Prospect Hts. hires new public works manager

Prospect Heights on Monday voted to contract with James H. Johnson of AT Group Inc. in Lake Forest to manage the city’s public works and engineering duties for a year for $72,000, plus possible overtime.

Steve Skiber, the city’s director of building and zoning, has been handling many of those duties for more than two years. The city had also contracted with Mark Toberman through Norman J. Toberman & Associates in Arlington Heights to do engineering work.

Johnson is “clearly the most qualified” applicant for the job and “possibly the only fully qualified” one, Skiber told the city council before it approved the contract.

Skiber said Toberman did a great job on Levee 37, and the city will use his services again in the future.

Mayor Nick Helmer said after the meeting that Toberman was knowledgeable about sewer issues, but Johnson had broader experience.

Skiber said duties he assumed that were not part of his regular job description included responsibility for the construction of city hall, extension of Camp McDonald water main and Phase I of the $15 million road reconstruction project.

Helmer added that Skiber wore too many hats; he even went out to plow snow.

Due to economic difficulties, the city did not replace Adam Boeche when he went to Des Plaines Department of Public Works; he has since left that job for one in Mundelein. Helmer said money budgeted for Toberman would go toward Johnson’s salary.

In other business, the council decided to inform residents they could save as much as 18 percent on their electric bills by signing up with Integrys Energy under a deal reached by the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus. The company pledges to keep its rates below ComEd’s through May 31, 2013, City Administrator Anne Marrin said.

At an earlier meeting, aldermen had opposed aggregating power for residents and small businesses as many municipalities now are considering. This would require a referendum, and aldermen already have voted to put home rule on an upcoming ballot and do not want to clutter that vote with another issue.

Considerable staff time would be required to institute aggregation, Marrin said.