Joliet city manager gets new contract for 6 months

Joliet City Manager James Capparelli has a new contract that gets him through the next election but not much longer.

The Joliet City Council on Tuesday approved a six-month extension for Capparelli, whose current contract expires at the end of the year.

The extension assures Capparelli’s employment until July 12. The next City Council election is April 4.

Council members said the extension was designed so that the next council would decide whether to keep Capparelli as city manager. The mayor’s seat as well as five of the eight council positions will be on the ballot in April.

The 8-0 vote for the contract extension was the first unanimous vote for Capparelli’s employment since he was hired in January 2021. He has worked on one-year contracts the past two years.

Previous city managers typically got three-year contracts. But that pattern ended when David Hales left with a buyout in the first year of his three-year contract in October 2018. The city then had three interim city managers before Capparelli was hired.

The new contract pays Capparelli $101,970 for six months, a raise from his current rate of pay at an annual salary of $198,000.

The council approved the contract without discussion or comments.