Ahead of the April election, Orland Park officials are prepping for a potential shift in the village’s form of government.
Village trustees voted Monday to advance an ordinance that could be voted on following the April 4 election, should village voters approve doing away with the statutory village manager form of government in place for nearly 40 years.
The Village Board voted in January to put the binding referendum on the April 4 ballot to move away from the village manager-village board form of government.
The village manager now “has final decision making authority in key areas” and “acts as administrative and executive head of the village government for key purposes,” officials said.
If the referendum is approved, the village would continue to have a manager, but with limited authority spelled out by the Village Board, according to the ordinance.
If a majority of voters approve the change, the ordinance could be considered by the Village Board following a canvass of votes. The official canvass by county clerks takes place a few weeks after the election.
“This isn’t about making a full-time mayor position, this is not about raising the salary,” Trustee Michael Milani said.
The proposed ordinance states the mayor and trustees have determined they “should be responsible for the principal final executive and administrative decisions of the village.”
Mayor Keith Pekau said Monday there’s a lot of misinformation about the proposal.
“Ultimately, the people get the choice,” he said. “They should get the representation they want to have.”
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While a village manager acts as the village’s chief executive officer as far as overseeing village departments and day-to-day operations, that CEO role would be primarily filled by the mayor if the managerial form were to be abandoned.
Under the state statute manager form of government now in place, the village manager could, in theory, hire or fire village department heads, Pekau said.
“A smart village manager is going to get approval from the board,” he said.
Orland Park voters established the managerial form of government by referendum in November 1983, according to the village’s website. The first village manager was hired in March 1984.
Then-Mayor Fred Owens led a campaign to bring the managerial form to Orland Park, which was experiencing significant commercial and residential growth, with a professional public administrator overseeing day-to-day village operations.
Owens, according to the village, realized elected officials who held other jobs and served in their elected positions on a part-time basis were not in the best position of running day-to-day operations.
The mayor’s position is part-time, but was full-time when Pekau was elected to his first term in 2017.
In March 2019, before Pekau gained a majority of votes on the Village Board, trustees changed the position to part time with a corresponding cut in pay, taking effect with the spring 2021 election when Pekau won reelection to a second term.
As a full-time position, the job paid $150,000 annually, but that was slashed to $40,000 when the job became part time.
Pekau said Tuesday there have been robocalls to residents and other information suggesting Orland Park would, should the referendum question be approved, do away with the village manager’s job altogether.
“That is simply not true,” he said.
He acknowledged the nuances, in the minds of voters, of what is currently in place and what is proposed can muddle the issue. Pekau said that neighboring communities such as Frankfort, Mokena and Tinley Park have village managers who are responsible for day-to-day operations but are given authority granted by their respective village boards, rather than by state statute, which Orland Park now has.
“There’s no question it’s confusing,” Pekau said.