First reported 8/10/2009
Riverside could have a new village manager within a couple of weeks, as trustees begin interviews with four finalists for the position. One interview is scheduled for Thursday with two on Friday and the fourth on Tuesday, Aug. 18.
If all goes according to plan, said Village President Michael Gorman, the board will meet to choose a final candidate at a special meeting of trustees scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 7:30 p.m. All of the interviews will take place in the conference room inside the village hall offices, 27 Riverside Road.
The interviews will take place in executive session and will not be open to the public.
“If all goes according to the textbook,” Gorman said. “We’ll identify a candidate in that last meeting and an announcement would be pending reaching an understanding with that individual.”
Of the finalists, the only candidate identified by Gorman was Interim Village Manager Robin Weaver. Weaver joined the organization in May as the replacement for Kathleen Rush, who resigned in April after 11 years as Riverside’s manager.
“Robin wanted to be a candidate from the day she became the interim manager,” Gorman said. “While it wasn’t planned that way, it just so happens that the trustees chose Robin among the final group.”
Gorman said that he received in excess of 150 résumés from individuals interested in the Riverside job. Of that number, Gorman and Trustee Lonnie Sacchi narrowed the field to about 50 qualified candidates from around the nation. Through interviews, they winnowed the field further to a smaller number of people and presented them to the board of trustees, who chose the four finalists.
In the final group are both experienced municipal managers and candidates “ready to step up into that role,” Gorman said.
Gorman and the Riverside village board have been working to find a new village manager since late April. Instead of hiring a search firm, Gorman served as the point person for the search, a task he said was both exhausting but also rewarding.
Despite the effort, Gorman said he was glad to have done the search instead of hiring an outside firm.
“I’m glad for two reasons,” Gorman said. “First, it was a cost savings of about $40,000, of which I and the board are extremely proud. And I was so close to the process. Having talked to all these people, there was nothing being filtered through another set of eyes.
“I’m very excited to move forward with the next stage.”
