TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Todd Lenzie, Interim Corporation Counsel
SUBJECT:
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Ordinance Amending Chapter 2, Article II to Authorize Pre-Separation Recruitment and Temporary Appointments
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DATE: April 17, 2026
INTRODUCTION:
This ordinance amendment allows the City Manager the ability to initiate recruitment up to six months before an incumbent's departure and to allow up to a three-month operational overlap, to maintain institutional knowledge, ensure continuity of services, and avoid operational disruptions. These functions fall squarely within the administrative authority of the City Manager, and this ordinance change clarifies and facilitates the effective administration of personnel while preserving the City Council's legislative and policymaking role.
DISCUSSION:
Illinois' statutory managerial form of government creates a separation between the City Council's legislative authority and the City Manager's administrative authority. The Illinois Municipal Code provides that "the powers of the council... shall be purely legislative." The Council's role is principally one of policymaking and does not generally extend into the day-to-day administration of government or the implementation of that policy. The City Manager is designated as the administrative head of the municipal government and is responsible for the efficient administration of all departments.
Within this legal framework, the City Council determines what positions exist and whether those positions are funded. The City Manager, in turn, determines how those positions are filled and managed in order to maintain efficient and reliable municipal operations.
Overlap hiring is a tool that falls well within the City Manager's administrative authority. Allowing the Manager to begin the hiring process up to six months before an anticipated vacancy and to bring a successor on staff up to three months before the incumbent departs serves several essential administrative purposes. It pres...
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