The city of Rock Falls' department head roster will change up due to future retirements announced by city officials during the past few weeks.

Rock Falls Building Inspector Mark Searing’s retirement will go into effect in April; his successor, Bryan Plumber, already has taken over.

First Ward Alderperson Gabriella McKanna resigned Feb. 28 and now is working in a recently created city position as a succession plan for City Administrator Robbin D. Blackert’s retirement, which is anticipated to be about a year away.

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Rock Falls Mayor Rod Kleckler has a few words for council person Violet Sobottka Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, while discussing a vote on mayoral power. (Alex T. Paschal)

At Tuesday’s city council meeting, Rock Falls Mayor Rod Kleckler said he’s looking for people who are interested in serving the remainder of McKanna’s term, which began April 4, 2023. An appointment will be made next month.

To fill Searing and Blackert’s positions, the city conducted a search and found that the majority of candidates “were fairly transient,” Kleckler said.

He explained the city wants to hire department heads who are going to be in it for the long haul. The city looked for candidates who are qualified and also live in the area, Kleckler said.

For building inspector, Plumber was selected because his construction experience makes him qualified and he lives in the Rock Falls area. He was brought into the city building department about a year ago and now has taken over as inspector, Kleckler said.

“What we found works really well for the city is kind of having a transition period between the current person in the seat and the person taking over for them, to allow for some training and transition time,” McKanna told Shaw Local.

McKanna is now assistant city administrator and said the reason for her resignation as alderperson was only because an elected official also can’t be a city employee.

The creation of that position was approved by the council Nov. 4, 2025, and no longer will exist when Blackert retires, city records show.

Although the intention is for McKanna to eventually move into Blackert’s role, Kleckler said “nothing is guaranteed. It’s a trial period.”

McKanna was selected because she’s a Rock Falls resident and understands the needs of the city due to her experience as alderperson, Kleckler said.

Searing and Blackert served in their respective city positions for a long time, Kleckler said, estimating that it was around two decades for them both.

Blackert did not respond to Shaw Local’s request for comment and Searing was unable to be reached.

Kleckler said he wanted to give a “great Rock Falls thank you” to them both and congratulated their successors.