Lake in the Hills board fires village administrator 3 months after hiring him
The Lake in the Hills village board voted unanimously Thursday night to remove Village Administrator Douglas Petroshius, barely three months after hiring him.
Petroshius has been on paid administrative leave since March 8. He was hired Dec. 12 to replace Gerald Sagona, who resigned in August after nearly 20 years on the job.
The board Thursday appointed Jennifer Clough, current assistant village administrator who was acting as interim village administrator, to the post permanently.
Petroshius will remain on paid leave until May 11 when his contract expires, coinciding with the end of the current village president's elected term. He also will receive six months severance pay amounting to $70,000, according to the provisions of his employment contract, Village President Paul Mulcahy said.
Mulcahy said it became apparent early on that Petroshius "was the wrong fit for this position and for our community."
"We made a bad hire," Mulcahy said. "It's regrettable that it cost us money, but again, it had to be done."
Petroshius, 37, of Gurnee, graduated from Libertyville High School in 1997. He was an intern in Wauconda, Round Lake Beach, Mount Prospect and Clarendon Hills, and became the public works management analyst for the village of Lincolnwood in 2004. He later served as Lincolnwood's assistant village manager for eight years before joining Lake in the Hills.
Village officials said Petroshius made policy changes without first vetting them with the village board.
Trustee Russ Ruzanski said Petroshius went behind department heads and talked about changing policies directly with employees, without prior board approval.
"That's not really the way we do business here," said Ruzanski, who is challenging Mulcahy for the mayor's seat on April 4. "The fact that he took it for granted to do these things without permission was a warning flag for all of us."
Ruzanski said the village is paying a heavy cost to get rid of Petroshius.
"His attorney wants a nine-month severance pay," he said. "We feel in no way he is entitled to that. There is no provisions for it (in his contract). Where this is going to wind up, I don't know."
Petroshius could not immediately be reached for comment.