Tag Archives: City Manager

City Council, City of Peoria

City Manager looking for ways to save, make money

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“With the City of Peoria facing another difficult budgeting process, no area of the budget can be ignored for potential savings,” City Manager Patrick Urich explains in an item from Tuesday’s agenda. “In line with Council’s direction to examine all costs, the Administration is seeking authorization to approach City service providers with a request to reduce current and future contract amounts in exchange for an additional year of guaranteed contract length.”

Companies like kitco is a great option when you are looking for new ways to save and invest money at the same time, the business of precious metals has been always an amazing investment.

“City service providers” would include everything “from the City’s $5.1 million contract with Peoria Disposal Company for residential refuse collection to $1,600 contract with AAA Certified Security for document shredding.” But they wouldn’t revisit every contract as per this news source about Bitcoins and kryptocurrency. “If authorization is granted,” the council communication continues, “the City Manager and the Finance Director will work with each Department Head to determine which contracts might be potential targets for an extension in exchange for a discount, check out save money.”

Consideration will be given in the following areas:

  1. Is the City happy with the service offered by the vendor?
  2. Is there an option other than this particular vendor? Many software agreements held by the City (i.e. Microsoft) have no realistic alternative.
  3. Might the City save more money by holding a competitive bid rather than extending an existing vendor?

Urich hopes the City can save $300,000 or more in 2012 as a result of this process.

Also on Tuesday’s agenda is a proposed new fee for “facilities in the City right-of-way.” In particular, the communication mentions fiber-optic conduit as one of the things they’d like to charge a fee for allowing in the public right-of-way, starting at $1.90 per lineal foot.

That will be great, if they actually enforce it. Funny, they eliminated very similar fees just a few years ago, after years of non-enforcement.

City of Peoria

A message from the City Manager

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New City Manager Patrick Urich included this message in the latest Issues Update from the City:

MESSAGE FROM THE CITY MANAGER. My first few days on the job have been a whirlwind of activities. One particular item that I stressed to the senior management is that I would like to see more information included in this Issues Update on a regular and recurring basis. This important communication vehicle needs to be better utilized and it is my intention to do so.

That’s good news! The more public communication, the better.

City Council, City of Peoria

Urich to start with City five days early

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Patrick Urich’s first day as Peoria’s City Manager will be Wednesday, April 13, instead of Monday the 18th as originally agreed, if the Council approves the change next Tuesday. The approval is just a formality, and the City has already scheduled Urich’s official swearing-in ceremony for 9:00 a.m. April 13 in Council chambers. No reason was given for moving up the date.

City Council, City of Peoria

Urich to start making $175k on April 18

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Patrick UrichThe City Council will hire Patrick Urich as Peoria City Manager next Tuesday night. Urich recently gave 90 days notice of his resignation as Peoria County Administrator. You can read the proposed contract on the City’s website. Here are the highlights:

  • Base Salary: $175,000 for the first year
  • Starting Date: April 18, 2011
  • Incentive Pay: To be negotiated during first three months of employment
  • Car Allowance: $500/month
  • Vacation Days: 15
  • Sick Days: 10
  • Personal Days: 5
  • Health Benefits: Same as all other City employees
  • Term Life Insurance: Paid for by City, not to exceed three times base salary; premiums not to exceed $800/yr.
  • Deferred Compensation (457 Plan): Lesser of 9% of base salary or maximum deferred contribution allowed (currently $16,500)
  • Retirement System: Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF)
  • Fringe Benefits: Laptop; cell phone; dues for local civic organization memberships; dues for membership in two national, one regional, and one state professional association; travel and other expenses to attend one national and one state conference per year; reimbursement of job-affiliated expenses.
  • Involuntary termination: Lump sum of 9 months salary if terminated within first two years; 8 months if terminated in year three; 7 months if terminated in year four; 6 months salary if terminated in year five or later. All accrued but unused vacation leave up to 200 hours will be reimbursed. All life, health, dental, and disability insurance continues for 12 months (or until he’s hired somewhere else, whichever comes first) if he’s terminated within the first three years.

How does this compare to previous City Manager Scott Moore’s compensation package? Moore’s base salary was set at $165,000 for the first two years; Urich’s is $175,000 for the first year only. Moore’s contract also capped his salary increase at 8%; no cap exists in Urich’s. The city paid for life insurance equal to Moore’s base salary; will pay for life insurance equal to three times Urich’s base salary. The city contributed 8% of Moore’s base salary toward a deferred compensation (457) plan; Urich is getting 9%. Moore got six months’ salary upon involuntary termination; that would have dropped to four months if Moore had been terminated after serving two years; Urich gets nine months salary if he’s terminated within the first two years. Moore’s contract included no provision for incentive pay, but did include moving expenses since he was coming from out of state.

One last interesting tidbit. This will make the third City Manager who doesn’t go by his first name. Randy Oliver was really Charles R. Oliver. Scott Moore was really L. Scott Moore. And Patrick Urich is really F. Patrick Urich. What is it about City Managers that makes them go by their middle names?

City Council, City of Peoria

Council to pursue Urich for City Manager

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The City has issued the following press release:

After last night’s interview, Mayor Ardis, City Council Members, and Mr. Urich, agreed that both sides would like to continue discussions towards a possible contract offer. A meeting between Mr. Urich, the Mayor and two Council Members, will be arranged soon to establish a framework to develop contract specifics. The council is expected to discuss a proposal in executive session after Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

It appears the skids are greased for Patrick Urich to be the next City Manager, well before council elections take place in April.

City of Peoria

Fire Chief to be acting City Manager

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Official press release from the City of Peoria:

The Peoria City Council has accepted the resignation of City Manager Scott Moore, effective today.

Peoria Fire Chief Kent Tomblin will serve as Acting City Manager until December 8. The Council will then name an Interim City Manager to serve until a permanent City Manager can be hired.

Mayor Jim Ardis said, “after numerous discussions, the Council and Mr. Moore reached the decision that it would be in the best interest of the City, and our staff, if Mr. Moore were to step down. He will be submitting his resignation to me today.”

Mr. Moore will receive a 6-month severance package of $82,500. We wish Scott well in his future endeavors.

City Council, City of Peoria

City Manager fired after council meeting

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After the Peoria City Council meeting, the council went into executive session for a long time. After an hour or so, Scott Moore emerged from the room alone and went up to his office, never to be seen again. The council met another half hour or so, then the meeting broke up.

Mayor Ardis announced that Scott Moore had tendered his resignation, and there will be an announcement Wednesday morning as to who will be the interim City Manager. The mayor was asked if it was a performance issue; he replied, “It’s an issue of us accepting his resignation.” In other words, he’s not commenting on the reason for the resignation.

However, he did confirm that Moore will get six months severance pay. Per the City Manager’s contract, “If the Manager resigns following an offer to accept resignation, whether formal or informal, by the City as representative of the majority of the governing body that the Manager resign, then the Manager may declare an involuntary termination as of the date of the suggestion.” In other words, the fact that Moore is eligible for severance means that the Council asked for his resignation, which is a nice way of firing someone.

No one is saying for the record why Moore was fired, but I think it’s fair to speculate that it was poor performance. You don’t generally fire someone if you think they’re doing a wonderful job.

Moore has been City Manager for a little more than one year. His annual salary is $165,000, and he gets six months salary ($82,500) as severance pay.

City of Peoria

Moore doesn’t get San Marcos job

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Nuse gets the nod in San Marcos, meaning Scott Moore will remain in Peoria:

After a two-hour executive session Tuesday night, the San Marcos City Council named Jim Nuse as the lone candidate for the vacant city manager position just five weeks before an election that could sit a new council majority.

Nuse is the city manager for Round Rock, though he presented that city’s council with his resignation in June. Nuse’s resignation was to take effect in January.

The council picked Nuse over the two other finalists — Peoria, IL, City Manager Scott Moore and Kilgore City Manager Jeffrey Howell.

All three candidates met with citizens in a session on Sept. 22, then met again in executive session with the city council later that evening. The executive session included interviews with the candidates, after which the council made no decision. Councilmembers said they would use the time before Tuesday’s special session to mull over comment cards presented by residents during the public “meet and greet.”

City of Peoria

San Marcos to decide on city manager Oct. 1

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The San Marcos Record (Texas) reports that the City Council there will make a decision on who to hire as City Manager on October 1. Peoria’s current City Manager, Scott Moore, is a finalist for the position. Over 100 residents turned out for a “meet the candidates” forum on Wednesday, the paper said. Here’s what they had to say about Moore:

Longtime San Marcos resident Carmen Imel said she was impressed by all of the candidates but she especially came to meet Moore because she used to teach at Illinois State University near Peoria.

Imel said she believes the new city manager should help attract companies like Caterpillar to San Marcos because there is a shortage of large employers in the area.

“They need skilled workers, but I guess we’ll have to bring them in,” she said. […]

Even though he is currently the farthest away, Moore told attendees that his roots in Central Texas make him the ideal candidate.

Moore earned his Bachelors in Business Administration from then-Southwest Texas State University in 1994 and played football there from 1989 to 1993.

“I think just being able to come back and re-establish ties. I have an instant connection with the athletic department, the administration (and) the business school,” he said.

He said even though he has only been city manager of Peoria for one year, he welcomed the opportunity to possibly move back to San Marcos because he is originally from Bastrop and still has family there.

“Any chance an individual gets to go back home, you have to always say you are interested,” he said. “If a person says they are not interested in going back home or going back to where they got a start, I think it would be short-sighted for the conversation to really go beyond that because I think in everybody’s heart they would want to go close to family and friends.”

He was previously the assistant city manager of Wichita, Kan. from Aug. 2005 to Sept. 2009.

It’s interesting that in San Marcos, the public gets to meet the candidates before the Council decides who to hire. In Peoria, everything is kept a secret from the public until after the decision is made. John Sharp had a good article in the Journal Star about how our local officials rationalize their lack of transparency in the process.

City of Peoria

City Manager Moore a finalist for Texas job (UPDATED)

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Peoria’s City Manager Scott Moore has been announced as a finalist for the city manager position in San Marcos, Texas, according to the San Marcos Daily Record:

The San Marcos City Council has announced three finalists for the position of City Manager following two days of interviews.

They are Jeffrey Howell, city manager of Kilgore, Scott Moore, city manager of Peoria, Ill [emphasis added], and Jim Nuse, city manager of Round Rock.

They will be invited back for a second round of interviews with the City Council and a public meet and greet to be held on Wednesday, Sept. 22 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the City of San Marcos Conference Center, 3101 S. IH 35.

San Marcos is located about halfway between Austin and San Antonio in south central Texas and has a population of about 35,000. The City Manager job description for San Marcos is available here. Scott Moore started as Peoria City Manager in August 2009.

UPDATE: The City of Peoria has released a statement from City Manager, Scott Moore:

City Manager Scott Moore is a finalist for the position of City Manager in St. Marcos, Texas. As a young professional, Scott has been sought out by other communities; however, this particular location would provide him with the opportunity to be closer to family. “I enjoy the challenges that we are working through in the City of Peoria, and it is also humbling to be approached by other communities who believe you possess the qualities that could be an asset to their organization,” said Moore.