GLEN CARBON – Glen Carbon will soon begin searching for a new village administrator as a longtime holder of the position prepares for retirement.
Current Village Administrator Jamie Bowden said at the July 28, 2026 Village Board meeting that he will retire no later than Feb. 12, 2027. Bowden leaves the position after nearly 15 years with the village, having started in October of 2011.
Following the board’s 4-0 approval of a $26,000 agreement with advisory firm MGT Impact Solutions LLC, the search for Bowden’s replacement will soon begin. Mark Peterson with MGT said he expects the process to take 14 weeks, aiming for a completion date in late November or early December.
Peterson detailed a multi-phase plan to trustees showing how MGT would lead efforts to search for and recruit quality candidates to fill the village administrator position. A “kickoff meeting” with village trustees and staff is set for Aug. 25, 2026 to determine what the village is looking for in its next administrator.
After hearing input from stakeholders, Peterson said MGT will prepare a “Candidate Profile” serving as a summary of qualities that would make up “the perfect village administrator.” This feedback will then be used to create the “position announcement,” a public-facing document posted in various advertising venues to promote the position to qualified candidates in the community.
After a 30-day application window, the next phase includes a “deep dive” vetting process to narrow down the field, eliminating candidates with concerning backgrounds and focusing on those who most closely match the village’s priorities. Information about the top candidates would then be presented at a virtual “candidate presentation” meeting, or the village may choose to meet with the top candidate in-person in Glen Carbon.
If the candidate search, application window, and vetting process each conclude on time, the village could then ratify an agreement with its final chosen candidate at its only December meeting on Dec. 8, 2026.
