MOLINE, Ill. — The City of Moline announced Friday, Dec. 3 that three new faces would temporary fill vacancies in key government roles.
After unsuccessful internal recruiting efforts, City Administrator Bob Vitas said the city will employ multiple search firms in order to create a nationwide search for permanent replacements, with the goal of all positions being filled before the second quarter of 2022.
“Using executive recruiters will give us the opportunity to look for high-level candidates from a wider geographic footprint and to cast a wider net,” Human Resources Director Leah Miller said in the announcement.
The City Council has budgeted over $80,000 to conduct the searches, according to the release. Each of the positions being recruited is critically important and need high-level candidates, Vitas said, particularly the community and economic development director.
In the meantime, Michael Schenk, Charles Graves and Brad Fink became the heads of the city's Community and Economic Development, Engineering and Public Works departments on Monday, Dec. 6. They will serve until a replacement is found and up to six months.
Schenk was selected to serve as interim city engineer, a position that had been vacant since 2020. He recently retired from the same position in Plant City, Florida.
Graves, who has worked in economic development in Cincinnati, Washington D.C., Atlanta and Baltimore, was chosen for interim community and economic development director. Before Graves, the position had been vacant since 2019.
Fink was chosen to serve as public works director after 25 years of experience in the field and an eight-year run in the same role for Wauconda, Illinois. The Moline position had been vacant since April.
The interims, according to the release, will be paid between $75 and $95 an hour in addition to receiving housing and travel reimbursements from funds already devoted to permanent director salaries.
