Northbrook trustees have given Village Manager Cara Pavlicek a 9% raise and a $30,000 bonus for doing an “outstanding” job in her first three years, Village President Kathryn Ciesla said.
“She has been an invaluable partner in making the Village Board’s economic development initiatives a reality and is taking steps necessary to modernize the Village’s internal operations and the customer experience, both of which will be of significant benefit to our stakeholders,” Ciesla said by email.
The raise brings Pavlicek’s salary to $275,000 a year, according to the ordinance approved by the board on Sept. 24.
Pavlicek said she was happy to receive the pay hike and the bonus.
“It was very kind of the Village Board. I like working for them,” she said. “Northbrook is a dynamic place and has a lot of great things going on. We have a lot going on and a lot of things to do.”
The village has built a strong foundation of providing good municipal services, ranging from the quality of local drinking water to creating services for its own employees to plowing streets and providing emergency services, Pavlicek said.
Pavlicek will receive the bonus in 24 installments spread over the coming 12 months, she said.
Ciesla said bonuses are common for village managers.
“Manager Pavlicek’s bonus and salary is in line with other managers in area towns comparable to Northbrook,” she said.
In awarding the raise, the board considered Pavlicek’s responsibilities, achievements and experience and how her compensation compares to other village managers in the area, Ciesla said.
“Given all of those factors, the Village Board strongly believed that an adjustment to her contract was warranted and necessary,” she said.
Pavlicek has leveraged her experience to help the board attract and maintain business development such as a new Tesla store and Brookfield Properties’ $850 million redevelopment of Northbrook Court, Ciesla said.
The Tesla store was “built from the ground up and opened for business in just nine months,” she said.
Pavlicek, who was hired during the Covid-19 pandemic, said several events in her first three years stand out as memorable, including finally meeting village staff and the Village Board in person after months of online meetings.
“Also there has been an early retirement program that predated me,” she said. “I’ve been able to see the transition of new individuals coming into the workforce, which has been nice.”
Pavlicek said she is proud of Northbrook’s 2023 analysis of its human resources department, which was expanded to three people in the current budget.
“It’s allowed us to really focus on employee recruitment, existing employees and supporting our retirees,” she said. “It’s wonderful to see that plan come to fruition. We’re at the start of it, but it’s really nice.”
Pavlicek also pointed to recent acquisitions of property to address deficiencies in village facilities, such as the fleet maintenance garage and Fire Station 11, as signs of progress.
“Mechanics keep our police cars, firetrucks and snowplows running. It is important we have a future home for them,” she said. “To know we’re getting a new facility with standards we should provide as living quarters for firefighters is something I’m awfully excited about.”
The ordinance approved by the board also grants Pavlicek authority to buy service credits in Illinois for her work in Des Moines, Iowa, from 1990 to 1995. Pavlicek said she is waiting to hear from the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund before deciding whether to purchase the credits.
