3 Manteno leadership contracts approved

MANTENO – One of the first decisions the new Manteno Village Board had to make was approving the contracts of existing officers for village administrator, superintendent of public works and chief of police.

After much debate, the contracts for Village Administrator Chris LaRocque, Superintendent of Public Works Jim Hanley and Chief of Police Alan Swinford were approved Monday by 4-2.

Trustees Mike Barry and Peggy Vaughn, the two Manteno Freedom Party board members, were the dissenting votes.

“It has nothing to do with the people that are working here,” Barry said. “To be honest, I don’t know exactly what their job titles are, what their roles are. ... I have nothing against any of the people, nothing against their jobs, but it would be nice for [more information], for there’s three new people that are on the board.”

Barry said he got his agenda packet Friday and spent part of the weekend getting up to speed.

It was suggested that the three could work without a contract until the other trustees and mayor could further evaluate the positions.

“Under the code, each officer has a one-year term,” village attorney Joe Cainkar said.

A motion was first made to table the vote until the new members and new Mayor Annette LaMore could get a feel for the positions and their duties. That motion was defeated 4-2, along party lines.

Manteno’s Choice Party holds four trustee seats, while the Freedom Party holds only two.

Trustee Joel Gesky’s motion to approve the contracts was eventually approved. Trustee Todd Crockett said he understood the new members’ apprehension for voting on the contracts.

“These three individuals are very valuable people here to our village, and the second that it is known that they do not have a contract, my worry is that they will be poached immediately,” he said.

Gesky, who was defeated in the mayoral election, said the contracts give those individuals some protection until the mayor might choose to appoint someone else.

“This isn’t the ploy to steal an appointment from the mayor,” he said. “It allows them to continue doing the jobs that they’ve been doing for this whole time until the time of [a new] appointment and ratification is made.”

Any new appointments would have to be approved by the board.

The salary for Swinford is $124,381; Hanley, $127,681; and LaRocque, $132,974, plus a $30,000-per-year stipend for doing the building and zoning director job.

The contracts are at-will, and Cainkar explained that the mayor still has the power of appointment. If she wants to appoint someone else and gets the consent of the board, then the new person would take over. The outgoing officer would get three months of severance.

“I’m not saying we want to terminate them,” LaMore said. “We’re just asking for more time so we know a little bit more about what’s happening here.”

Boudreau said he voted for the contracts because the three have proven themselves, and their salaries are comparable with other communities. He added that the police department is young, so it’s good to have someone with Swinford’s qualifications.

“We need an experienced leader to kind of keep our police department great,” he said. “I’ve never heard any complaints about our police department.”

Gesky said concerns that people have expressed with the current board are rooted in the Gotion battery plant decision.

“Our differences that we’ve had haven’t involved any of these people,” he said. “... This is designed because we need them. If we were not to give them a contract tonight, all three of these gentlemen would give them your resignations tomorrow. This town turns upside down in a hurry, because you lose a lot.”

LaMore said she and the new trustees were elected because they stand for change and for transparency.

“It’s obvious to me that we have no voting power tonight,” she said. “It’s very obvious to me, so everything is going to stay just the way it is. I guess we just have to wait and see what happens.”