Wilmette Village Manager Gets Raise After 'Exemplary' First Year

WILMETTE, IL — The Wilmette Village Board this week rewarded Village Manager Michael Braiman by amending his employment contract following an eventful first year leading Village Hall.

Braiman succeeded Tim Frenzer last year after spending the last six years as assistant village manager. He also worked for the village as an assistant to the village manager from 2008 to 2011 before becoming assistant village administrator in River Forest. Trustees unanimously approved his amended contract as village manager at Tuesday's board meeting.

Braiman's passion for local government was ignited by growing up as the son of a longtime Buffalo Grove village trustee and village president, who served on the board from 1990 to 2015.

"I'm really proud of what we've accomplished this past year," Braiman told Patch. "I think the team has done a great job, and I truly appreciate the support and confidence the board has shown me through the contract amendment, and I really look forward to being the village manager of Wilmette for many years to come."

Village President Bob Bielinski said in a memo ahead of the meeting that the village board recently completed a review of Braiman's performance last year and found it "exemplary."

In addition to handling the village's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first-year village manager led the first phase of the village's multi-year stormwater management plan, the reconstruction of Central Avenue, two bond issuances and more, Bielinski said.

Braiman credited fellow staff with steering the village through the unpredictable events that have occurred since he was sworn in Feb. 11, 2020, back when there were only two known cases of COVID-19 in Illinois.

In the uncertain months that followed, village staff decided to significantly cut expenditures, mainly from the capital and contractual side, in light of anticipated revenue reduction. Revenue fell by 2 percent, but the cuts to spending meant the village ended the year in a much stronger position than anticipated.

"There's no playbook for this, but we have such a strong team in place, top to bottom in the organization that it was a fairly seamless transition to pivot, to making sure we continue to provide our core services to our residents, and really focusing on our financials to make sure we were in a position to fund our services in a way that limited the impact on our residents," Braiman said.

"I think we did a really great job, and it's a testament to our staff, our board, the community that we were able to get through the depths of that pandemic in such a strong way."

Last year, trustees determined Braiman's initial contract should be below the market compensation for more experienced village managers. The amended contract gradually increases Braiman's base salary and deferred compensation payment, "so that over time his compensation would be more comparable to current market compensation for [other village managers.]"

Under the new contract, the village manager's 2020 base salary of $228,000 remains the same, as do the next two years of 5 percent increases. But it adds a 3-percent raise in 2023 and 2024. After 2025, and every subsequent year, Braiman would receive the same percentage raise as all non-union village management staff.

In another addition, the village agreed to make deferred compensation payments to Braiman totaling 2.5 percent of his 2021 base salary, 5 percent of his 2022 salary, and in 2023 and every subsequent year, 7.5 percent of his base salary, which, at that point, would amount out to more than $18,000 a year.