Police Chief Role Could Go to Administrator Vana

Instead of finding a new police chief to replace the retiring Robert Pavelchik, the Darien City Council could change the rules to give City Administrator Bryon Vana the powers of police chief.

An ordinance up for council approval on Monday would amend Darien city code to allow Mayor Kathleen Weaver to “designate that the city administrator perform the duties of the chief of police.”

The amendment would give the city administrator the same authority over the Darien Police Department as retiring Police Chief Robert Pavelchik currently has. Pavelchik is retiring at the end of the month.

A memo dated May 12 regarding Vana’s reappointment as city administrator, also to be considered Monday, said that his duties will include those of police chief.

A memo related to the ordinance cites the “economy and increasing costs” as the driving force behind the move.

Vana’s new draft contract, also to be considered Monday, includes a salary of $154,547. In addition to Vana’s base salary, the city would pay 13 percent of his salary into a deferred compensation plan. The contract, a copy of which is available in the photo box for this story, would apply retroactively to May 1. Vana’s current salary was not immediately available.

The agenda for the upcoming meeting said the contract “reflects the terms discussed by the Council on May 9,” the same day as a special meeting that was closed to the public.

As of the end of April, Vana was one of the final three candidates considered for the role of Glen Ellyn’s village manager, according to a .

Vana, who lives in Glen Ellyn, has served as Darien’s city administrator since 2002. He was Bensenville’s village manager between 2000 and 2002, according to a resume on file with the city.

Between 1997 and 2000, Vana worked as Willowbrook’s assistant village administrator and director of public services. Before that, he spent four years as Winfield’s village manager. He started his career in Bensenville in 1985 as an ordinance officer with the village’s building and zoning department.

Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.