N. Aurora looks to hire building official

Instead of filling a vacancy at building commissioner, North Aurora will create a new community development director position with expanded duties focusing on planning and zoning.

The village board unanimously approved the change this week. Village Administrator Sue McLaughlin pushed for the new post, saying that an in-house expert on planning and zoning will be a benefit for the village now and in the future.

"This will help the village for years to come by having someone with the title, education and experience working for us," McLaughlin said.

A planning and zoning expert will be able to look at the bigger picture of where the village would like to go. Working with businesses to secure grants and loans, working to fill empty store fronts and working on larger projects -- such as the riverfront improvement -- are all tasks for this new person, she said.

Right now, the larger projects go to a planning consultant Teska Associates, which McLaughlin said will be retained in a diminished capacity once the new position is filled. Although Teska will still be used to review plans, the day-to-day calls will be less frequent, she said.

The person will also run the building department and code enforcement, McLaughlin said.

The position will carry the same salary range as the building commissioner --between $80,000 and $107,000, McLaughlin said. She hopes to advertise the opening within the next week, start interviews in December and have the position filled by January.

In the meantime, the duties fall to McLaughlin, the building department and Teska she said.

And with a desk piling up with papers concerning two new developments, fallout from a developer considering bankruptcy, in addition to her day-to-day village work, McLaughlin said the new staff member cannot come fast enough.

"I'd like them working here tomorrow," she said.