Elmhurst Outsources To Save Money

Elmhurst IL

21 July, 2021

8:51 AM

Description

ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst plans to save $70,000 annually as it outsources its top two finance positions. At its meeting Monday, the City Council voted for the idea. The lone dissenter said the finance director position was too important to contract out. The city is hiring Naperville-based Lauterbach & Amen to provide a finance director. Earlier this year, the city did the same for the assistant director's position with the same company. Lauterbach contracts with a number of municipalities, libraries and fire districts to provide finance services. Among the entities is similarly sized Glenview, which has outsourced to Lauterbach for a decade. City officials saw this as a good time to make a change because the current finance director, Tom Trosien, is retiring in early August after more than three decades with the city. Under the plan, Lauterbach will be responsible for the recruitment of a finance director. However, City Manager Jim Grabowski will review and interview the top candidates and make the final hiring decision, officials said. Alderman Mark Mulliner said he understood the savings associated with the move. "But I believe that the role of the finance director is so important that it needs to be somebody who is in-house and responsible directly to the city manager," Mulliner said. "I understand that by outsourcing it, they will still be directly responsible to the city manager, but there will be a different ownership level when you are a member of a team versus somebody who is paid as an outsourced consultant to come in and assist us." Alderwoman Marti Deuter said she had the same concerns as Mulliner at first. But she said the new finance director would lack institutional knowledge whether the city hires in-house or outsources the job. "If it doesn't work out well, we're not that much worse off in a year or two, assuming we get adequate support," she said. The council voted 10-1 for outsourcing, with Mulliner dissenting. Aldermen Bob Dunn and Noel Talluto were absent; both supported the idea as members of the council's finance committee. One of the council's positions remains vacant.