With Finance Director Kevin Wachtel leaving the village Thursday for a new opportunity in the western suburbs, Riverside Village Manager Peter Scalera announced Monday that staff accountant Marco Salinas will step in as interim finance director until a full-time replacement can be found.
Salinas is a certified public accountant who has been on the village’s staff since 2002. Prior to Wachtel being hired in 2006, Salinas also served as interim finance director in the wake of the resignation of former director Christy Powell.
“Marco expressed interest in serving as the interim in order to see if he’s interested in pursuing the full-time opening,” said Scalera. “I’m confident in Marco. He’s intelligent, he understands the department and he has a good grasp of municipal finance.”
With the resignation of not only Wachtel but another clerk within the finance department, Scalera also felt Salinas’ taking over as interim would “provide continuity for the department.”
Scalera has begun his search for Wachtel’s replacement by sending out a community profile packet to the Illinois City/County Management Association and the International City/County Management Association.
Scalera said he hopes to have a full-time replacement in place in Jan. 1, 2012.
-Bob Uphues
