New Itasca administrator comes with lots of experience

Itasca officials said they wanted a new village administrator who can juggle many roles, and they think Evan Teich has the talent to do it.

Out of a pool of more than 70 applicants, Itasca officials unanimously appointed Teich as the new village administrator Tuesday night.

Teich spent the past five years as village administrator for Sussex, Wis., a village of about 10,000 people 19 miles northwest of Milwaukee.

His contract with Itasca pays $115,000 annually, with medical and dental benefits, life insurance, and a village car for work use and limited personal use.

Pruyn said the board sought a versatile administrator who wants to grow in Itasca, not just someone looking at the village as a steppingstone.

Teich will step into his new role in late July. All village department heads, including the police, public works and community development departments, will report to him. He then reports to Pruyn and the village board, who manage Itasca's $31 million annual operating budget.

He is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations in Itasca, setting policy, addressing personnel issues, developing budgets and promoting economic development.

Teich will replace Administrator David Williams, 64, who is retiring after about a decade with the village.

He was slated to leave his post in April 2009 amid a series of major shifts at the top levels of Itasca government.

But Williams remained in the post for 14 more months, after Village President Pruyn asked him to help Itasca handle the transition resulting from all the changes.

Williams said two major challenges facing Teich will be making sure Itasca benefits as western access is created to O'Hare International Airport, as well as guiding economic development in the village.

While Teich agrees, he adds that he aims to find ways to use the recession to Itasca's advantage.

"The community has a lot to offer and it's about how you position yourself between now and when the economy thaws to be in a position to heal and grow," Teich said. "You use these moments of down time to plan, to get your zoning ordinances in order, to get loan parameters in order so that you're ready to hit the ground running when things do start to thaw."

The search for the new village administrator began last February, whittling the 77 candidates to 30 who were sent additional questions. Then 12 were asked to interview with Williams, Pruyn and department heads.

From that pool, four were presented to the village board in early June and Teich agreed to his contract this past weekend.