Pingree Grove's village attorney will also work as village manager
Pingree Grove will have a village manager for the first time in six years when longtime village attorney Dean Frieders starts the job June 1.
Frieders, 40, of Geneva, will be paid $182,000 per year and will be eligible for health and retirement benefits in his new dual role of village manager/attorney.
Frieders, whose law firm Frieders Law, LCC is based in St. Charles, has provided legal services to Pingree Grove on a $81,600 yearly contract for about 13 years, village officials said. He also works as city attorney in DeKalb, where he's been on contract for more than seven years. His last day on the job there will be May 31.
"Pingree Grove has been very near and dear to my heart for many years. I've worked with them for years and I have a great deal of confidence in the village board," Frieders said. "I see the list of opportunities that they have on the horizon with continued residential development, and with the opportunity to expand commercial development with the major infrastructure projects that are going to be coming online in the next few years."
Frieders' retainer in DeKalb amounts to $228,000 annually, DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas said. The city council decided in February to solicit proposals for legal services "to see what the market might tell us about pricing," Nicklas said.
The decision had nothing to do with Frieders' performance, he said. "He performed an extraordinary amount of work for us within his retainer, much more than we would normally expect from an attorney," he said.
The Pingree Grove village board unanimously approved Frieders' appointment Feb. 19, a day before DeKalb issued its request for proposals.
Pingree Grove has had managers and administrators in the past, with the last administrator fired in 2013. The job is the same, but the title of "manager" is a reflection of the vision for the job, Frieders said.
The topic of hiring another village administrator/manager has come up over the years in Pingree Grove. Village officials said that when Frieders ventured the idea of taking on a larger role, their response was enthusiastic.
The timing was right because a new municipal center is expected to open soon, Village President Steve Wiedmeyer. "(Frieders) knows the town inside out, and he knows our business inside out," he said. "He's not somebody who will start from scratch ... Everybody could see the value in it."
Trustee Amber Kubiak said she believes Frieders will be effective in attracting more economic development, particularly commercial and retail, which is what residents want. "Dean is so efficient ..." she said. "I think he will help village hall become more efficient and more friendly for our village residents."
Frieders said he plans to work closely with the board, which he described as "very involved," to implement its vision and policy.
Finance Manager Karen Plaza said the village's 2019-20 budget includes Frieders' new salary along with the elimination and reduction of some contractual expenses, and some changes in staffing, including part-time.
Wiedmeyer ran unopposed in April for a second, four-year term as village president. Frieders' contract states that if Frieders is terminated before the 90 days after the end of Wiedmeyer's term, Frieders will get a four-month salary severance.