Julia Carroll was busy at work on her first day as city manager Tuesday, introducing herself to new co-workers and attending her first public meeting.
“I’m just trying to get through it all,” she said. “There’s a lot to learn, but I feel up to the challenge.”
In her half-decorated office with a few family photographs on her desk, Carroll, who is originally from Wichita, Kan., was excited to be starting. She replaces former city manager Roger Crum, who retired in June.
Carroll already has several goals in mind, such as meeting community members and city employees. Before her job officially started, she was already chatting with Evanston residents at the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center Sunday.
“Working at the local level has the most influence on the people,” she said. “I want to work in a field where I can make a difference. You don’t just work from 9 to 5. You live it 24/7.”
Carroll said she wants to help Evanston develop a long-term plan for development and finances. To her, building goals is an important part of managing a city.
“There’s no strategic long-term plan right now, and a city needs that,” she said.
She also wants to help the city implement more performance evaluations so residents can measure the city’s progress on a regular basis. She said these evaluations can help Evanston compare itself to other communities on the North Shore.
Improving the city’s relations with Northwestern is another top priority for Carroll, who said she plans to start by getting to know university officials and students.
Carroll comes to Evanston with 14 years of public service experience in Naperville, a western suburb of Chicago. From 2002 to 2004 she was Naperville’s assistant city manager. Now she is the first woman to hold the position of city manager in Evanston.
“She’ll bring a fresh perspective,” Evanston Mayor Lorraine H. Morton said. “Women have a tendency to look at all the details.”
But Carroll isn’t focused on being the first female city manager. She said her gender has no influence on her performance, but her experience in working with the public and city budgets does.
Carroll worked closely on Naperville’s $300 million budget. She helped set up a new financial reporting system and focused on making the city government more efficient.
“Her overview on how the city works makes her a fantastic city manager,” said Gary Karafiat, Naperville’s community relations manager who worked with Carroll for nine years. “She was always making sure revenue was available.”
Carroll’s experience will help Evanston deal with a $3 million projected deficit, said Ald. Edmund Moran (6th), who helped select the new city manager.
“We needed someone with skills within the government and outside,” he said. “It adds to perspective, not just for our purposes but throughout the public sector about their needs.”
For now, Carroll is just trying to learn more about her new community and to involve herself in it. She plans to buy a home soon with her husband, Jim Carroll, with whom she has two grown children.
“I want people to learn about who I am and that I’m here,” Carroll said.
Reach Stephanie Chen at [email protected].
