June 30, 2005

Rob Hillard handed in his resignation as Village manager Tuesday. It will become effective Sept. 1.

By Robert Mihalek

Rob Hillard will resign as Village manager and return to the job he held before he came to Yellow Springs in 2000, which will allow him to be closer to his family in Michigan.

Hillard said this week that he has accepted an offer from the city council of Allegan, Mich., to serve as that community’s manager-clerk. He worked for the city of Allegan, which is located in southwest Michigan, for a total of nine years before joining the Village of Yellow Springs in 2000.

On Tuesday morning, Hillard said that he would submit his resignation to Village Council later that day. Because his contract stipulates that Hillard must give Council two months notice, his resignation will be effective Sept. 1.

He called the decision to leave Yellow Springs “bittersweet.”

“We’ve made a lot of friends in town. We’ll miss them,” he said. He also said that he appreciated the opportunity he has had to work with Council and the Village staff.

At the end of a special Council meeting on Monday, June 27 — which was originally scheduled last month as a financial meeting — Council president Tony Arnett said that Council would begin to discuss its approach to selecting Hillard’s successor at Council’s next regular meeting, on Tuesday, July 5.

Village Planner Phil Hawkey, who served as acting Village manager while Hillard was on medical leave earlier this year, said that he is interested in succeeding Hillard. But he also acknowledged that “it’s premature” to assume that he will apply for the job because, he said, “I don’t know what Council has in mind” for the position.

Hillard joined the Village as manager in November 2000, replacing David Heckler. Prior to coming to Yellow Springs, Hillard served as the city manager in Allegan from 1995 to 2000. He also worked for two years as the Allegan assistant city manager and for two years as a building official in Allegan. He spent three years serving as the village manager in Mattawan, Mich.

The Kalamazoo Gazette reported last week that the Allegan city council offered Hillard the Allegan manager’s job during a meeting on June 22. Hillard, who said he was interviewed by the council at that meeting, was selected out of a pool of 50 candidates, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported.

The Allegan council negotiated a contract with Hillard and approved the agreement on June 27.

After the Yellow Springs News learned of the job offer last Friday, Hillard initially declined to comment, saying that he was still negotiating with the Allegan council and that, at the time, the Village Council had not been informed.

Instead, he agreed to participate in an interview on Monday morning, when he said he had informed Council “late last week” that he was negotiating a contract for the Allegan position.

In the interview, Hillard said that his primary reason for returning to Allegan, which is northwest of Kalamazoo, is to be closer to his family in Michigan. He said that his mother still lives in Portage, Mich., a suburb of Kalamazoo, where he grew up. Chris and Kali, the two adult children of Hillard and his wife, Kass, also live in southwest Michigan, as do the Hillards’ siblings and their children, Rob Hillard said.

In addition, he said that professionally it is a “good time” to return to Allegan because of the recent opening in the city manager’s position. He said that he is “excited to work with the people of Allegan.”

“Allegan is a wonderful opportunity, a professional opportunity that I would like to pursue,” he said.

When pressed about whether there were circumstances with his job with the Village that may have influenced his decision to resign, Hillard repeatedly cited his family ties to southwest Michigan as his main reason for leaving.

In addition, Hillard said that his resignation here has “nothing to do with” the medical leave of absence he took from Feb. 28 to May 19 while he was treated for exhaustion. He had resumed part-time work responsibilities at the beginning of April, and returned to the manager’s job full-time the following month.

According to an article in the Kalamazoo Gazette, the Allegan city manager’s job opened up after Lisa Sutterfield, who worked as the assistant city manager under Hillard, resigned effective April 29. Hillard said that he was informed of the job opening.

Hillard said he applied for the position in May and had one interview with the Allegan council, during the June 22 meeting, when another candidate, who currently works for the city of Allegan, was also interviewed.

During Village Council’s meeting on Monday, Council members praised Hillard for his accomplishments here.

Arnett, who was on Council when Hillard was hired, said he appreciated Hillard’s “focus on budgeting,” saying that the manager now has the Village and Council working on long-range budget planning and long-range capital planning. Arnett also praised the work Hillard did in his first few years with the Village “when he did the work of two people” because he did not hire an assistant manager or planner.

He also highlighted Hillard’s leadership and communication skills, including his efforts to work on the “mechanics of communication within the Village. “I have high hopes it will continue past your tenure here,” Arnett said.

Council member Bruce Rickenbach, who served as the Village manager from 1974 to ’79, said that he appreciated the professional approach Hillard took to running the Village government.

After the meeting, Hawkey said that he will miss working with Hillard. “I’ve got a lot of admiration and appreciation for Rob. It’s been great working for him,” Hawkey said.

Hawkey said that Hillard has the ability to give his staff clear directions “and room enough to do your job.”