Carpentersville board approves O’Sullivan’s move from trustee to $155K-per-year village manager

Carpentersville trustees Tuesday approved hiring a now former fellow board member as the new village manager.

John O’Sullivan steps into the role two months after the former village manager, Eric Johnson, resigned to take another job. First appointed to the Village Board in 2017, O’Sullivan, 62, was the longest-serving member of the current Village Board.

Village President John Skillman said he asked O’Sullivan to take the job after disappointing interviews with three other candidates Skillman and the village’s law firm identified as potential replacements.

Skillman said he was looking for someone to stay on the job for the next five to seven years, and the candidates he interviewed did not have that type of job history. O’Sullivan, who sat in on the interviews with Skillman, said it became “painfully obvious” that the candidates were not going to be a good match for the village.

“He turned to me at one point and said, ‘You’re just going to have to do this job for me,’” O’Sullivan said, recalling a conversation with Skillman after interviewing other candidates. “I thought that would be a really interesting challenge, and I didn’t hesitate.”

O’Sullivan turned in his letter of resignation from the Village Board on Friday, and he sat in the audience during Tuesday’s Village Board meeting. Although he did not cast any votes Tuesday, his name was included in five roll call votes, including one to approve hiring him as village manager.

Village Attorney Bred Stewart said including O’Sullivan’s name in the roll call votes was a clerical error and noted that O’Sullivan’s name was not included on board documents.

The trustees also did not mention O’Sullivan’s resignation from the board during Tuesday’s meeting. But Stewart said the Village Board does not have to vote to accept a board member’s resignation or formally recognize the resignation in a public meeting.

O’Sullivan does not have a formal contract with the city, but he will be paid an annual salary of $155,000.

O’Sullivan does not have any experience as a village manager, but he has extensive business experience, including the last 13 years as a distribution sales manager for Otto Engineering, according to a news release from the village.

O’Sullivan also has served as chairman of the Village Board’s audit and finance commission, serves on the Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce and is a past president of Carpentersville’s Rotary Club.

“He’s the right choice,” Skillman said, pointing to O’Sullivan’s leadership skills and his involvement in the community.

There was no discussion before a vote approving O’Sullivan as village manager. After Tuesday’s meeting, however, trustees said they’ve always been impressed with O’Sullivan and were confident in his ability to do the job.

Skillman said he hopes to fill O’Sullivan’s unexpired term as a trustee as soon as possible. Applications for the village trustee opening will be available on the village’s website.

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20230221/carpentersville-board-approves-osullivans-move-from-trustee-to-155000year-village-manager