Retail Sales On Rebound In Peru

There may be a good indicator locally that the economy is bouncing back.

For the fifth month in a row and the sixth out of the last seven, sales tax revenues in Peru are up from last year.  July is the latest month sales tax numbers are available and Peru took in over 467 thousand dollars in sales tax revenue, that’s 63 thousand more than last July.

Thru July, Peru has brought in 154 thousand dollars more than at this point last year.

Swimming Pool Fee Passes

The number of people at last night’s Peru City Council meeting may have filled an outdoor swimming pool if the city still had one working.

A large crowd turned out to give their two cents about trying to pay for a new pool.  A couple of people say they’ll refuse to pay a 5 dollar a month pool fee if it gets tacked onto their utility bills.

Mayor Scott Harl suggested instead of five dollars for everyone, charge five percent of a person’s bill so higher utility users pay more towards the pool.  The council again went against the mayor and passed the $5 a month fee.  It would generate 336 thousand dollars a year but only go into effect if the city gets a DNR grant.

Alderman Dave Potthoff said he’s not certain this is the way to finance a pool, but they need to go forward at least with applying for a grant.  He also suggests the city start an account for public donations towards the pool.  Alderman Tony Ferrari says he’s already heard from a handful of people who want to pitch in money for a pool.

The estimated cost of a new pool is 3.5 million dollars.  The grant could pay up to 75 percent of that cost.

Baseball Tournament Coming Back To Peru

After a three year hiatus, the Central States Baseball Tournament is coming back to Peru.

District 20 Senior League official Max Lauritzen says he and others found out this past weekend in Indianapolis that the tournament was headed back to Peru.  It’ll most likely happen in early August.

Peru hosted the tournament from 1980-1990 and then from 1994 thru 2007.  They gave up the tournament in large part after longtime administrator Jim McVey became ill.

The tournament has teams from Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota, Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan and Wisconsin.  A local team automatically makes the tournament representing District 20.

Rollover Injures Handful

A weekend rollover crash sent five people to the hospital.

Sheriff’s deputies say five juvenile boys were hurt after rolling their car on East 550^th Road just north of Tonica.  The boys were all taken by ambulance to IVCH for treatment.

The crash happened just after 10 o’clock Saturday morning.

Police Chief Calling It A Military Career

Princeton Police Chief Tom Root is calling it a career.  Not in law enforcement, but in serving the United States military.

After 30 years as a member of the Illinois Army National Guard, Root is hanging up the fatigues officially November 30^th.  Before serving in the guard, he spent three-years in active duty with the Army.  He served in Vietnam, Desert Storm, Operation Enduring and Iraqi Freedom among other missions.

Besides service to his country, Root was also co-chairmen for the “Flags of Freedom” project which is the four huge American flags flying off I-80 in Princeton.

The Root name will continue to be represented in the U.S. military.  Three of his sons are active duty members of the Army.

Peru Pool Talk Not Going Away

What do you think of pitching in to help pay for a new outdoor pool for Peru?

After a heated talk last week about the pool, the Peru City Council will talk about it again tonight.  More specifically, they’ll discuss the idea of implementing a temporary five dollar municipal pool fee on all utility bills.  This fee only take effect if the city receives a federal grant to help pay for a new pool.

The chances of getting the grant though are limited with Mayor Scott Harl refusing to sign the grant until the council comes up with a financial plan to pay for the pool.

The Peru swimming pool was closed this past summer due to safety concerns.

Property Taxes Headed Up

Your La Salle County portion of your property tax bill could be going up.

The board has placed on file its tax levy for next year.  As it stands now, they’re looking for a 2.8 percent increase in the tax levy, with the total amount of property taxes collected to top 25 million dollars.  Finance Committee Chairman Tom Ganiere says they need the extra tax money to pay pensions.

The overall proposed budget for next year has projected expenditures of 70.1 million dollars, slightly less than this year’s budget.  Like last year’s budget, expenses are more than projected revenues.