The snow debate is back. This time the focus is on Street Department Manager David Haste. Despite his abysmal performance in the days (weeks?) following the big Dec. 1 snowstorm, Public Works Director Steve Van Winkle has seen fit to give him a whopping 4.68% merit increase, in addition to approving $5,150 in overtime pay — for a salaried employee — between Nov. 30 and Dec. 10, according to today’s Journal Star.
You really should read Elaine Hopkins entire article and see if you don’t find your blood pressure rising just a little. There’s plenty of controversy surrounding Mr. Haste:
- “[H]e reported working 129 hours over six days, an average of 21.5 hours daily.”
I’d like to see the guy’s time sheet to find out exactly when he slept. Are we really supposed to believe that he only slept 15 hours in six days, an average of 2 1/2 hours per day? If true, it’s no wonder the guy was making poor decisions. I’d be willing to buy one or two days with only 3 hours sleep, but 5-10 days after the event? He’s still working over 20 hours a day with no sleep? And why the heck does a salaried employee get overtime pay?
- “Haste said he and his wife were unable to find an affordable home in the Dunlap school district, though they continue to look. So Haste adopted a rental property he bought in 2000 as his residence….”
Haste lives in Princeville, but when he was promoted to Street Department Manager, he was required by city residency requirements to become a resident of Peoria within a year (by 2004, in his case), but he wanted his teenage kids to be able to continue attending Dunlap High School.
So, the guy owns two properties and makes $80,000/year, but he hasn’t been able to find an affordable home in the Dunlap High attendance area of Peoria in the last three years? He’s not looking very hard.
Furthermore, he’s not convincing anyone (except Van Winkle, apparently) that he’s really living in the rental house in Peoria. It doesn’t have a stove in it, and it’s not listed as owner-occupied on the tax rolls, although there is some evidence that he may sleep there occasionally and Van Winkle claims his residency claims have been investigated. I don’t know the exact wording of the city’s residency ordinance, but if this isn’t breaking the letter of the law (and since it’s clearly not his primary residence, I don’t see how it couldn’t be), it’s certainly breaking the spirit of it.
- “Haste said […] he has not even taken vacation he is eligible for, [and] added, ‘It’s not easy to do this (job). It’s not fun.'”
Sounds like instead of looking for a new house in Peoria, Haste should be looking for a new job that he would enjoy. The City Manager should help him along toward that decision.
It’s Van Winkle who should be looking for a new job. He’s the one in charge.
I’ll hurry and mail in my Garbage fee. FEH
Just out of curiosity – how many managerial positions, compensated in excess of $80K, are not exempt from overtime pay? Not many I can think of. Most managers are paid their salary – regardless of the number of hours required to complete the requirements of the position. That is why managers are usually compensated at a rate at least 20% higher than their subordinates.
Has this position always been structured this way or was it changed when Haste came on board in 2002?
It seems that 3 years is an adequate period of time in which to locate a home situated in the City of Peoria but within the boundaries of Dunlap School District. Perhaps it is time to relieve Mr. Haste of this problem and let him find a job that will allow him to remain in his current Princeville residence.
He doesn’t live “in Princeville”. His house is in a rural part of Peoria county with a Dunlap mailing address.
The OT pay surely was not the right thing to do and I agree that there is no way he could have actually worked that many hours.
In case you are wondering, his property taxes on his “affordable house” not in the city were about $5300 for 2006, payable in 2006. It’s an easy $250,000+ home sitting back on a private lane of about 6 houses or so.
ooops. taxes for 2005, payable in 2006, not that it really matters.
If Dave Haste is reading this, you are in for some good news! I did all the work and found you some “affordable” housing in Dunlap. With a down payment from your 2 homes and that +$80,000 salary, you should find these homes appealing:
A nice condo and you won’t even need to shovel snow!
a 4BR for around $170K.
or this winner for about the same.
But it looks like you already have a house worth more than these based on your current property tax!!! What gives Dave???
MDD — His address is Princeville. 11735 N Evans Mill Rd, Princeville, IL 61559, to be exact.
How much longer are we supposed to put up with the arrogance of Van Winkle, and now of his “first-in-charge”? I ask again, what sort of compromising photos does Van Winkle have of the current Council? I’m telling you, if THIS doesn’t cause a TREMENDOUS public outcry for not only Van Winkle to retire and move on, but also for Haste to be fired for padding his overtime sheet, then we get what we deserve. Contact your Council People NOW and tell them how damned unhappy you are with Van Winkle and his band of crooks, and that you will work to get them out of office if they do not relieve Van Winkle and Haste of theirs NOW.
CJ, that may be what the property tax page says, but no one in that area thinks of themselves as Princeville. They are 8.0 miles from P’ville and 5.2 from Dunlap. They also have Dunlap phone numbers as well as being well within the Dunlap school district.
The tax bills for Mr Haste’s rental property on Phelps get mailed to the Evans Mill address in Princeville. He claims an “owner occupied” exemption on his taxes at the Evans Mill address.
He’s lying to the county on his tax record, or he’s lying to the city on his residency!
Also, has the house on Phelps passed a Rental Registration inspection? How can he “live” there without a stove?
How can he “live” there without a stove? The same way that he can work 21 hours a day moving snow around…
No need for a “rental inspection” since it’s not a rental property…remember he lives THERE! So, despite what his property tax records indicate, he’s claiming it as owner-occupied, at least to his employer. And he’s clearly playing fast and loose with the facts backed up by his boss.
I recall that SVW indicated that the City had investigated and determined that he was in compliance with the residency requirement. I’d like to see the results of that investigation made public. Maybe however conducted it needs to also look for a new occupation.
As far as I know, there are no laws that saw a stove has to be in a house. Couldn’t one just have a microwave or claim they go out to eat for every meal? That’s a personal preference.
MDD, et. al., the only thing I could find in the muni code was this definition (Sec. 5-520):
Notice it says “permanent facilities for … cooking.” This would seem to imply the necessity of a stove to be considered a “dwelling unit.”
It’s nice to see that his “affordable” property is 5.064 acres.
CJ – The link to that PJS article no longer works and I can’t even find it via a search on the PJS’s site.
Wow — I thought the JS stories stayed active for a week. Looks like they took that one down after just two days. I wonder why?