Rolling Meadows city manager in line for $25,000 bonus

Two years after being hired to oversee day-to-day operations at Rolling Meadows city hall, City Manager Rob Sabo is in line to get a $25,000 performance bonus, under a resolution being considered by the city council.

The pay bump comes a year after Sabo was awarded a 6% raise for completing and surpassing 30 key performance goals established by the council upon his Jan. 4, 2022, hiring.

But the bigger raise this time around — putting his salary at $210,503 — comes with the successful completion of additional goals, said Mayor Lara Sanoica.

Under Sabo, every city department has aggressively pursued grant funding totaling more than $6.25 million, Sanoica said. And she cited some $37,000 in savings from surcharges and fees through Sabo’s renegotiation of the city’s waste hauler contract.

“The council assigns specific goals and objectives each year to the manager that go beyond basic operations and instead focus on creating value for Rolling Meadows in the form of new revenue streams, more efficient operations, and better municipal services,” Sanoica said. “Manager Sabo delivered on all of these additional goals this year. Therefore the council strongly believes a $25,000 bonus is appropriate.”

Other goals included creation of a city social services department and analyzing the costs and benefits of coordinating with unincorporated homeowners to annex into the city.

Sabo also was tasked with negotiating for road maintenance and first responder cost sharing in preparation for the future development of Arlington Park. But those discussions with Arlington Heights and neighboring municipalities have seen starts and stops, amid the Chicago Bears’ pullback of lobbying for state subsidies and an ongoing tax battle with area school districts.

Sabo, a former assistant city manager in Highland Park, took over the top administrative post in Rolling Meadows after months of turmoil amid the firing, litigation and out-of-court settlement involving longtime previous City Manager Barry Krumstok. Krumstok was hired as Westchester village manager last June.

Sabo’s salary increase was to have been considered on the council’s consent agenda Tuesday night, but the meeting was canceled due to lack of quorum. The meeting is rescheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 30.

His employment agreement runs through January 2027.