Plainfield To Vote On Recruiting Firm To Hire New Administrator

PLAINFIELD, IL — There's been turmoil at recent Plainfield board meetings after Mayor John Argoudelis announced April 6 that Brian Murphy’s contract as village administrator wouldn’t be extended. At Monday’s meeting, the board of trustees will vote on a proposal to pay a Northbrook firm $22,000 to hire a new administrator.

The company, GovHR, is a consulting firm that works with local governments and organizations. Included in the service’s price tag is an $18,500 recruitment fee, $1,500 for expenses that include “candidate due diligence efforts” and $2,500 in advertising costs, according to the proposal. The final amount doesn’t include candidates’ travel and accommodations, which are charged separately as needed.

The firm’s proposal also includes a detailed timeline for the project, which includes six phases spread over 14 weeks. It’s also noted the process can be expedited to 12 weeks.

The proposed item is listed halfway through the agenda for the June 7 meeting. It reads, “Seeking Board consideration of a motion to authorize the Village President to execute a contract with GovHR USA to recruit a Village Administrator as presented.”

At the May 17 board meeting, trustee Brian Wojowski motioned for the mayor “not to interfere with the work of the Plainfield Village Manager Brian Murphy,” as well as extend his contract for two years under the same terms and conditions. A handful of trustees then voted to approve a special noon meeting — a shift from the usual evening start time — for May 20 to discuss Murphy’s termination.

After the May 17 meeting, which involved a fair amount of finger-pointing, one Patch community contributor from Plainfield penned an article disapproving of the way some trustees have handled the issue of bringing Murphy back after the mayor’s decision to start fresh.

In 2017, Murphy was approved for a new four-year contract with an annual salary of more than $170,000, in addition to a monthly car allowance of $600. His contract was valid until the last day of Mayor Michael Collins' term in April 2021, since Collins didn’t run for reelection.

Related: Plainfield Board OKs New Contract For Murphy

Murphy had been the top administrator for Plainfield since 2009.

"I struggled with whether Brian was the right person to continue forward for us," Argoudelis said during a meeting last month. "I have chosen not to reappoint Brian because I really believe we need to conduct a national search, bring in a new set of eyes, so we can fulfill the promise we made to the voters of Plainfield so we can reexamine how Plainfield does business, top to bottom."

Monday's meeting will take place at 7 p.m. June 7. It will be held in the boardroom located at 22401 W. Lockport Street. The agenda can be viewed on the village’s website.