Geneva Police Chief, City Administrator Announce Retirement

Submission by the city of Geneva 

Geneva Police Chief Steve Mexin and City Administrator Mary McKittrick will retire in coming months, city officials announced Friday.

Mexin will be retiring effective May 6 after spending 26 years with the Geneva Police Department, including eight years as the head of the department, according to the city of Geneva press release. McKittrick will be retiring effective June 10 after working for 17 years for the city of Geneva.

Mexin decided to retire to spend more time with his family, pursue volunteer opportunities and explore other personal interests, city officials said.

“I truly feel it has been a privilege to be a member of the Geneva Police Department all these years, and it has been my honor to serve as Chief of Police on a department made up of such fine people,” Mexin said.

Chief Mexin will publicly announce his retirement at the Monday City Council meeting, when the Mayor will appoint Commander Eric Passarelli as the City’s next Police Chief.

“Chief Mexin’s humble leadership has contributed immeasurably to Geneva’s reputation as a premier City in which to live, learn, work and play,” Mayor Kevin Burns said. “A public servant in the truest sense, Steve’s integrity, compassion and vision has helped ensure that Geneva remains a safe and secure community for people of every age.”

After being hired in 1989 as a Geneva patrol officer, Mexin worked as a field training officer, field training co-coordinator, intern program coordinator and was a member of the department’s tactical response unit. He was promoted to Patrol Sergeant in 1997, Commander of Police Services in 2002 and appointed Police Chief in 2008.

The Geneva Police Department has seen a great deal of change during Chief Mexin’s administration, including leading the department into the digital age, according to a city of Geneva press release. Paper police records dating back to the 1950s were scanned for easier access and provided more storage space. Mobile data computers were upgraded in the squad cars, and the department transitioned its booking process to be done electronically.

Mexin was tasked with navigating fiscal challenges associated with 2008 recession and uneven economy in the years that followed, according to the news release.

“From day one, that has been a huge challenge to maintain the current level of services our community has come to expect with budget cuts each year,” he said. “Considering the financial obstacles that we have had to endure, Geneva has maintained an excellent level of safety.”

Since Mexin took leadership of the department in 2008, major crime in Geneva is down 41 percent and theft has decreased 36 percent, according to the City’s 2015 crime statistics.

Besides supervising the Police Department’s 49 employees, Mexin said building relationships within the force and the community has been one of his top priorities.

Mexin has served as a member on Tri-Com Central Dispatch’s Board of Directors since 2008. His other membership affiliations include the Kane County Chiefs of Police, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Northern Illinois Chapter of the FBI National Academy Association. He graduated from the FBI National Academy in 2005.

McKittrick Announces Retirement

McKittrick decided to retire to spend more time with her family, traveling and enjoying the next chapter in her life, according to the news release.

“Serving the City of Geneva has been an honor and a privilege,” McKittrick said. “My passion and calling in life was to serve in local government, and I have been fortunate to have done that for more than 30 years; first as an elected official and then as a chief administrative officer overseeing a multi-million dollar municipal corporation. I am proud to have served our community alongside our Geneva City staff, who reflect professionalism, ethics, accountability and collaboration in their daily work. I will miss them and the challenges that running a city brings.”

McKittrick will publically announce her retirement at the Monday City Council meeting, where aldermen also will consider the appointment of Stephanie Dawkins as the City’s next City Administrator. Dawkins is currently the City’s Assistant City Administrator/Director of Administrative Services.

“Mary’s stewardship of Geneva’s mission and vision was instrumental in building a culture of excellence,” Mayor Kevin Burns said. “Her contributions were the result of her selfless work ethic and personal commitment to serving the best interests of the citizens and businesses who call Geneva home. Geneva is better off because of Mary’s tenure as City Administrator, and the City is well positioned to embrace the opportunities and address any challenges that come our way.”

McKittrick was influential in creating the City’s Strategic Plan Advisory Committee, the Student Government Program, partnering with Northern Illinois University to establish an internship program at the City, establishing an Employee Ethics Committee, who in turn developed a City Code of Ethics, and cultivating a professionally run organization, city officials said in the Friday news release.

The city received its first budget and audit awards several years ago under McKittrick’s leadership. She has also been an advocate for improving Geneva’s communications outreach, which resulted in updating the city’s website, including a transparency webpage, hiring the city’s first communications coordinator in 2013 and establishing a city presence on social media, according to the news release.

Prior to her appointment as City Administrator in 2008, McKittrick served as Geneva’s Assistant City Administrator/Director of Administrative Services beginning in 1999. In that position, she was responsible for all operations in the Finance, Human Resources and Information Technologies divisions. She began her career in local government as an elected official in 1985 until her appointment as the first Village Administrator for the Village of Oswego in 1991.

In spite of ongoing fiscal challenges, and under McKittrick’s tenure, Geneva has constructed a third level on the downtown commuter parking deck through grant funding, created additional commuter surface parking on Fourth Street and taken a conservative financial approach and proactive steps to manage increasing costs, deteriorating revenues and the uncertainty of a slowly recovering economy, according to the news release.

McKittrick has taken an active leadership role as Legislative Chairman with the Metro West Council of Government, which is an association of 35 municipalities in Kane, Kendall and DeKalb counties working together to address regional issues such as unfunded mandates, growth, transportation, water conservation and economic development. She also is a member of the Illinois Municipal League’s Managers’ Committee, a member of the Northern Illinois University Public Administration Board of Advisors and periodically serves as an instructor at Waubonsee Community College and conducts occasional training sessions in leadership and governance, local government and strategic planning.