Hampshire trustee hopefuls differ on administrator
Hampshire has been without a village administrator for about a year and candidates seeking trustee seats have mixed opinions on whether the village needs a new one.
Incumbents Janet Kraus, Orris Ruth and Rob Whaley, along with Toby Koth, are seeking one of three, 4-year trustee seats April 7.
Doug Maxeiner resigned as village administrator in late 2013 for the same job in Wauconda, and his replacement, Erik Bush, was hired in January and resigned two months later.
The administrator basically functions as the CEO of the village board, which sets overall policy.
Koth said he was "shocked" when he learned the position was vacant. He said an administrator is essential to landing more businesses in town, which would generate more money through sales and property taxes.
Koth says if elected, he would push to hire one but is undecided if it would be a full- or part-time position.
"We need somebody to do what (village administrators) do, draw businesses," he said.
Ruth was first elected trustee in 1983 and has been on the village board that entire time except for a two-year window.
He said there is no money in the budget for a new administrator, but he would be willing to use development impact fees in the short-term to fund the administrator's salary if absolutely necessary.
"The village board prior to that handled everything, and we are handling it again," Ruth said.
Whaley, first elected in 2011, would not commit to hiring an administrator in 2015. He credited the village's finance director for stepping up during the vacancy.
"We have to find the right one," Whaley said. "It's a lengthy process and an important one. We've made that decision to move forward without the administrator for at least a year."
Kraus, a trustee since 2007, said she would like to hire a new administrator but agreed the village doesn't have the money for it.
She said the entire staff has contributed during the vacancy.
"Everybody's pitched in their fair share, and they've done the work," Kraus said. "Until we can afford it, it's not there. We all thought about it and we decided, 'Let's hold off a little bit because the money we save we could use for other things. We've been handling it, We can do it for now."