Wkgn Main Street chief lasts two months

[fedupinwaukegan]

Main Street chief lasts two months
'Wasn't what she wanted to do'
Comments

November 17, 2009
By DAN MORAN <!-- e --><a href="mailto:dmoran@scn1.com">dmoran@scn1.com</a><!-- e -->

Waukegan Main Street will start looking for its third director in 15 months after the departure of Susan Miller, who took the job on Sept. 1.

James Donovan, president of Main Street's board of directors, said Miller announced her resignation Nov. 2, a move he admitted "was sudden and was a surprise."
» Click to enlarge image
Miller

"I want to make clear about how highly we regarded her qualifications," said Donovan, who conveyed the news to the City Council on Monday. "She just decided it wasn't what she wanted to do."

Asked if there was a concern about losing directors in such a short time, Donovan said the job is not an easy one.

"It takes the right person. (It) requires a symphony conductor, if you will," he said. "You have to work with the city and the business owners and the board and the donors ... You have to be very good at organizing."

Miller's departure from the volunteer-based downtown revitalization group comes on the heels of the July resignation of Maureen McGrain, who was named to the top post from a field of 75 applicants in August 2008. At the time of her departure, McGrain said Main Street "wasn't a good fit" for her, adding that she would be pursuing other professional opportunities.

McGrain succeeded Theodora "Teddy" Anderson, who resigned to take a job with the Waukegan Park District after a five-year tenure that featured her being named Illinois Main Street Executive Director of the Year in 2007.

Main Street board secretary Diane Veratti said she hoped the public doesn't read anything negative into the situation as the group proceeds with another candidate search.

"We don't want to give any perception that there is any strangeness about us. It is a tough job to do," she said, adding that she was once told that people average about 18 months in similar posts at nonprofit agencies.

Veratti also said that "Main Street is alive and kicking," with upcoming events that include both hosting the city's Holiday Festival on Dec. 5 and decorating the downtown area to save city funds.

Also on the Main Street front, the organization's home office has moved from a city-owned storefront at 221 N. Genesee St. to donated space on the second floor of First Midwest Bank, 214 W. Washington.

Main Street's former home will house the Youth Conservation Corps after the City Council voted unanimously last month to lease the space to the nonprofit group, also known as YouthBuild Waukegan.

[fintan1010]

I find it interesting that both Jim Donovan and Diane Veratti failed to mention that Waukegan Main Street is BROKE and therefore unable to PAY the Executive Director Sue Miller. I think it is fair to say that an employee is due payment for their work. This is something Main Street was unable to do.

It was very irresponsible reporting from Dan Moran not to offer any comments from Ms. Miller.

[Grover]

Why would Main Street even conduct a search for someone if they kew they didn't have the funds to pay their salary?! Creative Accounting? I feel bad for Sue Miller; she was bamboozled in my book. Shame on Main Street or whoever funds Main Street...the position shouldn't even have been filled.

[verenablock]

I volunteered for Main Street from May until just recently. Sue and I met several times, and she indicated to me that there is no money left in the account. There was enough to pay her salary, and the salary of the other paid employee at the end of the last pay period (end of October), but there was not enough money to pay the payroll taxes due mid-November. Knowing that the taxes needed to be paid prior to her getting another paycheck, she voluntarily laid herself off at the end of the month. Members of the board promised several times in the last two months that steps would be taken to get enough money into the account to keep her employed, but no funds ever materialized. Sue lives in Waukegan, owns a house, and has a mortgage. Unfortunately, mortgages don't get paid with promises. She needs a salary.

It is unfortunate that such a situation had to occur. Unfortunately, some members of the board - including its illustrious president - seem to be unwilling/unable to get involved in any fundraising efforts, preferring to rely on city funds for support. There is at least one board member who is not a paid member of Main Street. Without a board that is fully committed to the effort, Main Street is not going to prosper.

[Mouse]

Screw Main Street. They never really accomplished much, at least not in a cost effective way. Mainly all they did was lie about how many people attended their lame events.

[WT Reader]

NEWS-SUN
November 18, 2009

By DAN MORAN <!-- e --><a href="mailtoMORAN@SCN1.COM">DMORAN@SCN1.COM</a><!-- e -->
WAUKEGAN -- Former Waukegan Main Street executive director Susan Miller said Tuesday that she resigned this month "because the organization had run out of money."

"I had to lay myself off," Miller said. "There was no money left in the account. It was really that simple."

Miller, who took the job in September following the July departure of Maureen McGrain, added that "we were in crisis mode since I got there, (and) there was no long-term plan to make money."

On Monday night, James Donovan, president of the Main Street Board of Directors, told the City Council that Miller had decided to leave on Nov. 2, but didn't offer details beyond that.

Responding to Miller's assessment on Tuesday, Donovan acknowledged that Main Street had a cash-flow problem after the city delayed an annual grant payment of $40,000 during the budget crisis. But he added that he and another board member had pledged to cover operating expenses, including Miller's paychecks, until the funds came through.

"Did she have to lay herself off? I can answer that with one syllable: No," Donovan said. "The city's grant was later than usual (because of) its financial situation. We usually receive the first installment in the late spring or early summer, and this year, by October, we hadn't received it yet."

Donovan added that an installment of $20,000 was received last week, and he noted that the city's total contribution generally represents between a third and a quarter of the nonprofit organization's operating budget.

Eighth Ward Ald. Rick Larsen, who represents the city on the Main Street board, said the delay in funding was a direct result of budget scrutiny that went on all summer and into the fall.

"We had to do that so we could take care of other things financially, and we didn't want to fund anything that wasn't critical," Larsen said. "The city is intent on keeping Main Street alive, and the aldermen support that ... As we move forward, I hope we can continue to fund it. Everything is still in flux."

Miller said that as she was being interviewed for the job last summer, she was shown a 2008 annual report. "I wasn't aware of where we were financially" for 2009, she said.

Upon taking the job and finding out that operating funds were being depleted, Miller said, "I was upset. I said, 'Why did you hire me?' ... They talked about the grant from the city, but for them to hope that money is going to come in isn't realistic."

Donovan said that city officials kept Main Street informed about the situation. "We knew it was going to be late, but we knew it was coming, so it was a cash-flow issue, not a solvency issue."

By the end of October, Miller said, she felt something had to be done.

"I told them if there was some kind of plan to stabilize the organization financially, I'd be happy to come back," said Miller, adding that about two weeks before she resigned, "I also offered them two options -- I'd be willing to take a furlough (or) work part time ... Nobody wanted to discuss it with me."

As Main Street launches another search for a new executive director, Donovan was asked to assess the organization's financial status in light of the recession and its effects on Waukegan.

"In terms of giving and participation by individuals, I would say it's as good as normal," said Donovan, adding that the group's two major fund-raisers -- Mardi Gras in the winter and the Mayor's Lunch in the spring -- did "as well or better than any other year" in 2009.

But Donovan also said that "it's the business donations that are down. The recession has affected their bottom lines ... So we are pulling in our belts. Are we in a crisis? I'm calm about it."

Now undergoing a job search of her own, Miller said she wished the organization had been more up-front with the community about its funding shortfalls as the summer went on.

"What's wrong with saying, 'Our organization is running out of money, and we need support from the community?'" she said. "I don't think it was handled very professionally."

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[WT Reader]

This does not seem to be a good turn of events for downtown Waukegan. Is there ever a good turn of events for downtown, though?

[Mouse]

(quote) "Miller, who took the job in September following the July departure of Maureen McGrain, added that "we were in crisis mode since I got there, (and) there was no long-term plan to make money."

Maybe Ms. Miller should have made a plan to "make money". Isn't that what she was hired to do in part.

(quote) "Upon taking the job and finding out that operating funds were being depleted, Miller said, "I was upset. I said, Why did you hire me?"

She clearly does not get it.

[verenablock]

(quote) Maybe Ms. Miller should have made a plan to "make money". Isn't that what she was hired to do in part.

Actually, no. Fundraising is the purview of the board of directors, and the organization committee is tasked with getting memberships. These two things should make up two-thirds of the yearly operating expenses, with the city paying the last third. This is how Illinois Main Street expects each Main Street organization in Illinois to be funded.

The only way Waukegan Main Street is going to get an Executive Director to stay more than a few months is to hire one of their own, or hire someone really meek. Their haphazard way of doing things is not going to appeal to any professional people.

[WT Reader]

Sounds to me like the Main Street program just is not working for downtown Waukegan. What are the benefits of it anyway, since it is going no where
fast? It seems like we are now at three strikes...three directors, all quit.

How much longer is the Main Street organization going to keep Waukegan in their program at this rate? Does anyone really care anyway ?