A special meeting of the village council to discuss the process for selecting the next village administrator is being held on Friday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. at the Howard Mohr Community Center, 7640 Jackson Blvd.
It is likely that, although the meeting is open to the public, it may go into closed session.
On Nov. 23, Village Administrator Tim Gillian announced he is retiring effective Jan. 29. He has been in the position since 2009.
In an interview on Dec. 2, Mayor Rory Hoskins said the village will “probably not” have a new village administrator in place by the time Gillian leaves, but the ball is rolling to find seek candidates for the job.
Hoskins said Gillian will still be around to consult until a replacement is found. Hiring an interim person to oversee things until someone is hired is a possibility, said Hoskins, who said he spoke to the village attorney about “the parameters for the process.”
When Gillian was hired in 2009, Hoskins said, the council set up a three-person review team to go through applications. They received about 20, and those applicants were whittled down to 10 people, who were interviewed by the full village council.
Hoskins said he envisions a similar process this time around, but they haven’t yet formed the interview team. First, said Hoskins, he wants input from the council on how the process should be run and what they’re looking for in a village administrator.
Earlier this week, Village Clerk Vanessa Moritz began work updating the 2009 job posting for the position and sent it to the four village commissioners so they could offer input and suggestions.
Hoskins said the village will advertise the position in government publications, such as that from the Illinois Municipal League.
“We’ll have no trouble attracting a broad pool of candidates,” Hoskins said, though he added that finding the right person is important.
“Sometimes you have someone who, on paper, looks like a great hire. But then they may have some personal communication deficit, or what have you, that make them hard to get along with. We obviously want to find someone who will be able to work with a small group of people with strong opinions and unconventional styles. We want someone who knows about Forest Park and who is sincerely committed to its success.”
Hoskins added that he wants someone who plans to stick around for more than a few years.
“We don’t know exactly what the talent pool looks like. But I’ve never thought that we wouldn’t have a broad pool of applicants. Forest Park is an attractive place to live, an attractive place to dine. And it’s an attractive place to work.”
The village administrator works closely with department heads, such as the directors of finance and public works, and Hoskins said he’s spoken with them “about skills they think a replacement should have.” He said the commissioners will most likely discuss necessary qualifications with the department heads in the areas they oversee.
At the next council meeting on Dec. 14, Hoskins expects the council to formally adopt a resolution instructing the clerk to post the position.
