Mount Pleasant Hires Recruiter as Interim Administrator

Instead of hiring a new village administrator, Mount Pleasant trustees have hired the recruiter to come in and learn the job before he finds someone to take it on long-term. 

Recruiter Mark Morien recommended the board take this step because of issues he saw when he started putting together a candidate profile for the administrator search. 

"I think there are several internal things that need to be addressed before we move forward on posting for the position," he told Patch after the board's vote. "I spoke with the board and went over some things."

Morien declined to say what things he went over with trustees, who unanimously approved his appointment on Friday.

At the end of the three-month stint as administrator, Morien will give trustees an evaluation, including an assessment of what else might still need to be done. The board will decide how to proceed at that time.

The goal, Morien said, is to learn as much about the village as an organization from the inside so he can know best the qualities and qualifications the next administrator should have.

Trustee Karen Albeck had a more blunt way of describing the situation.

"Mark will put a stop to the behavioral problems we have here," she said.

More, Albeck said there is the potential for a top-down reorganization to create greater efficiencies.

"We expect Mark to take a holistic approach to how we operate here," she added. "There is the possibility of some reorganization. Mark has a hefty challenge ahead of him, but we know he's up for the task and will get the results we need."

Morien has experience doing this sort of thing, having served in the same capacity for the City of Burlington for seven months in 2007.

The search will effectively pause while Morien is interim administrator.The village is paying $11,000 to Morien's company, Voorhees Associates, for the administrator search. The additional cost for Morien to act as administrator has not been released because the contract is not yet finalized.

The search for a new administrator stems from the . . Bringing Morien on board returns Meyer to planning full-time.

Trustee Gary Feest said having Morien come in as the interim administrator helps bring a fresh perspective to how Mount Pleasant operates.

"He's going to look over our entire organization and then make recommendations to the board," he said. "Pausing the search while we go through these steps shows our commitement to being and presenting a better community."

Board member Jerry Garski agreed.

"Mark brings a new talent and level of expertise to move the village forward and put us in a better position to determine the assets needed in our next administrator," he stated.