MARENGO – City Council members have promoted the assistant city administrator to city administrator and given him a raise.

Joshua Blakemore has been acting as interim city administrator since May, when city officials decided not to renew former Administrator Gary Boden's contract.

Blakemore has been with the city since 2005 and received a salary of $86,267 during his time as assistant city administrator and interim administrator.

Blakemore’s new contract increases his salary to $106,108, with guaranteed 5 percent annual raises through April 2021. Blakemore also will receive standard benefits for health care, vacation time and a city-owned phone.

The city also will pay Blakemore $11,560 to compensate for his work as interim city administrator.

Whether Marengo needed two administrators had been a hot topic among Marengo aldermen. Boden was appointed in 2012 with a $104,000 salary that had risen to $116,233 this year.

After the April election, Marengo Mayor John Koziol took office and began talks to get rid of Boden and city attorney Carlos Arevalo, who has since resigned.