The village of La Grange has hired a consultant to help it find its next community development director.
The village will pay $18,700, including an allocation of $3,500 for reimbursable expenses to GovHR USA, to help it find a replacement for Patrick Benjamin, who resigned from the position in February after 27 years with the village.
The search firm will develop a recruitment profile with a detailed list of qualifications for the job. It also will interview staff and elected officials to gain an understanding of the challenges and culture of the village and develop a position announcement and a recruitment brochure.
The firm will put together a data base of potential candidates, do initial interviews of candidates, and check references.
Heidi Voorhees, president of GovHR USA, said in her proposal to the village that the company will interview five candidates and then narrow the list to two or three that will be interviewed by village officials.
The firm previously helped the village hire Ryan Gillingham, who is the public works director, and Kim Knusten, the first director of the newly established combined dispatch center. The funds to pay the search firm will come from the community development budget, said Robert Pilipiszyn, village manager.
Pilipiszyn said using a search firm will help the village find the best candidate for the job.
“Community development is a trending topic at the municipal level,” he said. “Candidates with a well-rounded and accomplished background are in demand.”
He said La Grange has been a leader in community development over the last 20 years and wants to continue in that role.
Some of the ways in which La Grange has taken a proactive role in community development over the last two decades include establishing modern identifiable streetscape design, replacing marginal commercial property with transit-oriented residential development to attract new consumers for local businesses, overseeing a facade program that led to the improvement in the appearance of 40 businesses, revitalizing the movie theater and adding a parking structure.
He said the a new community development director would be expected to continue to execute existing initiatives and capitalize on new opportunities. The director’s functions also include supervising the department, which includes planning and zoning, and inspection services covering building, public health and code enforcement activities.
Andianna Peterson, assistant village manager, said a tentative time frame for having a new director on board is early to mid-summer.
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