Western Springs Appointments In Question

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL — Casey Biernacki, a longtime village employee, was promoted to deputy village manager Monday. He was sworn in by the village clerk. A photo documents the moment.

The same thing happened for the village's new director of engineering, Jefferey Koza.

But a problem exists for both appointments: The Village Board never approved them. And that's required.

Under the village code, both positions are considered "appointive officers." That means they are appointed by the village manager, with the board's approval.

Patch checked the board's meeting minutes since the beginning of the year, and the board took no action to approve either appointment. The men were sworn in a few hours before Monday's Village Board meeting.

Village spokeswoman Selmin Cicek told Patch that the two officials would be brought forward for approval at the board's May 24 meeting, "at which time the newly elected Village President and Board of Trustees are expected to approve and ratify these appointments."

It was unclear why the board did not vote on their appointments at Monday's meeting. Biernacki and Koza were both listed on the agenda to be sworn in, but nothing on the agenda indicated the board would vote on the officials. Under state law, the board can only vote on matters listed for action on the agenda.

The village has faced a similar situation before. In April 2020, Village President Alice Gallagher nominated Scott Lewis as a trustee to replace William Sifferman, who died the previous month. At a meeting, Lewis was sworn in, but the board did not take a vote on his appointment, as required.

Patch asked Gallager about it a couple of days later. In response, she said it was not a valid process and that she would put it up for a vote at the next meeting. She did, and the board unanimously approved Lewis.

Previously, Fire Chief Patrick Kenny held the role of deputy village manager until he retired in January, Cicek said in an email to Patch this week. Biernacki has been with the village for a decade, starting out as an intern. Before this week, he was the assistant director of municipal services.

With his new position, he is set to make $118,000 a year, up from $95,000, according to the village.

Koza, the director of engineering, comes to the village from Northbrook, where he worked as a capital projects manager since 2016. He also has 11 years with Robinson Engineering as a consulting engineer for a number of towns, Cicek said in her email.

Last fall, Jim Tock was sworn in as Western Springs' director of engineering, making $115,000 a year. He had been with the Downers Grove village government for 13 years, starting out as an engineer and being promoted to engineering manager in 2014. In March, he left Western Springs to return to his old job in Downers Grove, according to his LinkedIn page.

Patch could find no evidence that the Village Board ever approved Tock's appointment.

Gallagher did not return a message for comment Friday morning.