Davenport will soon have a new city administrator.
Doug Maxeiner, who served as East Moline city administrator until last year, is expected to start his new position in Davenport on Monday, Oct. 28.
The Davenport City Council is scheduled to vote at its meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 25, to formally approve Mr. Maxeiner’s three-year employment contract with the city. His salary is expected to be $220,000 a year, plus he will be paid $500 a month for a car allowance.
“We are excited to welcome Doug Maxeiner to City Hall,” said Davenport Mayor Mike Matson in a news release late Tuesday, Sept. 17. “We are confident in his vision for the future of Davenport and look forward to working with him to build on the city’s positive momentum.”
Mr. Maxeiner was chosen by the Davenport City Council after conducting a nationwide search with the help of executive search firm Colin Baenziger & Associates. A special committee including four council members and seven Davenport residents narrowed down the candidate pool to five finalists, who participated in the formal interview process.
The City of Davenport hosted a public reception for the community to meet the finalists on Monday, Sept. 9, in the Grand Lobby of the Figge Art Museum in downtown Davenport.
With 32 years of experience in local government management, Mr. Maxeiner most recently served as city administrator in East Moline from 2019 to 2023. Additional experience includes serving as city administrator in Moline from 2017 to 2019. He also worked at the city/village administrator level in Wauconda, Hampshire, McHenry, and Marengo, Illinois.
Mr. Maxeiner earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Eastern Illinois University. He also holds a master’s degree in public administration from Northern Illinois University. His professional affiliations include membership in the International City Management Association (ICMA) and the Illinois City/County Management Association.
“I’m honored to be selected for the city administrator position in Davenport and to join the exemplary staff of the city to serve the residents of this community,” Mr. Maxeiner said in the release. “While we have many challenges to address, there are even more opportunities to pursue. I am eager to work with Mayor Matson, the city council, staff and the community to make Davenport the best it can be.”
The City of Davenport has been without a permanent administrator since last year when then City Administrator Corri Spiegel left the position. In November, the city announced it would pay Ms. Spiegel $1.6 million for lost wages and “emotional pain and suffering.”
“Due to these prolonged and documented instances of harassment by some elected officials directed at City Administrator Spiegel over the past eight years, and on the advice of in-house and independent counsel, we agreed to compensate Ms. Spiegel for these behaviors. The amount of compensation is small when compared to what a lengthy lawsuit and an ultimate finding of wrongdoing would have cost the taxpayers,” according to a statement from the council last November.
The release added that: “Unfortunately, the damage and pain have to be experienced prior to the problem being removed if an elected official does not stop their behavior voluntarily. Protection of our employees from wrongful, unwanted, harmful behavior is a paramount obligation. Until elected officials can refrain from these behaviors or until we can provide this protection in an effective and timely manner, we will continue to lose great employees.”
“We regret the events that have transpired to bring us to this place. We are closing this chapter with the hopes of never writing another of a similar nature,” according to the news release.
Mallory Merritt was named interim administrator soon after that. Ms. Merritt, who served the City of Davenport for 11 years acting in various roles within the organization, announced her resignation from the post this summer.
Nicole Gleason, the city’s public works director, was named “acting city administrator” in August.
