Rolling Meadows to hire 'business advocate' instead of new director
Rolling Meadows is restructuring its community development department and hiring a new “business advocate” tasked with recruiting and retaining businesses.
The city council Tuesday night approved a plan to add the business advocate position, remove the position of community development director and assign the eight remaining employees in the department to a division under the public works department.
The restructuring comes three weeks after the council approved an employment retirement and release agreement with Community Development Director Valerie Dehner, who was placed on administrative leave with pay May 15, and agreed to retire as of July 29, according to the agreement obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The new business advocate, city officials say, will act as a liaison between the city and commercial property owners, business owners, business prospects and residents. The employee will report to City Manager Barry Krumstok.
Advertising for the position — with a salary range roughly between $52,000 and $75,000 — will begin shortly.
Newly elected Mayor Len Prejna said during the campaign that the community development department was the area in need of most improvement in the city.
Under terms of the seven-page agreement with Dehner, the city will rescind all discipline issued to Dehner in 2017 and restore eight hours of vacation time, as part of the rescission of a one-day suspension issued to her.
In exchange, Dehner agreed to withdraw an April 21 complaint she filed with the Illinois Department of Labor concerning vacation pay, as well as any claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and a general release of any claim against the city.
In the Department of Labor complaint, Dehner argued she was owed $3,920 in vacation pay as of May 1 after the city said she was subject to a November 2015 ordinance that would have cut her vacation time from six weeks to five.
Dehner, hired by the city in June 2007 with 21 years of experience, wrote in a memo to Krumstok that the ordinance shouldn't have applied to her because “years of service” had been presented by an employee advisory committee as the total number of years accrued — not just the number of years with the city of Rolling Meadows.