Carpentersville trustee wants manager position

As the maxim goes, when one door shuts, another one opens. And for Carpentersville Village Trustee Keith Hinz, that new door could be to the village manager's office.

Hinz, 55, had been the project manager for Community Unit District 300 for almost 10 years, but budget cuts in March eliminated his position.

Now the first-term village board member is one of 11 candidates vying for village manager.

"I have knowledge of government operations, and I have qualities to be in the village manager position," Hinz said. "I have lived here for 55 years, and I know the inner-workings of the village organization and departments.

"I would bring a lot to the table, and there would not be the learning curve of some of the other candidates," he added. "I'll be Johnny-on-the-spot, ready to go."

Before his years with District 300, Hinz worked for DeKalb County, overseeing facility operations. There, Hinz said, he learned the intricacies of government budgets, bond applications and obligations, and project management.

Those experiences carried over to the school district, he said.

"Government operations and school districts are complementary," Hinz said.

Carpentersville Village President Ed Ritter said Hinz is a vocal member of the board who provides valuable insight into construction projects, such as the planned public works facility and ongoing street improvement program.

"Keith has a lot of experience with buildings and different types of construction and roadwork," Ritter said. "As a board member he asks good questions, especially about the public works building, and I think they are some of the things he could bring to the manager position as well."

Trustees have worked to fill the village manager vacancy since early June, when former Manager Craig Anderson retired. Assistant Village Manager Dawn Wucki-Rossbach is serving as acting manager until a new manager is hired. It is not known if Wucki-Rossbach is one of the remaining candidates.

Hinz is sitting out the village board's executive session meetings where trustees vet village manager nominees.

Ritter said the trustees will whittle the candidate pool down further during an executive session July 20. Officials hope to select a new manager in August and have the new manager start in early September.