Trustees Open, Then Postpone Village Manager Discussion

trustees voted Tuesday night to open a discussion on the powers and responsibilities of the village manager. But they also agreed to postpone that discussion until after the Village Board undergoes governance training next month.

Several trustees have been considering reducing the village manager’s authority for some time, and it was a central issue in the recent election—Trustee Pete Heinz in particular ran on a platform of eliminating the village manager position entirely, and returning to an earlier form of government in which trustees had control of the village’s various departments.

But it was Trustee Andy Kaczmarek who brought the issue to the board Tuesday night, placing the two ordinances that set forth the manager’s duties on the Committee of the Whole agenda. Kaczmarek said last week that he intended to propose significant reductions, including eliminating the manager’s ability to enter into contracts of $10,000 or less without board approval.

Kaczmarek believes he now has the votes to make this move because of the results of April’s election: Heinz was re-elected for a seventh term, and Stan Bond — who has been critical of the village manager system — was elected for his first term. Two trustees who support the village manager system, Rob Watermann and Jeanne Felten, were not returned to the board.

Voters also elected Matt Brolley, who has stated his support of the village manager form of government, to his first term.

However, Village Attorney Steve Andersson suggested tabling the discussion until after the six trustees go through governance training at Northern Illinois University’s Center for Governmental Studies next month. That training is intended to give trustees a clearer picture of their roles and responsibilities, and its $4,000 cost is covered in the 2011 budget.

“I suggested to them that rather than discuss this tonight, they get some professional input and education first,” Andersson said.

Trustees agreed, after voting 4-2 to open talks on the issue. Bond, Kaczmarek, Heinz and Bill Keck voted yes, with Brolley and Denny Lee voting no. Bond, who made the motion, said he never intended for those talks to begin Tuesday night.

“The intent was several discussions over time,” he said. “We’ll go through training, and take some of these discussions through training with us.”

Bond said he is glad to see this conversation begin, even if the board ends up changing nothing. It’s been 10 years since the village manager position was created, he said, and it’s time to revisit it.

Under the current ordinances, the village manager is tasked with exercising "control and daily operation of all departments and divisions within the village of Montgomery," and all department and division heads report to that manager.

Village Manager Anne Marie Gaura’s contract runs until May 2013 or until the end of Village President Marilyn Michelini’s current term, whichever comes first.