In Evanston, a city where the infrastructure is complex and the media are attentive, public relations has long been a second thought, an issue some city departments handled and some didn’t.

“(A public relations officer) has been on our wish list for the last five years,” said City Manager Roger Crum.

Budget constraints have prevented the city from fulfilling its wish, Crum said.

Until now.

Five days ago, Evanston hired Donna Stuckert, the city’s first-ever community information coordinator. The city has carved about a $100,000 chunk out of the always-tight budget for Stuckert, Crum said.

Stuckert will hold news conferences, talk to media, and help city residents better understand government actions and use city programs, Crum said.

Crum said Stuckert is “enthusiastic and has some experience at the local level.”

“And she has the ability to move in and learn from the start,” Crum said.

Stuckert, who moved to Evanston two days before starting her new job last week, said she’s in an “information-gathering stage.” She toured the police department Thursday, attended her first Evanston City Council meeting Monday night and is trying to meet as many people as she can.

Boxes and bare white walls surround the 33-year-old’s desk, which is located on the fourth floor of the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.

“I’m starting from ground zero,” she said. “I’m finding out how departments communicate and how we can improve.”

Stuckert was born in Highland, Ind., which lies just across the Indiana-Illinois border. She received an undergraduate degree in public relations from Purdue University-Calumet and received a master’s at Ball State University.

After college, she spent one year as a newspaper reporter in her hometown and three years doing community relations at the Lake Villa (Ill.) District Library.

She spent the past five years at Chicago-based Emergency 24, which began as a nationwide alarm-monitoring business and expanded to include Internet and telecommunications companies.

Stuckert said the position at Emergency 24 introduced her to the Internet “in a big way” but limited her interaction to talking to trade magazines and Webmasters.

“I felt unfulfilled (at Emergency 24),” she said. “I want more interaction with the public. That’s what got me into public relations. That’s exciting to me.”

Evanston, which Stuckert said she had visited only three times before last week, also is exciting to Stuckert.

“This is the first big city I’ve lived in,” she said. “There’s never a dull moment here.”

Ald. Gene Feldman (9th) said a public relations officer is something “most cities have” and need.

“We need to articulate the values of the city,” he said. “It should be done in a clear, professional and prompt manner.”

Crum said he hopes Stuckert will recognize where improvements need to be made in public and internal communications.

Crum said the city put an advertisement in the newspaper last summer, reviewed 30 resum