Glen Ellyn hires village manager

Glen Ellyn’s village president and board have narrowed down a list of 82 candidates for the open village manager’s position to one.

Mark Franz, the current village manager of Homewood, has been chosen to oversee day-to-day operations of village government in Glen Ellyn, following the board’s 5-0 approval of an employment agreement on Monday.

A village-hired search firm began seeking applications for the position in January, after Steve Jones had stepped down from the position two months before.

Village President Mark Pfefferman said officials expected to receive as many as 40 applications, though they received double that amount. So narrowing down the list was difficult, he said.

The top three candidates — Franz, along with Bryon Vana, the city administrator of Darien, and David Forrest, the municipal administrator of Norristown, Penn. — met residents and discussed their backgrounds at a Glen Ellyn public forum April 26.

Pfefferman said he and village board members chose Franz for his experience, vision and creativity, and was hopeful Franz could come up with ways to respond to a “changing environment” of doing more with less in village government.

Franz has been Homewood’s village manager for the past eight years, during which time he oversaw implementation of four tax increment financing districts and revitalization of the village’s Halsted Street retail corridor.

Previously, he spent five years in Evanston — four years as an assistant to the city manager and one year as a human resources specialist.

He got his start as an intern and administrative analyst in Northbrook in 1995.

Franz will be charged with putting together an economic development strategy in Glen Ellyn, Pfefferman said, along with appointing permanent finance and public works directors. Those roles have been filled on an interim basis, and officials have previously said it would be up to the new village manager, once chosen, to come up with permanent hires.

Franz, who will begin his management duties in Glen Ellyn July 12, said he’s going to settle in first before making those decisions.

He said he had kept his eye on the position in Glen Ellyn in the past, and was drawn to it because of the community’s assets: good schools, parks and downtown, among others.

Per the employment agreement, Franz will be required to become a resident of Glen Ellyn by May 1, 2014, according to Pfefferman.

The amount of Franz’s salary wasn’t released Monday night, though Pfefferman said the contract would become available after approval by the village attorney.

Terry Burghard will stay on as interim village manager until Franz takes over in July.