Naperville picks finance director as new city manager
Naperville's nearly yearlong nationwide search for a city manager has ended with the selection of Finance Director Doug Krieger to fill the post.
City leaders announced Krieger was their pick in a statement released late Friday afternoon. The appointment will become official Dec. 2.
Krieger, 44, who became finance director in March 2003, is a 14-year Naperville resident. He replaces Peter Burchard, who held the city manager's job for roughly a decade before abruptly announcing his resignation in November 2007 to take a job in the private sector.
Robert Marshall, formerly the assistant city manager, has been serving as city manager pro tem. He is expected to return to his assistant manager's role.
"I'm absolutely thrilled to be selected," Krieger said Friday.
He said his main goal will be to "continue to focus on providing great service to residents in an efficient manner."
City officials said nearly 30 hopefuls applied for the position and they worked with a consultant to narrow that field to eight.
The city council met in closed session Tuesday to discuss the appointment, made an offer to Krieger on Wednesday and made its choice public on Friday.
Details of his contract - including his salary - will not be finalized until Dec. 2, he said. The pact will be for one year.
As finance director, Krieger is well aware of the economic challenges facing the city.
The council already has agreed to cut 23 vacant positions and roughly two dozen employees are expected to lose their jobs after the first of the year.
The city has been struggling to fill a $5.1 million hole in this year's budget that was projected to grow to $11 million next fiscal year due in large part to lower-than-expected sales tax and real estate transfer tax revenues.
Krieger said he'll ask the council's permission on Dec. 2 to lift its hiring freeze to allow him to fill the finance director's post.
He said he spent part of Friday meeting with employees and was gratified by their reaction to his selection.
"I've been kind of overwhelmed by the positive response I've gotten from everybody," he said.
In his new role, Krieger said he'll "move a lot of my input from financial and tactical into visioning and strategic."
He said the council sets a vision for the city and "as manager it's my job to turn that vision into tangible results."
Mayor George Pradel praised the choice in a written statement.
"Doug has proven his leadership skills during his years with the city and we have the utmost confidence in his ability and financial intellect to lead us through the current budget crisis with a vision for our future," he said.
Before joining the city, Krieger spent nine years with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Coopers & Lybrand in the audit and business assurance services group. His specialty was in the governmental, manufacturing and casino gaming sectors.
He is a former naval officer in the submarine service. He has a bachelor's of science degree in political science from the U.S. Naval Academy and an MBA with a concentration in finance and accounting from the University of Chicago.
He is married and has two children.