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Fox River Grove still looking for new administrator

Fox River Grove’s difficulty in finding a new village administrator could be due to its lower-than-average pay, or because any new hire’s contract would expire after the April election, officials said.

Village Administrator Art Osten was terminated in mid-March after 14 years on the job and a yearly salary of about $93,300. At the time, village officials cited the need to save money and employ someone who would focus on the village’s downtown redevelopment, but saving money might not be that easy.

The new administrator would get paid $65,000 to $100,000, depending on experience, Village President Robert Nunamaker said. “I don’t think we’re that close (to finding someone). We’re widening our search,” he said.

So far, village officials have networked with other McHenry County officials and screened seven or eight applicants — three of whom were interviewed in closed-session meetings by the village board — but no one fit the bill, he said.

“The ideal candidate has a degree in public management, experience in economic development and business retention, and experience in public finance, and village government experience,” he said.

Nunamaker said he will be working with the Illinois City/County Management Association to find more candidates. He’s aware the pay range is low, he said, but he’s hoping current assistant village or city administrators/managers will see the job as a good opportunity.

In Illinois, the average base salary for a city manager with an average of seven years of experience is $124,200, said Dawn Peters, the association’s executive director. “The salary range could be one factor in finding qualified people,” she said. “Many of the assistant city managers in the Chicago metro area are making good salaries; they would not necessarily take a city manager’s position for a lower salary.”

Village Trustee Gerald Menzel, a former executive recruiter, said that candidates also could be deterred by the fact that four out of seven seats on the board will be up for re-election in April.

The new board will have to approve a new contract for the village administrator, said Menzel, who is not planning to run again. “It’s just a little over half a year before someone else takes over,” Menzel said. “That’s a gamble.”

Fox River Grove ousts longtime village administrator

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