Naperville council hires firm to find new city manager

Naperville took a step forward Tuesday in its search for a new city manager.

The city council hired West Sacramento, Calif.-based Bennett Yarger Associates to recruit candidates to replace Peter Burchard, who resigned more than six months ago.

"Doing a nationwide search is what the citizens and the taxpayers of this city deserve," Councilman Kenn Miller said. "We need to look for the best and tied to that is I also want a search firm so we're at arm's length from the process because I suspect we will have some internal candidates."

Burchard, who held the position for 10 years, quit Dec. 7 to take a job in the private sector, citing his declining health. Since that time Robert Marshall, formerly the assistant city manager, has been serving as city manager pro tem.

Asked if he will apply to fill the position permanently, Marshall said he is "focusing on being the best city manager pro tem."

"I'm interested in the position," he said. "When it becomes available I will give it serious consideration."

Councilman Robert Fieseler said the city is in a "period of change" and he wouldn't mind waiting another six months to search for a new city manager. But several other councilmen expressed displeasure that it has taken this long and asked that the process move forward quickly.

The city received proposals from five search firms, which were evaluated by a committee that included Mayor George Pradel and Councilman Grant Wehrli.

Wehrli said Bennett Yarger Associates was willing to be flexible, letting councilmen see as many or as few resumes as they would like and were well-prepared and transparent when interviewing with the committee.

"Their final interview basically left us with no questions, where every other group we had to pry and draw a little bit out of them," Wehrli said.

The council voted 8-1 to hire the search firm for $21,025 with Councilman Doug Krause being the lone "no" vote.

He said he believes the city should conduct the search itself. Last time it did so, he said, it hired Burchard.

"By doing the process we get to see all the candidates, not just a selected few, and we also get to interview them," Krause said. "To me I think that's the best process."

The firm has said the search will take up to four months.

The city has operated under a council-manager form of government since 1969.