Friday meeting to settle administrative vacancies
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in Chief
The Fontana Village Board is scheduled to convene a special meeting late Friday afternoon to finalize its interim solution for continued management of the village.
On Monday, the board solved several of the challenges posed by the pending departure of Village Administrator Kelly Hayden, but left the biggest question – Who will sit in the administrator’s chair? – for discussion during a closed session that followed.
“It was a good meeting of the minds,” Village Clerk Dennis Martin said Tuesday, declining to divulge the agreement reached by board members until it will be considered in open session Friday. “Everyone left smiling.
“All will be resolved Friday,” he added.
That meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Village Hall, 175 Valley View Drive.
On Monday, the board did not take up – at least not in open session – a proposal by Trustee George Spadoni to hire retired City of Delavan Administrator Joe Salitros to fill the position on an interim basis.
If that proposal has been taken off the table, it appears likely that board members are considering a team approach to village management that would involve a mix of current employees such as Martin and interim contractors to fill in the gaps where specific expertise is needed.
That certainly appeared to be the direction Monday when the board agreed in principal to enter into independent contractor agreements with Hayden and Police and Fire Commission member Al Kaminski for interim consulting services.
The board also agreed to draft a contract with current Finance Committee and Plan Commission member Scott Vilona, a certified public accountant, to serve as interim treasurer.
Vilona – who will have to resign his committee roles, according to Martin – will handle the treasurer’s duties in consultation with Hayden, who will be paid on a fee-for-service basis.
Hayden, who is the village’s current treasurer in addition to her administrative duties, will leave her full-time position with the village Dec. 7. She has accepted a position in municipal finance with the City of Delavan.
Martin expressed full confidence in Vilona, who has been responsible for oversight of all the village’s financial dealings on behalf of the Finance Committee.
Vilona will be hired as a part-time village employee and will likely schedule regular office hours one day per week at Village Hall, according to Martin. However, he expects Vilona to retain his regular accounting practice.
Martin expressed gratitude to Hayden who will be available to assist the village through the busiest time of the year for the treasurer’s office – budget and tax time.
The municipal management portion of the equation will be led by Kaminski, a retired public safety official who now consults for municipalities. He is expected to work with Martin and other village officials while dealing with policies, procedures and human resource issues.
As an independent contractor, Kaminski will be paid $30 per hour for his services.
Martin said the board left room in its plan “to do some tweaking” of roles and responsibilities.
“It’s going to be an acting situation, but it could transition into a more permanent one,” he said.
In a separate personnel matter, the board on Monday appointed Will Jansen as captain of the recently combined Fire and Rescue Department.
Correspondent June Willhite contributed to this story.
And Kaminski is a personal friend and business partner with Trustee George Spadoni in Spadoni’s private consulting business. Cronyism has yet to leave Fontana.