Wauconda hires firm to handle financial issues
Long without a full-time village finance director, Wauconda trustees on Tuesday hired a suburban firm to handle the task.
The village board unanimously approved a one-year contract with Lauterbach and Amen, a Warrenville company, to oversee payroll, purchases, budget preparation and other fiscal matters.
The firm will begin work Oct. 2. It will be paid $12,500 per month, or $150,000 over the full year.
When the contract expires in 2018, renewal for up to five years is possible at the same pay rate, village documents indicate.
Wauconda has been without a full-time finance director since July 2013. The finance director at that time, Zaida Torres, left village hall and never returned following a dispute with then-Mayor Frank Bart. The nature of the argument was never made public, nor did village hall ever clarify whether Torres quit or was fired.
In July 2014, the village board hired a Northbrook company to recruit a new finance director. It found a candidate, but the applicant withdrew from consideration after learning about Wauconda's then-rancorous political atmosphere.
The current part-time finance director, Ed McKee, is departing after more than a year on the job. McKee took the job expecting that a full-time finance director would be hired within a year or 18 months, according to a village memo.
During Tuesday's meeting, Mayor Lincoln Knight and Trustee Linda Starkey both told McKee they'd miss him at village hall. In response, McKee said he enjoyed working for the village.
The village budget for the current fiscal year includes $183,000 for the hiring of a full-time finance director.