Joliet council debates ordinance to let city manager begin hiring before planned retirements

City staff proposed an amendment to the municipal code to change hiring authority for planned retirements: the ordinance would permit the city manager to post and begin the hiring process for certain positions up to six months before the incumbent's irrevocable retirement, provided the costs remain within the approved budget.

Proponents said the change addresses operational risk in technical or long-lead roles where knowledge transfer can require months, citing water treatment and engineering positions and the common practice where senior employees provide lengthy irrevocable retirement notice. "If we could get somebody in ahead of time to understand the project, you know, road construction project that's a year more or whatever the project might be, that could get that knowledge transfer ahead of time," one council member said.

Opponents and questioners expressed concern the six-month window could be too long as a blanket rule and suggested alternatives including shorter windows (90 days), case-by-case council permission, or using budget-authority checks. Staff said many senior employees do provide irrevocable notice (some up to six months) and that departments budget overlap in some cases; they said the ordinance would not permit unbudgeted spending and that any budget overrun would still require council action.

Human resources staff explained that as at-will employees in Illinois, the city cannot require a set notice period for departures, so the ordinance targets situations where employees voluntarily provide irrevocable retirement notice and allows the manager to avoid operational gaps.

Councilmembers asked directors who had requested the change to provide examples; staff cited several near-term retirements in utilities and wastewater operations where earlier hiring would preserve institutional knowledge. The item remained under discussion at the pre-council meeting and was presented to the council for consideration on the forthcoming regular meeting agenda.