income Tax.
The real issue for people in Peru is the tax revenue demanded by the schools - Peru, LP, IVCC. We need to find some other method of funding these institutions. They also need to bring costs to a realistic level. The building spree is unjustified at all three institutions.
We need to reform spending. As far as funding goes, perhaps we remove property taxes from the picture and impose a 10% public schools sales tax. And.... not exempt automobiles either. Since this would be state wide, there would be no worries about people jumping to a lower tax district. We also have the technology to distribute sales tax funds based on a person's address. This needs to be done also. That way, shoppers from Spring Valley would be supporting Spring Valley, not Peru. Finally - in my opinion, a consumption tax like this is more fair than an income tax or property tax.
Peru Township and Peru Township Road District are not necessary. We should disband them and give everyone a tax break.
I'm 6:45 Dec. 17th. What I was trying to express is that those on a fixed income cannot afford another piece of their check being taken away from them. You (8:13) and I both know that those on fixed incomes have no choice but to live within their means. They can't go to the government and say "I need more money to pay for my groceries" as government can turn to the people and say "I need to raise your taxes because I overspent". And, the fixed income individual is not out there buying "things" and paying for them by "check" as Peru has been recently.
Since LaSalle has a very nice library, why does Peru need one? LaSalle has a very nice pool, and so many people on this blog say Peru doesn't need a pool. What's the difference between an expense for a library or an expense for a pool? Why duplicate services? I think Peru would be better off getting rid of the library and going to LaSalle, just like the people who want to swim outside have to do.
Fixed Income: An income from a pension or investment that is set at a particular figure and does not vary or rise with the rate of inflation.
Social Security is NOT a "fixed income" - it will increase at the rate of inflation. An increase was not given this year because the government has determined that there was no inflation.
A property prepared "Senior" has a distinct advantage when it comes to property taxes. They have a Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption or SCAFHE.
This exemption allows senior citizens who have a total household maximum income of less than $55,000, and meet certain other qualifications to elect to maintain the equalized assessed value (EAV) of their homes at the base year EAV and prevent any increase in that value due to inflation. The amount of the exemption benefit is determined each year based on
1. The property's current EAV minus the frozen base year value (the property's prior year's EAV for which the applicant first qualifies for the exemption), and
2. The applicant's total household maximum income limitation.
If their retirement income is above the maximum, they should not be in a position to complain about paying a little bit of tax to the local taxing bodies - particularly since they don't pay income tax on their retirement income.
So - In my opinion, "seniors" have no room to complain about property taxes. The people that need the help are the 45 year olds making a median income with very little in the form of tax relief. They are the ones that continue to be screwed.
I am presently from Peru and I feel exactly the same as 9:24. LaSalle and Peru could work out some fair deal handling cost and necessities of swimming pool and library and both towns would be ahead financially also. This combination should include the police Department as Peru has proven they do not need a full time Chief of Police. Combining the police departments should call for a substantiation in numbers of police also.
If a combination of police were to occur and both Peru and LaSalle combined a library in LaSalle the Peru library could become the Peru's Police Department with plenty of room and on West Street.
LaSalle has a wonderful library and the tax levy is less than half of the Peru levy. The population is about the same and the Peru library may have less square footage. Go figure? It looks like the library taxes at the maximum rate allowed by law. Why? Because they can! Do both libraries offer the same services? It's not like the government banned books and internet access. It's not like people are flocking to the library. Do we need two and do we need taxes without representation.
I don't know. It sounds like the Chicago Thugs have discovered Peru. I think we need to triple the size of the police force. I don't know how many cops we have now, but I only see a police car in my neighborhood once a day. They should be driving down every street in town once an HOUR.
I looks like Old Boss Harl just gave Skoogy Do a thousand dollars for his war chest.
Where can I get an "Anybody But Skoog?" yard sign? I'm voting for the republican primary winner. But... I'd even vote for "an inanimate carbon rod" before I voted for the Martucky Liar.
“We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?”
10:47, what do you mean we don't pay taxes on our pension, the Feds tax the heck out of mine.
Since that slick "informational" book we all got in the mail, all 5.000 plus residents, how about the mayor coughing up some campaign cash to cover the cost. He can just WRITE A CHECK.
If Skoog gets some of the green stuff from the mayor, he ought to pay for his own promotional political junk, it should not be a city expense.
1:55 The state portion of your taxes exempts retirement income. We all got a kick out of the Skoog swearing in speech, he stated he has always worked across the aisle with both political parties? Did he know that his former elected position never required voting? Maybe as Clerk he needed to go to the republican headquarters to get some napkins for the doughnuts he bought for the girls once a week, while performing his no show job. He has caught on to the fundraising handouts. He may need $200,000 for the upcoming campaign. I for one look at the actions of his short stint as Rep.----taking in money and telling some tall tales about his previous political experience as a negative. We would have liked him better if he just told the truth---I served cold beer to both Democrats and Republicans and I like tips!
1:55 PM - I should have specified STATE income tax. Retirement income is 100% exempt from State Income Tax (unless you make big bucks like those college professors and judges pulling in $200K in retirement income). In all actuality, you probably get back every dime and then some on your FEDERAL tax as well. I'm willing to wager, the average "senior citizen" pays about 0 at the end of the day when it comes to all taxes except for consumption taxes (sales tax, etc.). The Baby Boomers haven't figured out a way to get out of that one yet - but trust me, they will. I can see old Madigan buying Democrat votes by making everything sales tax free for Baby Boomers.
@2:24 PM I don't understand what you mean by I like tips.
Get a Baby Boomer to pay for anything? Good luck with that one. They only spend and kick the can down the road.
Lies lies and more lies. The City of Lasalle's taxes are about 30 percent of my brotehrs tax bill. The city of Peru on mine is a little over 5 percent.
I have an idea. Why don't some of you who love lasalle and hate Peru run for office and tell everyone that you are going to make Peru's taxes the same as LaSalle's? Or why don't you run on a platform of closing the library and everyone can go to LaSalle? Or both?
You misunderstand the posts 4:37. That his how we get the People of LaSalle to pay for more stuff. They already pay for most of our school and street repairs through sales tax. Let them pay for a pool and library through their property taxes and we can just use them - Free of Charge! I love the Illinois Valley.
4:03 PM - I think you mean the Baby Boomers never use their own money to pay for something. Otherwise your statement doesn't make sense. But it is true - the older part of the Baby Boom generation screwed things up royally. We need to figure out how to get them to kick in a little more. Maybe it is time to apply Illinois Income Tax on Retirement Income... Just like Madigan, and by extension, Skoogs and Boss Harl want.
Now remember folks, elections are coming up. A Vote for Skoogs is a Vote for Madigan. A Vote for Jerry Hicks is a Vote for Madigan. And when it comes time for municipal elections, A Vote for Boss Harl is a Vote for Skoogs and Madigan.
4:37, please explain your numbers using dollars and not percentages. It would also be necessary to state the value of the two properties in question.
4:37 Let me do that there figuring. Your bro's house has a value of about $20,000 and your house has a value of about $90,000. That is the only way his total taxes bill is smaller. Please review the rates and you will see the difference.
LaSalle County needs to sell the nursing home! It will save taxpayers much more than the small budget of the Peru Township.
12:37, nobody will buy it because:
1. it was built in a floodplain, insurance rates are through the roof.
2. established salaries are off the chart. it will be difficult to roll those salaries back in line with the local non-government norm.
3. it is unionized. it will take a lot to bust the union.
I suggest just closing it and letting the market absorb the customer base.
I got an "American Community Survey" in the mail yesterday. If you got one, be sure to fill it out. We need to let the government know that Peru's population is getting older and there are fewer kids. This data will help consolidate the local schools into one district.
Sales tax should be replaced with consumption tax that goes to the state and is distribute to communities based on their population and NEEDS. Peru doesn't need all the sales tax. Most of it should go the Spring Valley, LaSalle, and Oglesby.
Good news, good news, good news. It looks like the Teacher's Union has been successfully busted in Michigan. Membership is down significantly. When given the option, teachers have discovered that the union does nothing for them and they will not pay their dues voluntarily. I say good for them, we need more of that. And we need it in the Illinois Valley!
School Districts in Michigan are also outsourcing most of their non-core requirements. Further depleting the bloodsucking unions of members.
Specifically what are the non-core requirements which are being out sourced in Michigan? Do you have any idea of the quality of education when a class is outsourced and what are the requirements to fill a position of being qualified to do outsourcing?
What we need in the Illinois Valley is common sense and those who have never taught and disrespect our teachers to give it a try or shut up.
I wouldn't put up with some of the behavior of certain children for a minute and would be waiting for their parents when conference time comes. How can you expect the kids to be any good when their parents themselves are ignorant, loud mouths who know it all.
The teachers need representation because of those that I have just described. Teaching is a strange profession but not as strange as some a teacher has to deal with. No teacher should have to meet with parents alone. Tell me where else can you obtain a baby sitter as cheap.
Today's teacher is supposed to wipe the child's but and not wake him up if he goes asleep in class.
I don't despise Teachers. I despise the Teacher's Unions. The non-core activities being outsourced are janitorial, driving, administration support, cooking, and all the other things not directly involved with education.
It will be a good day when we see the end of all Unions. The first step to this is making membership optional. People should not be forced to pay for membership in any organization. Once this injustice is corrected, the union fat cats will starve.
10:29 on December 19 here is what you said: "4:37 Let me do that there figuring. Your bro's house has a value of about $20,000 and your house has a value of about $90,000. That is the only way his total taxes bill is smaller. Please review the rates and you will see the difference."
Here is reality for the liars, manipulators or maybe just completely ignorant people like you who make things up as you go. You see I used percentages to make it the same for you but apparently you need real numbers. I will use round numbers for assessed values and specific rates right off of our two tax bills side by side. You gave us both a good laugh and you made my brother a little jealous.
You see my "bro" and I are very similar in our homes. My home in Peru has a "net taxable value" of about $57,000. My homes's real market value is probably about $240,000 on the conservative side. The city of Peru tax rate is 0.26044 and the grand total rate for my home with all taxing bodies is 7.24233. My total property tax bill on a very nice home is about 4,200.
My "bro" in LaSalle has a home valued at about 60,000 but very similar to mine in actual market value. The City of LaSalle tax rate is 2.68393 or about exactly TEN TIMES that of the city of Peru tax rate. His total tax rate is 9.98273 and his property tax bill on his equally nice home is just a little shy of $6,000.
This is right from our tax bills and here are some more facts to help you out. His property taxes for a comparable home are about 42 percent higher than mine. If you dont believe that then just divide the tax rates. The city of LaSalle's is ten times than the city of Peru and the total tax rate for all taxing bodies is 38 percent higher in LaSalle.
Are you still going to say "That is the only way his total taxes bill is smaller"? Of course you are. Because you don't care about facts. You care about making things up to try to prey on people's ignorance.
Folks this is reality. You can hate Peru. You can hate people who are elected to public office. You can be anonymous and make things up. Or you can be reasonable and point out things elected people do that you don't like and express an opinion or share facts to back it up.
But what is shown right here is the truth. The lies and crap that gets shared is usually wrong. Always use facts. These are true and they are undeniable. You don't have to like how some money is spent but stop making things up about taxes. It's 40 percent higher in LaSalle and even higher yet in Ottawa and Streator and pretty much everywhere else. This is all public information and it's all exact numbers.
Come on December 19 at 10:29. Show anyone on here who cares that this is wrong. Tell me I am making it up. My "bro" and I are ready for a good laugh.
12:59 why in the world should Peru have invested in it's infrasctructure for the last 40 years and somehow managed to have all of the sales tax related businesses in Peru only to redistribute that wealth to other towns? The state already collects sales taxes and redistributes it to your town (clearly you are not from Peru) and each town can set it's own local sales tax rate. On what basis (or better yet what planet) would some asinine thing like that take place? Save your breath because your answer will make no sense.
Keep dreaming 11:43 AM. Unions will be around for a very long time in the state of Illinois.
given the option, about 7 out of 10 union members would stop paying their dues and leave the union. The other 3 are union officials.
Good luck getting $240K for a house in LaSalle.
People want their tax dollars going to the government that works for them. Every city will need to rethink their reliance on sales tax over the next 20 to 30 years. The point of sale is changing. If I place my order to Walmart from a computer in Spring Valley and have it delivered from the Peru Walmart, which city should get municipal sales tax. I think it should be Spring Valley. I think the law agrees with that. Next - what if the courts say that the taking possession does not count and that everything ordered from a location is taxed at that location? The point at which ownership transfers could become the norm. Then what?
Unions provide a service that is no longer necessary. They will go the same way as Blockbuster Video. Currently, the only strong hold organized labor has is over government employees - including schools. As the taxpayer continues to be bled dry, this will change. I think 2016 may be a pivotal year in the history of organized labor - or as I like to call them, "protection schemes."
There was a little bit of a ruckus at the coffee joint up by wally world yesterday. Apparently somebody panicked when they noticed a coffee drinker with a partially concealed handgun. The partial concealment was likely the result of the outline of the gun printing through clothing, the person bending over, or the outer garment being brushed aside. According to the radio, it was not intentional.
Anyway the radio continued by saying they locked this guy in the bathroom and called police! Do you think for one minute that if this was a "bad guy" he would allow you to lock him in the bathroom?
Anyway - he was a legal concealed carry permit holder. With almost 2% of the adult population now carrying a gun, people better get used to accidently spotting a glimpse of a partially concealed gun. The law was written so that an accidental uncovering of the pistol is not illegal. You will start seeing more and more of this.
I don't think this is the case here, but there is an active group of people that oppose private ownership of guns. They will purposely look for legal concealed carry permit holders and call the police stating that they saw a "man with a gun." They actually hope that the police will come in, panic, and shoot the person. This practice is called "SWATing." This practice has been advocated by a number of national anti-gun organizations.
A city is not supposed to make a profit. So terms like "invest in infrastructure" should not be used. The city builds infrastructure because that is the purpose of a city - build and maintain things for the public good that are not practical for an individual to build and maintain.
The current vision of the City of Peru is to expand in retail in order to take in more tax revenue in order to spend more with connected friends.
"Invest in infrastructure" does not mean "make a profit." It means that you have to spend money smartly at times to have the infrastructure needed to support the needs and demands of the local community. While I think Peru is far from perfect, we have done that pretty well over the years and it is one of the reasons we enjoy lower taxes than everyone else around.
Making comments that "The current vision of the City of Peru is to expand in retail in order to take in more tax revenue in order to spend more with connected friends" just show how clueless and out of touch you are. They do the same damn things any other city does. If you don't like HOW they do it (because it all needs to be done) then run for office or support the opposition in the next election.
I'm all for fresh faces and new people and we have had a lot of new people on the council in recent years. I think that has been a good thing and I support change but if you really want change then stop with lies and whack job conspiracy theories. People don't gravitate to negativity and pessimism. They gravitate towards a winner with a vision. Show us your vision. Show us something. But if you continue to sit in the dark and bitch you will never ever ever change a single thing.
10:18
Your preferred city would not have retail? And you don't want to make a profit. I would think you may already live in a city that is heavily taxed and has very little business and very little purpose?
Who are those connected friend that keep you awake at night?
If you were part of a city. Would you not want to expand retail areas? Would you not want to invest your tax dollars to better roads, better sewers, better electric service? Most of those who vote and are elected are those who continue to want to expand the business sector and invest their tax dollars on city infrastructure improvements. They even get the benefit of doing it without high real estate taxes.
The city also has no choice but to build and maintain infrastructure. So they are doing nobody any favors, they are merely doing what they are obligate to do. The city does not produce anything, therefore they produce no cash flow. The city takes from those that produce. How much they take and the form that they use to do the taking is the only "magic" to Peru's creative financing.
Why is it that the "police reports" in the paper list very few "things" happening in Peru? It is chock-a-block full of reports from LaSalle, but maybe one or tow "things" from Peru. Is somebody being selective in what they put in the paper, or do Peru people lead a more wholesome life than those in our neighboring city? Or maybe Peru people are just a bunch of fuddy-duddies that never leave the comfort of their home, preferring to watch "The Jeopardy" at 6:30 every night and letting the tourists from Spring Valley and LaSalle pay for all their needs.
Invest, Verb: expend money with the expectation of achieving a profit or material result by putting it into financial schemes, shares, or property, or by using it to develop a commercial venture.
I agree. The city should not look at infrastructure as an investment. To do so, they create the vision in their mind that they are somehow making money when they spend it. While good infrastructure can increase the tax base, both in property as well as consumption, it should not be considered optional.
I think a city investing in infrastructure is usually a good thing. It's certainly good for business and economic development when done the right way and Peru has done it better than anyone around for many miles.
Call it what you want but people like 10:18 have no idea how business gets done or how government and business work together. He/she will say the only job of government is to "get out of the way."
Sorry. It doesn't work that way. There is a good synergy between the two in a strong community. Businesses don't "invest" in communities where the local government (and therefore citizens) do not "invest" in infrastructure.
Of course I have a feeling this is the same person who still thinks Peru's taxes are higher than LaSalle's but I doubt we will hear a response for that one.
Thankfully our community is filled with good common sense people, not radical extremists who have no idea of ow a government or a business should run!
the word "invest" is used incorrectly. That phrase is used by politicians to justify increased spending.
I want people to start speaking plainly. "Build Infrastructure," "Maintain Infrastructure" are the proper phrases to use. Using the term "invest" is just as bad as the word "save" when spending at a lower cost. Like.. "save $1,000 this weekend when you buy a new car." You are not "saving money" - you are "spending money" - just a little bit less than if you wait.
The city invested in bottled water for council meetings.
Has the City invested in their annual Employee Christmas Booze Fest yet?
The city invested in a nice looking Christmas tree that nobody can see.
7:40, the annual Christmas Party was stopped when Harl got in in 2009, get over it!
%:45 7:40 AM Yes small amounts of money are costs but bottled water for council meetings and a employee party are peanuts not worth the time to discuss. Would it help if bottled water was distributed to the 2 or 3 guests at the council meetings. Another 3 bottles at 18 cents wouldn't break the city. As for a employee party most cities and businesses have them without the problems which are ruining Peru's and damaging the goodwill from the citizens which is one of the intentions of having them. They are going to have a Christmas
Party so why not let all enjoy them and maintain the reasons for having them? As for myself I hope all in attendance have a hell of a good time and wishing all a Merry Christmas.
Sincerely, Artie Giese
I'm making fun of the overuse of the term "invest" by public officials.
Here is another one - Parkview School (intentional reference to the bar) "invested" in a computerized event sign.
And how about investing in new light bulbs for the City Clerk's office.
Every time a public official wants to "spend" they insert the word invest and think they are pulling the wool over the eyes of the yokels. They also like to say they are going to sell a bond. Why can't they say what it actually is - a loan. Selling a bond makes it sound like they have an asset that they are selling to get money.
I'm with you 11:31. Just like LP "Investing" in pipe organ repairs and a multi-millions dollar sports complex.
Governments say that because they are selling bonds or issuing debt. That is what public entities do to "get a loan." It's not a conspiracy.
We get your overused references to "investing" which is also not a conspiracy. To you all government spending is bad but it is not when done the right way, which you clearly would not understand. As a taxpayer and business owner I consider infrastructure an investment that is good for business. Investing in infrastructure is what helped build Peru into what it is today which is what any town of our size would love to have. This includes roads, curbs, utilities and other things as well. Businesses cannot do this by themselves and a perfect business climate includes having local government that is proactive and smart and "invests" long term. Fortunately we have that most of the time in Peru.
I don't think anyone called water bottles or a sign "investing." An investment has a long term pay off for the community. Thankfully most people don't think like you because most people have common sense.
By the way, are you the one who insisted LaSalle has lower real estate taxes than Peru? Pretty sure that was you. As others have said I hope you one day decide to become a "public official" so you can learn more about "investing."
Why don't they "invest" in the residential parts of town. Don't call that sewer project and investment - it was mandated by the EPA.
Sidewalks crumbling, side streets that looks like the runway at the Bagdad Airport after a cluster bomb attack. Heck, they can't even make a map change without the townsfolk storming the castle with pitch forks and torches.
I'll tell you why they can't "invest" in the residential parts of town - because there is no payoff.
The city is all about improving the parts of town that produce sales tax revenue. That is why they are moving all the public works to Area 51 and why the police department and fire department will follow them up there very soon. At some point in time, it appears that Peru would like to move the southern city limits to Shooting Park Road.
I can't fault any thirsty and phony elected or appointed official in Peru for not wanting to drink Peru's tap water. Peru's potable water is of the lowest quality and is heavily over-dosed with chlorination. City "bigshots" should pay for their own water for sipping at meetings. They do not deserve to have the good people of Peru pay for their perks and gratuities.
If we're so intent on moving everything northward, why are we allowing our economic developer to spend so much money and concentrate so much effort into improvements along Route 6?
Who's responsible for Popeyes Chicken coming to Peru? Finally some competition for the colonel.
To 1:23 pm, To answer your question. If Poopeye Chicken is coming to Peru the party responsible for it, as is the case with every other company that has ever come to Peru is the corporate executives whose job it is to determine where to build the stores. They study and analyze the market trends and the demographics of areas throughout the country for favorable expansion opportunities. It's their job and responsibility. It has nothing to do with any of the nymerous blood-sucking agencies like IVAC or private contractors like MCS or Vickrey's phony company that Peru's elected officials waste our tax dollars on. Those phonies just line up to take credit for it after the companies research group have done the analysis. The biggest myth that Vickrey and other parasite companies put forth is that they actually play an active role in bringing businesses into the area. Nothing could be further from the truth. They make money perpetuating that myth and Peru's elected officials dole out our tax dollars to those connected insider entities on a regular basis. It's just political glad-handing and pork-barrel spending.
7:54, Retail Stores only use water to flush the toilets. So, it is not something to worry about - good water does not produce sales tax.
10:49, Bobby V. is simply putting lipstick on a pig. If there was a serious program to improve the "OLD" Downtown, it would involve incentives to demolish buildings. Just like they did in the "NEW" Downtown on Shooting Park Road.
10:14, I don't think the Illinois Valley Demographic favors the success of a Popeye's franchise.
10:14 Get out of the egg nog, holiday is over. You continue to write about all those insiders. Who are these people that are cronies? And who is those connected to the city that dole out millions to insiders? The Illinois VALLEY and Peru are making attempts to reach out and find opportunities for business growth. If they did nothing would that happen? Business locates because they can make a profit, to make a profit good jobs are required. There is nothing special about Peru. Why don't those businesses locate in other areas? Peru is the center of activity because of the highways. Peru has reasonable tax structures. Peru has low electric and water rates. The Illinois Valley has ample people willing to work. And Peru has officials that are taking economic development seriously. Many cities spend money on locating business. Its not unusual that many towns in the area have individuals and private companies working on economic issues. we all will be better off because of the work of the entire area working in development.
Why don't you invest money and take a chance on a business opportunity? There is nothing stopping you from buying a piece of property and requesting incentives to get that gold mine up and running. Take a chance.......Sitting on that lap top has made you bitter.
We need more smoke stacks. More heavy industry. More mining. More warehouses. That is what produces jobs. Both in direct production and across the various services.
1;38 Please get together with 10:48 both of you will do well in the class......How to destroy a community.
That is right up there with the thoughts that bottled water and cell phones are evils within city hall. Can we get any reasonable people to comment on the blog?
So 3:41, you don't want people to word? Where does all the sales tax money come from that Peru collects? It comes from people that work. And working at a candle shop or book nook does not pay very much. Selling corn dogs to tourists from Chicago pays virtually nothing. Even renovating the Crapkaskia Hotel will not infuse money into the local economy on the scale that is necessary to bring prosperity back to the Illinois Valley.
We need to Reform Workers Comp and put the phony baloney lawyers out of business.
We need to outlaw Forced Unionization.
We need to remove LaSalle County restrictions on the use of land zoned Agricultural.
We need to remove the Ethanol Mandate to bring the price of Agricultural land in line with reality - making it available for Industrial Development.
We need to consolidate taxing districts to reduce costs - including school districts.
We need tax incentives for any new Heavy Industrial developments.
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