Rolling Meadows makes it official: Barry Krumstok is new manager

Rolling Meadows has settled on a new city manager, and it’s no surprise: Barry Krumstok, the former assistant who was named acting city manager when Sarah Phillips resigned late in 2010.

Krumstok, who has been assistant city manager since 2006, will be paid $139,500, $1,000 more than Phillips’ salary.

A two-year contract was approved unanimously Tuesday by the city council.

“He has a wealth of experience, and he’s the hardest-working guy you ever saw,” said Mayor Ken Nelson. “He has a financial background and a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge.”

Krumstok said Wednesday that continuing to move Rolling Meadows toward financial stability will be a priority, especially when the new city council is seated after the April 5 election.

“Fund balances and services and where we want to be and how we end up there are the issues,” he said. “Yes, we take pride in our services. We have top notch services and really strive to maintain and enhance them.”

The council did a national search about three years ago before hiring Phillips, but this time chose to hire Krumstok without interviewing other candidates.

“There was a different dynamic going,” Nelson said. “He was one of the finalists then, but he hadn’t been in the assistant manager’s job very long then. As the acting city manager he impressed everybody with what he’s doing.”

Krumstok started working for the city in 1999 as budget analyst and assistant to the city manager. His roles expanded, and in 2006 his title changed to assistant city manager. He has a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and a master’s in public administration from Northern Illinois University. He lives in Northbrook.

Nelson indicated that negotiating Krumstok’s contract took longer than he would have liked.

“Frankly we’ve been negotiating the contract a while. This is a little closer to the election than I had hoped, but there were a few details in the contract that had to be ironed out.”

Most of the benefits allotted to Krumstok in the contract are to be figured according to Illinois retirement law or what is given other nonunion employees. However, he will receive 12 personal days instead of compensatory time off for working overtime.

Nelson, who is not running again because he hit the mandatory term limits, and three aldermen — Barb Lusk, Glenn Adams and John Pitzaferro — will not be on the council after the April 5 election.

However, the mayor said putting off the decision until new officials are seated could have left the city without a permanent manager into the summer.

When Phillips left neither she nor city officials would comment on the reasons, but the city paid her severance equal to seven months pay or about $81,000.