Aurora Mayor John Laesch is looking to appoint new top leadership in the city’s finance and public works departments.
Unlike others Laesch has appointed to department head positions since he took office in May, both roles are set to be filled by candidates who currently work at the city. The appointments still need to be confirmed by the Aurora City Council at its meeting on Tuesday.
Slated to be the new chief financial officer and city treasurer is Stacey Peterson, who has been the city’s director of financial operations since 2021. She would replace Chris Minick, who has been in the role since he was appointed in 2021.
Laesch said Peterson has earned the position.
As an over 25-year employee of the city, she knows a lot of city staff and knows how things work, he told The Beacon-News. In particular, Peterson would help keep budget and accounting procedures consistent, especially since she helped create some of them, he said.
Plus, Laesch pointed out that she previously acted as the interim chief financial officer and city treasurer, which her resume said was from March 2017 to January 2018.
If her appointment is approved by the Aurora City Council, Peterson will lead the city Finance Department, maintain financial records and supervise the collection of taxes, among other duties, according to the role’s job description.
City Council on Tuesday will also be voting to approve the appointment of Jason Bauer as the next director of Public Works and city engineer. Bauer has already been doing the job for months as the interim director and city engineer.
The former director of Public Works and city engineer, Ken Schroth, left the city in March. Schroth’s LinkedIn profile and the Panama City Beach, Florida municipal website list him as assistant utilities director for that city.
Bauer has worked at the city for over 10 years and started as a professional engineer in 2014. He became the assistant director of Public Works and assistant city engineer in June 2018, which he held until he became the interim director earlier this year.
The appointments of both Bauer and Peterson come one week after the Aurora City Council made exceptions to a rule requiring all department heads to live within the city or move there within one year of being appointed by the mayor and approved by the City Council.
Now, that rule does not apply to department heads that are required to have a professional license or are required to have specialized training or knowledge. The roles set to be filled by Bauer and Peterson are covered by this exception, and a city spokesperson confirmed that neither live within city limits.
City officials have said that the change allows the city to be more competitive and have more flexibility to hire candidates based on qualifications, character and commitment, rather than being limited by where they live.
In addition to the two department head positions, Laesch also appointed Henry Thompson as superintendent of facilities maintenance. This appointment also needs to go before the Aurora City Council on Tuesday for final approval.
Unlike the others Laesch appointed, Thompson is not a city employee. According to his resume, he currently serves as the chief operations officer of Kane County’s Building Management department, which is a position he has held since 2022.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
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