Water commission begins leader search
The hunt for the DuPage Water Commission's next general manager began in earnest Thursday.
The commission approved plans to begin advertising for the post that has been vacant since Bob Martin's forced resignation months ago amid the agency's financial meltdown.
However, the decision to proceed with finding Martin's replacement wasn't without controversy itself.
Some board members questioned if they should be the ones picking the new general manager since legislation awaiting Gov. Pat Quinn's signature would force their resignation by the end of the year.
Martin's resignation and the new legislation were a result of the commission accidentally spending its $69 million reserve fund.
"We should be waiting," commissioner Frank Saverino said. "No, I don't think this board should be making this decision."
The commission set an application deadline for the end of July.
They are offering a salary of between $140,000 and $160,000 a year.
Martin's salary when he left was up to $187,000, one of the highest annual salaries for a public position in the state, commissioners noted.
Terry McGhee has been the interim general manager. He said he hadn't yet decided whether to seek the top spot at the agency that delivers Lake Michigan water to more than two dozen communities in DuPage County.
County board chairman candidates Carole Cheney and Dan Cronin also weighed in on the commission's decision to go forward with the hiring plans.
"The board should honor the spirit of the new legislation and wait to hire any of the permanent top positions," said Julie Kelly, a spokeswoman for Republican nominee Cronin. "The people that will be making the decision on the new general manager's hiring will not be responsible to anyone after the New Year."
In addition to the general manager post, the financial administrator's job is still open. The commission has agreed to wait until a general manager is hired to assist in the decision-making process to fill that seat.
Cheney, the Democratic candidate, said finding a general manager was less important than having qualified commissioners making that decision.
"I don't think it's going to make much of a difference whether this old boys club or the next old boys club makes the decision about the next general manager," she said. "Until we change the way commissioners are appointed, the taxpayers of DuPage will continue to suffer."
The commission also approved a contract for a new auditor Thursday. That contract calls for the auditing firm to receive more than $130,000 to audit the commission's books for the next two years and complete an audit of the commission's 2009 books that were never completed because of the financial trouble.