DES PLAINES
Assistant tapped as interim manager
Assistant City Manager Jason Bajor was named acting city manager in Des Plaines this week, and he told aldermen he wants the job permanently.
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Bajor has worked for Des Plaines for seven years and had been an assistant since 2003 to former City Manager David Niemeyer, who resigned May 21.
During a council meeting Monday, Mayor Tony Arredia appointed Bajor, a decision that passed by a 7-0 vote. The search for Niemeyer’s successor should take no longer than six months, Arredia said.
Niemeyer was paid about $123,000 a year and will receive seven months’ pay plus $10,000 in deferred compensation under terms of his departure agreement, officials said. Because part of Bajor’s duties include personnel matters, Bajor said he would recommend that consultants be hired for the recruitment process.
Bajor said that he sensed “a renewed optimism among senior staff members” after last month’s swearing-in of three new aldermen and the re-election of Ald. Rosemary Argus.
Mark Shuman
ELGIN
$5 million transfer to reduce U-46 debt
A transfer of $5 million from the transportation fund was approved in Elgin-based School District 46 despite the concerns of union officials over the timing.
“I hope this [transfer] would have no negative consequences on the transportation union contract,” Dave Neal, representative for the union, whose three-year contract is up at the end of August.
District Chief Financial Officer John Prince said Monday that the transfer from the transportation fund to the operation and maintenance fund would not factor into negotiations.
“This will have no impact on a future settlement with bus drivers,” said Prince, who estimated the transportation fund surplus at $7.6 million.
Neal said the union, which includes 400 bus drivers, drivers’ assistants, office staff and mechanics, will seek a salary increase of at least 2.5 percent.
“At this point we take the district at its word,” Neal said. “If things go south, we will be back.”
The transfer will help pay down debt estimated by officials at about $15 million at the end of the 2006-07 school year. The fiscal year ends June 30.
The district has been working to reduce its deficit, which topped $40 million about five years ago. The transfer would bring the debt, much of it due to legal fees, down to about $10 million, officials said.
The board also held a hearing on the sale of $4 million in bonds to cover expenses associated with pending lawsuits. The board will consider the plan at its June 18 meeting.
Amanda Marrazzo
HOFFMAN ESTATES
Trustees to debate saving old school
The weather washed out a trustee tour of Lindbergh School this week, but Hoffman Estates officials will consider whether a $100,000 developer donation should be used to try to save the 77-year-old building or be earmarked for other historical purposes, such as archiving and display cases.
Several officials have advocated razing the building, citing costs, and questioned whether preservationists can come up with the money to rehab it and pay for upkeep.
Pat Barch, village historian, said her group hopes to raise enough money to turn the dilapidated stone building into a museum. “I think the village was not a very good steward [of the property],” she said.
The Planning, Building and Zoning Committee will discuss Monday what to do with the money from Dartmoor Homes, which owns the land at Shoe Factory Road and Essex Drive.
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Barch said a fundraising committee has met twice and pledges are being accepted at lindberghschool.org, a Web site set up by the family of Brittany Johns, a young resident who led a preservation push.
Trustee Cary Collins said: “If something happens in 30 days, I’ll be happy.”
Barch’s group has contacted historical societies in Barrington, Streamwood, Bartlett and Roselle asking for letters of support, circulated fliers and sent paperwork to a state historical preservation group, she said.
A resident who lives near the school urged officials to build a fence to prevent trespassing.
Ken Manson