East Dundee finance director retiring next month

Linda Blackerby's fondest memory of East Dundee was from before she was hired as the village's finance director and treasurer.

About four years ago, shortly after moving to the area to be closer to her family, she sat down for an interview with Village Administrator Bob Skurla. Having formerly held a position at a county of 400,000 people in South Carolina, she was unsure of what to expect in the village of about 3,000.

But during the interview, Skurla spoke of his grand plans for downtown redevelopment, she said, and she knew she wanted to be a part of it.

"I was so impressed with his vision," Blackerby said. "It's very exciting to be involved in that process."

When Blackerby retires at the end of September to spend more time with her family, it's the people she works with that she'll miss the most.

"We have a great village board and an administration that does what it says they're going to do," Blackerby said. "They took me in from the first day into their family."

At the time, the village was more than a year behind in reconciling monthly accounts, Skurla said. Blackerby worked several late nights and weekends to catch up on all the work and straighten out the finances, he said.

Additionally, Blackerby's daily tasks include handling all financial operations for the village, as well as risk management and human resources.

Though she is looking forward to retirement, Blackerby said, she has worked for government for more than 30 years and will miss her role in the village.

"I feel very fortunate to have been in this position," she said, adding that East Dundee is an exciting place to work. "Although the population is small, in terms of its economic growth, it's huge."

The village is searching externally for the next finance director, whose salary would be between $90,000 and $115,000. Applicants must submit a cover letter, resume and application to the village by Aug. 31.

Skurla said he's looking for applicants who have significant hands-on municipal accounting experience. Whomever it may be, the next finance director will have big shoes to fill, he said.

"(Blackerby) was a fantastic person who came along to the right place at the right time," Skurla said. "I'm going to miss her and her skills terribly. She's a delightful person to work with."