Wauconda administrator resigning to take job in Moline
Wauconda Village Administrator Doug Maxeiner is resigning to take a similar post in another Illinois community.
Maxeiner is set to become the city administrator in Moline, one of the Quad Cities on the Illinois-Iowa border. The Moline city council is expected to approve hiring Maxeiner on Tuesday.
Maxeiner's resignation is effective June 9.
Maxeiner earns a $142,500 salary in Wauconda and is set to make $157,500 a year in Moline, a much larger city with approximately 44,000 residents and more than 400 employees.
But Maxeiner has more than financial reasons for moving to Moline. His wife has been working as vice president for instruction and student services at Blackhawk College in Moline since July.
"We have been living apart during the week and trying to catch up on the weekends these past 10 months," said Maxeiner, 54, of McHenry. "The arrangement was more difficult than either of us thought when we initially considered the move."
He insisted the pending move wasn't politically motivated or a reaction to the election of new Mayor Lincoln Knight, who was sworn in last week.
"Nothing could be further from the truth," Maxeiner said. "Lincoln is an honorable man and will be a terrific mayor."
Maxeiner was hired by Wauconda's village board in November 2013. He previously had been the village administrator in Hampshire.
His tenure in Wauconda has been tumultuous because of political disagreements between then-Mayor Frank Bart and the village board over a plan to bring Lake Michigan drinking water to town, the closure of Wauconda's 911 center, plans for the Heroes of Freedom Memorial and other issues.
Maxeiner stayed out of the fray, never publicly taking sides in the arguments but instead focusing on financial efficiency at village hall and improving the local economy.
"It wasn't particularly difficult staying out of the political stuff because that is my nature and I'm pretty focused on the end goal," Maxeiner said.
Knight said he's known for a few months that Maxeiner was pursuing the Moline job, and why. He praised Maxeiner "for bringing a sense of calmness and professionalism to Wauconda."
"I have the utmost respect for Doug and his professionalism and abilities," Knight said.
Maxeiner also earned plaudits from trustees, including Tim Howe.
"There aren't many people who could have navigated the last few years as well as he did," Howe said. "I have to take my hat off and thank him for a great job."
Knight intends to name Public Works Director Brad Fink the interim village administrator until a full-time replacement is hired.
Knight also plans to ask the board to hire a Northbrook recruiting firm called GovHR USA to oversee the search for a new administrator. GovHR USA brought Maxeiner and Police Chief David Wermes to town.