DIXON – The Dixon police chief is trading in his uniform to be the new city manager.

The City Council is having a special meeting Wednesday to vote on hiring Interim City Manager Danny Langloss to replace former City Manager Cole O'Donnell, who the council fired Aug. 7.

Langloss has been the city's police chief since June 2008 and was also interim city administrator for about 9 months in 2013.

The 43-year-old said it was a difficult decision to apply for and accept the position, but because of the city leadership turnover in the past few years and goals not being filled, he wanted to step into the role where he could make the most difference.

"My drive and desire is to serve Dixon in the position where I can make the biggest impact," he said. "We've had two city managers in 3 years, and we just need stability and good leadership."

The job description asked for 5 to 7 years of "executive experience in a manager or assistant manager position in a community of comparable size and complexity to Dixon," and Mayor Li Arellano Jr. said Langloss has showed dynamic leadership across the police department and other organizations that makes him qualified.

"We really felt that his leadership and team-building skills were easily the caliber to fit the city manager duties," he said.

Hiring Langloss will be split into two votes Wednesday, one to hire him as city manager and the other to approve his contract. The first will likely be a unanimous vote but the contract will not, Arellano said.

"The challenge here for the council is that Danny is giving up tangible benefits to take this job, and though there's no disagreement on him being the right choice, there's disagreement with his contract," he said.

Langloss' salary will be bumped up from $112,500 as police chief to $135,000 with 2 percent increases every year along with $600 a month for car and phone expenses.

It's a pay increase, but Langloss said retirement-wise, he's positioned to lose about $500,000 that he would be entitled to if he remained chief.

The contract also requires him to live within the boundaries of the Dixon school district rather than the city limits.

O'Donnell's termination was, in part, from not meeting his residency requirements. He rented an apartment in the city limits but didn't establish his principal residence in Dixon.

Langloss lives in the city, as required for police chief, and he said he doesn't have any immediate plans to move, but he wanted the requirement to be flexible if he decides to move outside city limits but still nearby.

"I love this community, and this is where I want to be," he said.

The city annexed his former residence at 612 Panther Drive into the city to meet the police chief residency requirement. The annexation was nullified it a year ago before he moved.

His severance package if the council fires him would be 9 months salary and benefits.

The council gave David Nord, Dixon's former city administrator and interim city manager, 6 months of severance pay and benefits of $65,840 to bring in O'Donnell, who received 5 months severance and benefits worth about $53,542.

Arellano said the council negotiated the 9 months severance for Langloss because, if he gets fired, he would likely look for other employment in the city rather than looking to be city manager somewhere else.

Langloss has a master’s degree in law enforcement administration and was chosen to be interim city administrator following the arrest of former Comptroller Rita Crundwell for stealing $53.7 million from the city across 20 years.

"I was the first city administrator and helped lead during the toughest time in our history, and that has given me the confidence that my skills and experience match this position," he said.

His goals include being more aggressive in making infrastructure improvements, pursuing economic development opportunities with the I-88 Corridor, and finding ways to shave costs of city operations to fund growing pension obligations.

"This year, we haven't completed one city block of street resurfacing, and that is not acceptable to the City Council," he said.

Former Public Works Director Terry Weter resigned less than 3 weeks after the council ousted O'Donnell in a 3-2 vote.

O'Donnell was hired in November 2015, hopped into the city manager seat in December and was sworn in Jan. 2, 2016, bringing with him more than 2 decades of city government experience. He went on paid leave July 26.

Prior to Dixon, O'Donnell was the city administrator in East Moline for 4 years and the city administrator for Algona, Iowa, from 1999 to 2011.

NEXT MEETING

The City Council next meets at 8 a.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 121 W. Second St.

Go to discoverdixon.org or call City Hall at 815-288-1485 for an agenda or more information.