Why Buffalo Grove trustees are reluctant to hire engagement manager
After village trustees balked at the proposal last year, Buffalo Grove officials continue to investigate hiring a community engagement manager to improve communications between the town and its residents.
In the meantime, work to update the village's comprehensive plan will be pushed back three or four months, as officials had intended for the community engagement manager to be a part of that process.
Better communication with residents emerged as a village need from a residents survey and subsequent workshop involving Buffalo Grove officials. However, during budget talks in November, trustees were reluctant to spend the $100,000 in salary and benefits planned for the position.
Trustees remained hesitant when they met Monday as a committee of the whole.
"A community engagement officer is a very good thing," Trustee Lester Ottenheimer III said. "But I'm not sure I can justify the cost."
Trustee Jeffrey Berman added, "Once you bring someone on staff, you're stuck with that person for a long time. It's not just the general cost. It's the benefits cost, it's the pension cost."
Because of the lingering doubts, Village Manager Dane Bragg said a community engagement manager from another town will come before the board to explain the position and budget implications.