Maggie Peck recommended for interim Sycamore City Manager, pending council approval

SYCAMORE – The Sycamore mayor will recommend a current city employee to be appointed as acting city manager during the City Council meeting next week.

According to the agenda for the Monday meeting, Mayor Curt Lang is set to recommend Maggie Peck, human and administrative resources director for the city of Sycamore, to serve as acting city manager starting March 1. Longtime Sycamore City Manager Brian Gregory will exit the position at the end of February after he was confirmed the next DeKalb County Administrator by the DeKalb County Board in January.

“The process to permanently fill the city manager position will begin in March with a selection anticipated by the new Mayor and City Council after May 1,” city officials wrote in the agenda.

Peck will receive a daily stipend of $65 per day, should the City Council approve the appointment, according to the agenda. The meeting is set for 7 p.m. Monday at Sycamore Center on State Street in person or via Zoom remotely.

Lang said Thursday Peck has done a great job as Gregory’s assistant for the last couple of years. He said she’s familiar with the city, city staff and the processes put in place by Gregory.

“We are pretty comfortable that we can continue with her leading on until search is completed,” Lang said.

Peck has been employed with the city since 2014, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Peck said Thursday it was kind of surreal for her when she first found out she was the recommended appointee for the role. She said she loves this community and has roots in this community as a graduate of Sycamore High School. She’s looking forward to working with exceptional staff in the acting role.

“To have the opportunity to continue to push [Gregory]’s initiatives going forward, I’m excited for that,” Peck said.

The update comes after Peck previously confirmed an acting Sycamore city manager would soon be appointed by the mayor and City Council later this month, following current city manager Brian Gregory’s impending departure. Peck and Lang had previously declined to say who the interim appointee would be.

Earlier this month, Peck 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.

Peck said Thursday the intent is for the council and current mayor to begin outlining the timeline for the job posting and interviewing candidates.

“The process could start before May 1,” Peck said, with the appointment to occur sometime after that.

Peck declined to confirm whether she’d seek the position permanently, saying she wants to be “true to the process.” She said she would be open to it but hadn’t officially decided.

“I want what’s best for the City of sycamore, our residents and our employees,” she said.

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’s recommended appointment for the job during the county’s Jan. 13 executive committee meeting after former Administrator Gary Hanson retired from the position Dec. 31 after 37 years of service with the county.

Gregory’s most recent annual salary as city manager was $139,486, according to Peck.

Peck said her first order of business in the acting role is to present the city budget to the council. From there, she said, she will do everything she can in that capacity to continue ‘preserving the past and enhancing the future of the city.’

“That will be my goal going forward,” Peck said.

• This story was updated 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11 to include additional comments from Sycamore Mayor Curt Lang and Maggie Peck, human and administrative resources director for the City of Sycamore.