Clarendon Hills Official's Fate Unclear

CLARENDON HILLS, IL — Clarendon Hills trustees met for nearly 2½ hours behind closed doors Wednesday night to discuss issues with an unnamed employee. A village lawyer was on hand.

The Village Board's agenda indicated it would take action afterward. Instead, the board reopened the meeting and voted to adjourn.

When the session ended, Patch asked Village President Len Austin about which employee the meeting involved. He would not say.

He also declined to discuss the situation involving Village Manager Kevin Barr, who has been on "personal leave" for more than a week.

"No comment," Austin said repeatedly in a short interview.

The village website does not say what personal leave entails. Austin declined to elaborate.

In a brief interview, Assistant Village Manager Zach Creer said personal leave and sick leave were separate benefits. He said most employees get three personal days a year, but Barr had a different arrangement because he works under a contract. He said he would email Barr's contract to Patch on Thursday morning.

For a week, Austin has not responded to Patch's phone calls and emails on Barr's situation. Barr did not return a message through his Facebook account.

Over the last few months, the village has been embroiled in a controversy over whether the fire department should buy a new ladder truck for $1.4 million. It was originally budgeted for $1 million, but officials says the price rose in the last year.

The ladder truck for the Clarendon Hills Fire Department was deployed to an incident in downtown Hinsdale on Tuesday. Whether to buy a new ladder truck has been a controversy in Clarendon Hills. (David Giuliani/Patch)

Barr has suggested not buying a replacement ladder truck and instead entering an agreement with another town for use of its truck. Fire Chief Brian Leahy, local firefighters and many residents disagree with such an idea.

Signs supporting the purchase of a new ladder truck can be seen around town. Some fire department supporters have called for Barr's ouster.

Last month, Patch reported that Barr prohibited Leahy from speaking with the media about issues such as the ladder truck.

Since Barr went on leave, Creer, the assistant manager, has met with managers of Hinsdale and Oak Brook to discuss regional approaches to public safety and infrastructure. In his weekly report, he also said he met with fire department leaders about a variety of issues, including the ladder truck.

Barr was hired as Clarendon Hills manager in 2015. Before that, he was Schiller Park's village manager for 15 years.