McHenry’s new city administrator signs $195,000 annual contract

Suzanne Ostrovsky and McHenry have officially signed off on a contract making Ostrovsky the new city administrator.

Ostrovsky, now the Hoffman Estates assistant village manager, will begin her new role on Jan. 22. She replaces Derik Morefield, who has served as McHenry’s administrator since April 2012.

Her annual salary will be $195,000, according to McHenry officials. The council voted to approve her hiring, pending final contract negotiations, at the Nov. 20 meeting.

“We are excited and look forward to having Ms. Ostrovsky join our team. Her professional background and leadership skills will help McHenry continue to grow into a community we can all be proud of,” Mayor Wayne Jett said in a prepared statement.

Morefield told the McHenry City Council last December of his plans to retire in early 2024. The search for his replacement was spearheaded by Northbrook-based GovHR USA.

The search, which began in June following the spring 2023 municipal elections, led to a “comprehensive nationwide search that yielded 60 applications from 13 states,” according to a McHenry news release.

Ostrovsky is a Wonder Lake native, graduating from Woodstock High School.

Previous to the assistant manager role, she was Hoffman Estate’s assistant to the village manager and a management analyst with Hinsdale. Before joining the public sector, Ostrovsky worked in commercial real estate with an emphasis on marketing and communications.

She holds a master degree in public administration from DePaul University and a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University.

“This is an exciting time for the city of McHenry, and I am grateful for the opportunity to work alongside the city’s highly skilled staff to help the mayor and city council accomplish their goals for the community,” Ostrovsky said in a prepared statement.

Morefield’s official retirement date is set for Jan. 19.

In a prepared statement, Morefield noted his accomplishments over the past 12 years, including municipal budgeting transparency and developing McHenry’s Recreation Center, Riverwalk and Miller Point Park development and expansion, as well as downtown redevelopment, implementing a local road improvement program and McHenry’s long-term capital asset maintenance and replacement program.

He is proudest, the statement reads, of “the financial stability that he has helped to establish in McHenry, ensuring that operating funds are balanced, and capital projects implemented, for many years to come.”