Story posted Wednesday, February 3, 2010
City Begins Search For New Finance Chief
Park Ridge is accepting applications for the position of finance director while naming Linda Lazzara to the acting role.
"Applications will be accepted until the end of January," said City Manager Jim Hock. "Then I'll start the review process and interview process."
Former Finance Director Diane Lembesis resigned earlier last month after nearly 20 years with the city. She now serves as the finance director for Gurnee.
Although Lembesis is still coming in on the weekends to help with the city's budget process, "I need somebody physically in the department on a day to day basis to be the go to person for the staff," Hock said, explaining the elevation of Lazzara.
Hock added he does not know if Lazzara has applied for the job. "I make it a point not to start looking at the resumes until they're all in," he said.
He hopes to get through the process and hire someone as quickly as possible. However, he acknowledged that some qualified candidates might also be in the middle of budgetary work with their current employer.
That could lead to a delay of several weeks before the applicant could start in Park Ridge, but Hock sees that apparent problem as a positive. "That's the kind of commitment I want out of a potential finance director," he said.
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