Darien Administrator Actually Contractor, Retired In 2018

DARIEN, IL – Darien's city administrator, Bryon Vana, is unlike his counterparts in other towns.

He is not an employee. Rather, he is a contractor with a private company. On top of that, he receives a pension, having retired from the city government eight years ago.

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Vana has been Darien's administrator since 2002.

He has held managerial roles in municipal governments such as Bensenville, Winfield and Willowbrook going back to the 1980s.

After 33 years of municipal work, Vana now receives a pension of $114,000 a year, according to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund.

In 2018, the City Council entered a contract with staffing firm GovTemps, now called MGT, for Vana's services as administrator.

He started at $177,580 a year in 2018, moving up to $200,000 now.

The agreement was renewed in 2023, and it's up for renewal again next June.

Vana said the contract was seen as a win-win when the council first approved it.

"It has worked out long-term and saves the city a lot of money," Vana said in a recent interview.

Vana gets no benefits.

In a 2018 memo, Vana said the city would save $227,000 over the first years of the contract, compared with what he would make if he remained an employee.

"The estimated savings is due to a reduction in salary and the elimination of employee benefits provided to me," Vana said in the memo.

In a 2023 memo, Vana said the competitive pay and benefits package for a full-time city administrator in the area was estimated at $260,000.