Sycamore mayor to recommend acting city manager appointment during Feb. 15 meeting

SYCAMORE – An acting Sycamore city manager will soon be appointed by the mayor and City Council later this month, following the current city manager’s near departure.

Maggie Peck, human and administrative resources director for the city of Sycamore, said city officials are looking to wait for a new mayor to take his seat following the April 6 consolidated election, since the city potentially could have new aldermen by then as well. She said the plan so far is for the new council to start the new permanent city manager selection process after May 1.

“What that looks like, there is some uncertainty,” Peck said about specific timelines beyond the May 1 date.

In the meantime, Peck said, Sycamore Mayor Curt Lang will recommend appointing an acting city manager at the next City Council meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 15. She said Lang already has reviewed contenders for the acting city manager position and has someone selected already, although she and Lang declined comment to name the anticipated appointee on Monday.

The update comes after the DeKalb County Board officially voted during their Jan. 20 meeting to appoint Sycamore City Manager Brian Gregory as the next county administrator starting March 1. That followed Gregory being named the recommended appointment for the job during the county’s Jan. 13 executive committee meeting.

Gary Hanson, who retired as the county’s administrator and is serving as interim currently, retired Dec. 31 after 37 years of service with the county, which included him working as the county’s finance director and later the county’s administrator, according to county documents. In November, the County Board unanimously approved keeping Hanson on board on an interim basis between his retirement date and the starting date of his successor with a pay rate of $92.20 per hour.

Sycamore City Council members and city staff have not yet explicitly addressed the next steps in filling the city manager position in an interim or permanent basis before March 1 during any open meetings thus far.