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Village Manager position posted

(28 posts)
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  1. chrisrobling
    Member

    A Once-in-a-Career Opportunity

    Each of us who is committed enough to Riverside to use this website should scratch his or her head to think about possible strong candidates for this opening.

    Someone conversant in municipal leadership, Olmsted, preservation and park management would be a great addition to Olmstedia.

    The farther and wider this and our village website address, included below, are distributed -- the more choices for our president and trustees and the better it will be for all of us.

    On another thread I participate in a conversation about reconciliation and progress. This is perhaps the single most important step we can take towards both. Regardless of who we supported in the election, this vacancy now must be filled and that means all of us can help. Please promulgate widely.

    Village Manager
    Riverside, IL

    The Village of Riverside, IL, a National Historic Landmark and the only completed Olmsted planned community, is accepting applications for its Village Manager position.

    Reporting to a seven person Village Board, the Village Manager will perform a variety administrative, supervisory and professional work in planning, developing, and administering the total operations and overall basic policies as established by the Village Board, including:

    • Preparing, submitting and overseeing the administration of an annual budget and long-range financial plan.
    • Preparing and submitting justifications for capital improvements, including reviewing funding alternatives, analyzing costs, and preparing recommendations.
    • Reporting on any specific municipal activity as requested by the Village Board and responding to citizen requests relative to Village services.
    • Attending meetings of local, regional, state, and other elected and appointed official bodies to represent the interests of the Village.
    • Responsibility for Village employees, providing leadership to department heads, establishing goals, conducting regular staff meetings.
    • Promoting and maintaining responsive community relations.

    Work is performed under the direction of the Village Board with wide latitude for the application of independent professional judgment. Work is subject to review by the Village Board for results accomplished.

    Ideal candidates will have a degree from a four-year college or university with major course work in public or business administration, political science, public policy, or closely related field. A masters degree in public or business administration or closely related field is a plus. A proven record of success in municipal management, including experience as a City/Village Manager or Administrator or an Assistant City/Village Manager or Administrator is required.

    Resumes along with a detailed salary history may be emailed to resume@riverside.il.us , faxed to ( 708 ) 447-2704 or mailed to Village President, Village of Riverside, 27 Riverside Road, Riverside, IL 60546. EOE

    Posted Thursday May 7, 2009 11:39 #

  2. HRCollins
    Member

    Cannot believe they are asking for detailed salary history.

    Guess they are doing it because it is a simple screening method. If your current salary is too high (according to us) we will not even consider you. The RCA dominated Riverside government needs to worry about the candidates career path, promotions, responsibilities, etc.

    Asking for salary history just sends out a message that we don't care about your skills only how much you currently make and if we like you we will not offer you much more than you currently make.

    Find the right person and then pay a salary fair to both parties.

    Simply a baffling first move by the RCA dominated Riverside government.

    Posted Thursday May 7, 2009 12:57 #

  3. mrt
    Member

    I wondered about the salary history, too, when I read it. What if there were someone who had a passion for 'Olmstedia' as chrisrobling has coined it, and might be willing to go down in salary for an opp to be run an Olmsted town? Maybe posting salary history is S O P in the VM-finding process? But it does communicate that we might be Olmstedia, but we also are on a budget. This is consistent with what RCA campaigned on, fiscal responsiblity.

    Posted Thursday May 7, 2009 13:07 #

  4. JohnM
    Member

    I took a look at 5 or 6 of the Village Manager/Village Administrator/etc positions posted by the Par Group on their web site. All the ones I looked at ask for a salary history, but they also listed starting salary ranges (which, incidentally, range from $105K in Kildeer to $180k in Evanston). For what it's worth, some require residency, some do not.

    Posted Thursday May 7, 2009 13:47 #

  5. commonsense
    Member

    The Riverside website Government page now defaults to the organizational chart, as if to highlight that the VM works for the Village President, and not the other way around. Maybe there should be a requirement that the Village President has sat on the board, or has chaired a commission. Proven track record is a requirement for the VM position. Here's part of the posting:

    Ideal candidates will have a degree from a four-year college or university with major course work in public or business administration, political science, public policy, or a closely related field. A masters degree in public or business administration or closely related field is a plus. A proven record of success in municipal management, including experience as a City/Village Manager or Administrator or an Assistant City/Village Manager or Administrator is required.

    Posted Saturday May 9, 2009 09:00 #

  6. KimJ
    Member

    John M,
    Kildeer is actually a bit more like us. With a population of 4,200 and a community living within nature....Perhaps a good location for us to look for a new VM??
    http://www.kildeervillage.com/WebLinks/officials.htm

    Evanston on the other hand is a city with a population over 75,000.

    I think the Village should consider the pay rates of Kildeer over Evanston.

    commonsense, here is the chart...
    http://riversideil.govoffice2.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={D144BDCE-175B-40FB-8896-1590F3A5EED6}

    I don't understand how this chart could otherwise be organized. We the people elect officials to represent us. It is their responsibility to manage our tax dollars/our community effectively. That includes overseeing staff. The proverbial "buck" stops at the president's feet.

    Having criteria in hiring a paid employee does not seem out of the ordinary.

    Our elected officials are working for us unpaid. Are you suggesting that we change the criteria for people crazy enough to serve us free of charge?
    Which at the moment, I think, is only being 18 and a US resident.

    Are you also suggesting that an electorate is not educated enough to elect whom they think would serve them best? Every voter has their "own special criteria." For example, some may vote for a woman because she is a woman. Others may vote for a man for the same reason (a man, not a woman... hee hee) Criteria beyond the basics (Citizen & eighteen years old) has to be made by the individual voter.

    Posted Saturday May 9, 2009 09:44 #

  7. Fred
    Member

    Kildeer has a population and budget half of Riverside's. They do not operate a water system, sewer system, nor fire department. They are looking for a VM at a salary of 105k. It would be reasonable to assume a salary of 115-130k for a Riverside VM. The campaign rhetoric of overpaid senior staff is just that, rhetoric. If we start hiring people on the cheap, we'll get what we deserve.

    Posted Saturday May 9, 2009 15:56 #

  8. JohnM
    Member

    Kildeer, as Fred points out, is quite different. The median income is twice that of Riverside, the population is half of our town, it is at least 40 miles away from Chicago--not 6 or 7, and it largely relies on the support of neighboring communities for its infrastructure and public safety needs. 105k per year seems about right for a VM there. I think we might need someone with some more experience and skills, which puts us--as Fred notes--in the 115 to 130k range...or, what we are paying Katy Rush.

    Posted Saturday May 9, 2009 16:57 #

  9. Fred
    Member

    Thanks John. I was beginning to think that everyone had taken a temporary leave of their senses. To me it is obvious that you get what you pay for. If the skills aren't there with the paid employees, you pay for a consultant. If you lower the pay enough, you get people with an ethical standard low enough to "make up the difference" through unlawful means. The new guys are probably not not even reading these posts. They probably should.

    Posted Saturday May 9, 2009 17:19 #

  10. KimJ
    Member

    Considering this information, it would seem to me that the VM of Evanston is GROSSLY underpaid.

    Posted Saturday May 9, 2009 18:10 #

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