Sugar Grove — The Village Board discussed a proposal to share an economic-development director with the neighboring Village of Elburn to reduce costs and broaden recruitment reach. Trustees were split on the approach and asked staff to continue discussions with Elburn and the local economic-development corporation.

Village Administrator Scott Coppell told trustees Michael’s retirement left the village without in-house economic-development leadership and that prior efforts to hire a lower-level coordinator had not attracted qualified candidates. Coppell said consultants advised the village that a director-level posting would be more competitive but that smaller municipalities sometimes share the cost of a single director to attract qualified applicants. Coppell and President Stilwell met with Elburn officials and discussed a potential intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to fund a shared director.

Trustees raised multiple concerns: some supported pooling resources to create a position attractive enough to recruit a director, noting regional approaches can be effective; others worried a shared director might split effort and favor the other community or that accountability and decision-making authority would be unclear. Several trustees preferred starting with a part-time position focused solely on Sugar Grove, or to explore consultant arrangements or full-time recruitment solely for Sugar Grove. Coppell said the next step would be negotiating a specific IGA, which must clearly allocate responsibilities, time, and decision-making authority.

Trustees asked staff to solicit feedback from Elburn’s board and from the village’s economic development corporation; Coppell said the subject would be brought back after Elburn’s board reviews the proposal. No hiring decision was made at the meeting.