Hiring process for next park district executive director coming under heavy criticism

HARRISBURG - The president of the Harrisburg Township Park District board says as things stand now, he will refuse to confirm the son of the current park district executive director as the new executive director when the park board meets later this month.

Board President Richard Rumsey said that the current executive director, Ron Emery, did not publicize the upcoming job opening other than to post notice inside the park offices.

"I'm not in favor of the way this went down," Rumsey said. "It was wrong, and I won't stand for anything like that."

"I have one vote on a three-man board," he said. "Unless something changes, I will not vote for Mr. Emery's son as our next park director."

At first, the only applicant for the job was Blake Emery, son of Ron Emery. The position pays up to $55,700.

However, when another individual heard of the opening, he said he was told the job had been filled. Later, he was able to submit an application.

But by that time, Blake Emery had apparently already announced he was leaving his current job to rake over running the park district.

Ron Emery's last day on the job is Dec. 31. He did not return phone calls for this story.

The park district is not required to publicize job openings, although many park districts do, according to an attorney with the Illinois Association of Park Districts.

Jason Anselment, legal and legislative counsel for IAPD, said while state laws govern certain public disclosures by publicly funded park boards, job postings are not one of them.

"It's up to the board to determine how job vacancies are filled," Anselment said. "Their meetings, of course, are subject to the Open Meetings Act, but they are not required to post job vacancies publicly."

Still, Rumsey believes the park district should have been transparent.

"The job opening should have been made public and the other candidate did not get a fair interview," Rumsey said. "I looked over his resume, and in my opinion, he's tremendously more qualified to do the job. He ran the YMCA in Mount Vernon for eight years."

This newspaper knows the identity of the second candidate, but is not publishing his name because he is currently employed elsewhere.

The park board has not voted to confirm a new executive director. However, the Harrisburg Register/Eldorado Journal received a copy of an email that Blake Emery, a civil engineer working for BFW Engineering and Testing in Marion, sent to unspecified recipients on Nov. 30. In the email, Blake Emery announces he is leaving his current job to run the park district.

"I am getting out of the engineering field and taking a position as executive director of the Harrisburg Park District," the email states.

Blake Emery did not immediately respond to calls left for him Monday afternoon.

Harrisburg Mayor John McPeek also is criticizing the park district's hiring practices. In a social media post last week McPeek said he doesn't think the park board, consisting of Rumsey, Mike Williams and Doug Emery, an uncle to Blake Emery, can make an impartial decision. On Monday, Williams declined to comment and a message to Doug Emery did not get a response.

McPeek said as a taxpayer, he wants to see the hiring process done more transparently.

"This is not personal against Ron or his son, but there is a right way to do things," McPeek said. "If Blake is the best candidate, then a fair process will show that."

He also urged others to contact the board and ask that the hiring process be changed.

"This is about their responsibility to the taxpayers who fund the park. We at least deserve that. This entity serves all the people," McPeek said in his statement.

"Our tax dollars do not serve the family who seems to want to treat the Harrisburg Park as a private family business. Help me convince the board to correct this situation."

The park district is entirely independent of the city, but complaints about the park frequently are directed to the city because some people don't realize the two are separate.

The next park board meeting is scheduled for 8 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19. Rumsey said he hopes attendance is high.

"At this point, I don't know if there's any recourse except public outcry," Rumsey said. "It's the taxpayers' money, and it should be spent in a prudent manner. It doesn't add up to my feelings of fairness."

Any citizen wishing to be placed on the agenda must notify the park office a minimum of 24 hours prior to the meeting. That means the park office would need to be notified prior to 8 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 18 - which realistically means by 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 17.