Elmhurst Lays Out How It'll Hire New Manager

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst aldermen on Monday backed the mayor's proposal for how to go about hiring a new city manager. Two disagreed.

On Feb. 26, the city announced that Manager Jim Grabowski would resign this summer. No exact date was given.

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Last week, the city revealed that Grabowski's last day would be July 31. Assistant City Manager Kent Johnson was appointed Monday to fill in as the interim manager.

At the council meeting, Mayor Scott Levin said the city's recruiting consultant, MGT, attracted about 80 candidates.

The firm then narrowed the list to 20 applicants, whose information is available at City Hall for aldermen. They can comment on the candidates through next Monday.

Levin proposed forming a special committee made up of himself and the council's four committee chairmen, aldermen Chris Jensen, Noel Talluto, Emily Bastedo and Mike Brennan.

The panel is set to meet next Monday to whittle the list to eight for interviews. The other 10 aldermen will be invited to attend the interviews, which will be in closed sessions, Levin said.

The committee will then narrow the list to four finalists, whom the full council will interview. Then the council will decide on a candidate.

The city hopes to make an offer to the winning candidate by the end of August, Levin said.

Alderman Michael Bram objected to the process. He and Levin were the only council members to take part in Grabowski's hiring.

Bram said all aldermen were involved earlier the last time around. He said they were asked to rank about 20 candidates.

"We should have more input and decision-making power early on," Bram said.

Levin, however, said the mayor back then selected the top candidates without any council participation. He didn't identify the mayor at the time, who was Pete DiCianni.

This time, Levin said he was opening it up to committee chairmen.

"I think it's a more efficient process," he said.

Levin said the process would also help preserve candidates' confidentiality because many of their employers may not know they are looking for jobs.

Some states, including Wisconsin and New Mexico, require towns to reveal the names of city manager finalists. In some cases, towns let the public meet them.

In Illinois, the information is allowed to be kept secret. Most towns, including Elmhurst, stick to the tradition of confidentiality.

During the Elmhurst discussion, Alderman Guido Nardini expressed support for the mayor's process.

"I would be absolutely overwhelmed if I were facing 78 applications," he said. "We will be able to see the eight. We will be able to interact with the process."

The council voted 11-2 for the mayor's proposal, with Bram and Rex Irby dissenting. Talluto was absent.