Since Oak Park’s last chief financial officer, Steve Drazner, departed last fall, the village has come up empty in the search for a new one.
Donna Gayden has filled in as the interim CFO since then. The village board approved extending her position until Feb. 28, 2025, and extended the cost of their employee leasing agreement from $150,000 to $225,000. Gayden has said she will not be applying for the permanent position.
The interim position was originally supposed to expire in December 2023. It was then extended to April 2024 and again to August 2024. Human Resources Director Kira Tchang told the village board Tuesday that the village has been working with a firm, Baker Tilly, to recruit candidates. The village will conduct its own search going forward.
The position was posted in January, Tchang said, as candidates are more likely to be looking for new positions after the December holidays. The village received 30 applications, she said.
“Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to identify the right fit for the organization,” she said. “We also have full confidence in our interim CFO.”
Important economic factors are on the line as Oak Park enters its next budget season, Tchang pointed out. So it’s important to find the best fit.
“It’s an incredibly challenging market for [hiring a] municipal CFO,” she said.
Trustee Ravi Parakkat said the village board has already completed one budget cycle with their interim CFO. He said he was hoping to have the new permanent CFO in place to “shepherd” them through the process during the upcoming budget cycle.
Village President Vicki Scaman said she’s excited to work through an entire budget season with Gayden and is hopeful for a strong transition when a new CFO is hired.
Village Manager Kevin Jackson reiterated that the village must find the right fit for the long term but has confidence in the meantime in Gayden, who is working to develop policies, including for the tax levy, and strengthening the financial planning process. Jackson also said he’s hopeful a new CFO can be hired in the next six months.
“We’re moving as fast as we can,” he said. “This past year, we’ve handled a lot. … We had some significant impact to our operations for a period of about six months,” referring to the village’s work to shelter and house migrants who came to Oak Park in late October 2023. By April, all the migrants had been resettled.
But due to the time it has taken to find the right CFO candidate, the village has now decided to do its own recruitment, without Baker Tilly, Tchang told the board.