123 Madison Street

Oak Park, Illinois 60302

www.oak-park.us

Village of Oak Park

Meeting Minutes

Personnel Committee

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

5:30 PM

Remote

1. Call To Order

Village President Scaman called the meeting to order at 5:41 P.M. She

authorized a statement be read providing that the meeting is being held

remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines and that it is not

prudent to have people present at the Village Board's regular meeting

location due to public health concerns related to that pandemic.

2. Roll Call

Present: Village Trustees Enyia, Robinson, and Taglia; Village President Scaman

Absent: None

3. Public Comment

There was no Public Comment.

4. Approval of Minutes

ID 21-329

Minutes from the August 19, 2021 Meeting of the Personnel Committee

It was moved by Village Trustee Enyia, seconded by Village Trustee Robinson, to

approve the Minutes. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as

follows:

AYES: 4 - Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee

Robinson, and Village Trustee Taglia

NAYS: 0

ABSENT: 0

5. New Business

ID 21-315

A Motion to Approve the Position Announcement for the Village Manager

Human Resource Director and Assistant Village Manager Kira Tchang

gave an overview of this Item.

She then introduced Dele Lowman and Kathleen (Katy) Rush from GovHR

who answered question related to their position announcement for the

Village Manager Search.

Village Trustee Robinson suggested to be consistent with the wording and

refer to Oak Park as a village throughout the document.

Trustee Robinson also requested to remove the mention of "well qualified

candidates can expect to be hired at or above the mid-range of $215,000".

Dele Lowman responded the thought for including this language is to give

an indication to those very competitive candidates that they will not have to

start at the bottom of the range for their salary negotiation. It is at the

Board's discretion if they want to specify that point.

President Scaman suggested adding some specificity to the wording.

Village Trustee Taglia agreed with President Scaman's suggestion.

Dele Lowman recommended to use "candidates that exceed the minimum

qualifications" as the wording.

Trustee Parakkat added that by making that statement we also run the risk

of saying we are willing to hire someone who is below that (exceeding

expectations) as well.

President Scaman suggested narrowing the pay range ($205,000 -

$240,000) if the assumption is that someone who would be hired at the

$190,000 range would not be meeting the ideal expectations for the role.

GovHR agreed to changing the pay range and take out the "well qualified

candidates can expect to be hired at or above the mid-range of $215,000".

Trustee Parakkat added strong facilitation skills did not come through in

the description.

Katy Rush indicated that the second bullet point on the second line states "

facilitating courageous conversations related to racial justice and public

safety".

Village Trustee Parakkat responded he was looking at facilitation as more

of a broad skill, not just for these specific topics.

Village Trustee Parakkat added demonstrated commitment to Oak Park is

not just about residency.

Village Trustee Robinson does not think we need to include a residency

requirement as a strict requirement and suggested residency preferred or

strongly preferred.

Village Trustee Taglia agreed with not having residency as a requirement.

He suggested using "desired" and to consider using a radius for residency.

Village Trustee Enyia stated there was probably a good reason to have a

residency requirement previously. Now it is a harder burden for people to

live in Oak Park and he doesn't want that to be the challenge of finding the

right person for this position.

Katy Rush added there can be some sort of compensation offered in the

negotiations as an incentive to relocate (pay for moving expenses or a

stipend of sorts), and cautioned that the residency piece can sometimes

have a financial consequence.

President Scaman recommended adding language that is reflective of a

demonstrated commitment to Oak Park rather than specifying an exact

mileage for residency.

Katy Rush responded to indicate "a reasonable commuting distance"

versus a number.

Dele Lowman mentioned some of the stakeholder feedback from the Town

Halls was the perception of someone who would be leading the village and

not living in Oak Park being perceived as not invested in the community.

The Board would need to ensure the individual can live in the community or

to demonstrate to the community that the individual is still committed.

Dele Lowman added the other side is that if a housing stipend is not

expressly noted than the reasonable commuting distance is going to have

to be key. Most career managers that are coming from outside of the metro

area will most likely want to move to the community that they will be leading.

Village Trustee Robinson made a motion to approve the position draft

announcement incorporating the changes discussed this evening with

respect to residency, salary, and making the reference to Oak Park as a

village consistent throughout.

Village Trustee Taglia seconded the motion.

It was moved by Village Trustee Robinson, seconded by Village Trustee Taglia,

to approve the Motion. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was

as follows:

AYES: 4 - Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee

Robinson, and Village Trustee Taglia

NAYS: 0

ABSENT: 0

ID 21-316

A Discussion Regarding the Interview Process for Village Manager

Candidates

Human Resource Director and Assistant Village Manager Kira Tchang

gave an overview of this Item and the interview process.

Dele Lowman and Katy Rush then gave an overview of the interview

process and next steps, and then answered questions regarding potential

challenges with the interview process and senior staff.

Village Trustee Taglia commented it makes sense to get input or feedback

from senior staff once the candidate pool is narrowed.

Village Trustee Robinson asked if there was a way to solicit anonymous

feedback from senior staff?

Dele Lowman responded there would probably be a way to design an

anonymous feedback option.

Village Trustee Parakkat requested to also add to the interview process

feedback from colleagues of potential candidates that could highlight

examples of deliverable results of the candidates.

Dele Lowman responded that due diligence is built in to the process.

During the three-week interim from when the position closes to when the

Personnel Committee would meet again to review the candidates, GovHR

would solicit feedback and interviews of their references which would be

included in the candidate presentation.

Dele Lowman then gave some feedback based on the stakeholder

discussions including how to structure engagement with black residents to

ensure they are included in the conversations and have an open safe

space in which to participate.

President Scaman requested feedback from the committee on the role the

community will play in the review process.

Village Trustee Taglia responded the more targeted approach is important,

but that the broader approach may draw more people.

Village Trustee Robinson requested clarification if it is realistic to have an

interview process asking the candidate to do interviews with the Trustees,

senior staff, and community interviews.

Dele Lowman responded it is common to hold a two-day interview

incorporating all these aspects in the process.

Village Trustee Robinson requested clarification on if there would be a

need for precautions for Covid safety.

Delel Lowman responded there are ways to ensure a safe experience for

the process.

President Scaman added building trust with our community in this process

and having some buy in that the Board has chosen person who will

champion the goals that we have is very important.

Village Trustee Taglia added from his perspective there is flexibility in this

process; at the end of the day they want the best candidates, even if that

means following a slightly different process.

6. Adjournment