Citing a need for more leadership for employees inside village hall, Brookfield Village Manager Riccardo Ginex has put out a call for an assistant. Last week, Ginex posted two job openings, including one for an assistant village manager and one for a director of code enforcement.

Ginex will be accepting resumes for both positions until the end of October, and said that he’d like to make hires for both positions before the end of the year.

Brookfield has been without a chief building inspector since June 2004, when Jack Leddin died. Over the past two years, the number of staff inside the village manager’s office has been cut, leaving little direct support for the manager.

“Management-wise we’re pretty flat here,” Ginex said. “Everyone is reporting to me. There needs to be a specific chain of command, and we need to bring more professional experience into the organization.

“We need more management for staff.”

According to a posting for the assistant village manager position on the Illinois Municipal League web site, Ginex is looking for someone with a master’s degree in public administration who has experience managing high-profile municipal projects. The salary range for the job is listed as between $63,361 and $87,500.

While there is no line item in the village’s 2005-06 budget for an assistant manager, Ginex said the salary for the assistant village manager would come from a line item calling for a community development director.

The community development director was envisioned as someone who would focus on economic development in Brookfield. Instead, Ginex said that he would be able to take the lead in that role if there’s an assistant manager who can handle other projects and staff.

“I’ve already had a number of meetings with developers, and had been involved in Downers Grove in bringing developers in, hand-holding them through the process and putting together plans so that it goes smoothly.”

Mainly, though, Ginex said that an assistant manager would be key in helping direct village hall employees.

“I can’t adequately give them all the attention they need,” Ginex said. “There’s so much to accomplish, and I want to make sure we can provide the right assistance to residents.”

Code enforcement key

Hiring someone to head up the village’s code enforcement department is also high on Ginex’s list. Without someone to lead the department, any development plans are now being routed through a private firm to make sure they are code compliant.

That was not done a year ago when plans for a townhome development at 4500 Maple Ave. were declared code compliant, even though the development appears to exceed the height requirement for buildings in a multifamily district.

For now, the village has decided to allow the building to be completed and exist as a legal non-conforming structure instead of halting construction so late in the process and leaving itself open to potential litigation.

“We have to make sure that what happened at Maple Avenue doesn’t happen again,” Ginex said. “We have to make sure we’re meeting the needs of developers and what the board wants.”

The job description calls for someone with at least a bachelor’s degree and training in the technical aspects of building construction. In addition, Ginex is looking for someone with previous supervisory experience. The job will pay between $63,000 and $69,000.

In addition to new development, Ginex said the department also needs to focus on routine property issues.

“We do need to be better at property maintenance enforcement,” Ginex said.