Dec. 01--Wheaton officials are preparing for a changing of the guard in the city's top operating spot for the first time in more than 35 years, the Tribune has learned.
Wheaton City Manager Donald B. Rose confirmed that he has told Wheaton's City Council that he will retire on April 30. And in executive session, council members already have chosen Michael G. Dzugan, Wheaton's assistant city manager since 1991, to be Rose's permanent replacement, Mayor Mike Gresk said. The City Council is scheduled to consider his contract during a Monday night meeting.
Dzugan, 57, has a long record of leadership in Wheaton's City Hall, overseeing development-related departments in the city, such as planning and engineering. He also has been involved in implementing policies adopted by the City Council and has worked to help the staff achieve the council's strategic goals.
Dzugan, who declined to comment for this story, joined Wheaton's staff in October 1991 after working for seven years for the City of Crystal Lake, where he was promoted twice and was Crystal Lake's assistant city manager when he came to Wheaton.
Most city employees -- and for that matter, most residents -- can't remember Wheaton's City Hall without Rose, who turned 69 in August and in 2011 became DuPage County's longest-serving city manager in its history. Rose joined Wheaton's staff in 1974 as the assistant to then-city manager William Kirchhoff and was elevated to city manager in November 1980. Today, he oversees a budget of $95.6 million and leads a staff of 232 employees.
"The service that Mr. Rose has performed for the city and the citizens for the last 35 years is remarkable," said Wheaton Mayor Mike Gresk. "Members of the City Council come and go but the consistent leadership that we have at the staff level has helped Wheaton grow and has had a positive impact on its residents."
Rose said among Wheaton's many accomplishments during his 35 years as manager, the one that stands out the most is city's strong financial position. In 2011, Moody's increased Wheaton's bond rating from AA to AAA.
"The city has been and continues to be in an awfully good financial position," Rose said. "Many of us in this profession certainly strive for that, with the AAA bond rating and all the recognition that one gets with finances. I think that was certainly kind of a crowning achievement a few years ago."
Rose also pointed to the success in managing a population growth of about 60 percent during his tenure.
"The town is a little over 20,000 residents bigger than when I first started, and while that growth in residents has been large, it's been steady and well planned," he said.
The massive Danada area on Wheaton's south side was entirely developed under Rose's leadership.
"Danada certainly was a mixed use that was more heavy on commercial and office use than residential, and that certainly was a big moment for the city and really was and continues to be really the only significant change in our tax base," he said. "Being a town of 86 percent residential land use, we don't have many opportunities to diversify, and that certainly was an important addition to our tax base."
The city now is mostly built out, and Rose and his staff have focused more of their time in the past two decades on invigorating the city's downtown, with tools such as tax increment financing districts. The result has been several good-sized downtown developments, which have brought hundreds of new housing units to downtown Wheaton.
Rose said he recently "got to a point in my life where I thought it was time to (retire)."
"I've certainly accomplished a lot of things here, and there's still a lot of things on the table that the city needs to address, but I think we have a good foundation for my successor to pick right up where I left off with all those things, and the city is in a better spot and condition than it was when I started, so that is kind of gratifying," he said.
Apart from spending more time with his wife, Patti, and sons David and Michael, Rose said he has no major plans for retirement.
"In my career, I always thought I wanted to do something else before I retired, but this job continued to challenge me throughout the years. I worked a lot longer than I probably ever envisioned I would work, so doing something else isn't necessarily important to me at this time," he said. "On the other hand, I may well after retirement comes think of other things that I want to do, other opportunities, but that's not necessarily the motivating factor in retirement. I think it's time to either relax and/or do something a little bit different, but certainly in a part-time capacity."
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
