Brookfield Village Manager Timothy Wiberg got a $10,000 bump in pay on July 8 after trustees voted 4-0 (trustees Michael Garvey and Edward Cote were absent) to approve a resolution recognizing that Wiberg had attained certain goals during his first nine months on the job.

The vote came without discussion as part of the village board's consent agenda at its meeting last week. According to a memo, included in the meeting packet, members of the village board agreed that Wiberg had accomplished the goals set out for him during a meeting in executive session on June 24.

Wiberg was hired as village manager in September 2018 with an annual base salary of $165,000. One provision in his employment contract called for Wiberg's salary to increase by $10,000 if he accomplished unspecified "goals" during his first nine months.

The village board, according to the contract, would determine what those goals were during the first 30 days of Wiberg's employment.

Those goals did not become public until March in response to a Freedom of Information request by Brookfield resident Mark Rogers, who at the time was a candidate for village trustee.

Rogers asked to see what Wiberg's goals and objectives were, but the village initially rejected his request, saying they were exempt from public inspection because they involved the village's board's evaluation of the manager. Personnel matters, such as performance reviews, are generally exempt from public disclosure.

In the wake of that rejection, Rogers appealed to the Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Bureau, which found that the list of goals by itself "reflects a set of tasks to be completed without any regard to how they are completed. … It does not evaluate him in any matter."

While the bureau's finding was only advisory, the village turned over the list of goals to the Landmark, which had also requested the document, in March.

In all, the village identified eight goals for Wiberg, including reviewing and recommending staffing levels and organizational structure, completing a study comparing Brookfield organizational structure with similar municipalities, revamping the village board packet to make it more user-friendly, oversee the creation and adoption of the 2019 budget, providing recommendations on improving audio/visual technology in the council chamber, hiring a public works director, overseeing new development projects and developing a plan for implementing the village's comprehensive plan.

The $10,000 is not a bonus, but will be added to Wiberg's base salary and form the baseline for any future raises in salary.

Contact:
Email: buphues@wjinc.com Twitter: @RBLandmark