Shrewsbury has two new faces, as the city announced both a new alderman and a new finance director.
Jacob Riley was appointed to the board of aldermen by a unanimous vote during the regular board meeting on March 11. He will finish out the term of Presley Barker, who joined the board in 2023, but recently resigned.
Riley is running unopposed in Ward 2 in the upcoming April election, so his appointment is just a prelude to his formal election to the board.
“Presley Barker, for personal reasons, has resigned a bit early from his term,” Mayor Mike Travaglini said. “We asked Jacob to fulfill the term and start early, and he agreed.”
By day, Riley is an educator in the Parkway School district, Travaglini added.
Also announced at the meeting was the hiring of a new director of finance, Dustin Ziebold. The position has been open since previous director Henrietta Brown took another job in December 2024.
Ziebold has been working as finance director for the city of Collinsville, Illinois, and will start with Shrewsbury on April 7. His resume includes several years of service in city government.
“He comes to us with a vast amount of municipal experience,” Travaglini said of Ziebold. “We are excited about it.”
In his role as the director of finance, Ziebold will oversee city finances and responsible management of public funds. This includes annual audits and the creation of a city budget.
Emergency Generator Repairs
On March 11 aldermen approved an emergency expenditure of $9,445 to repair an emergency electrical generator located at the Shrewsbury City Center. The building houses government offices, municipal courts, recreational and meeting facilities, and the city’s computer servers.
The generator was recently discovered to be smoking due to a faulty turbocharger. When repair technicians examined the 15-year-old machine, they found other issues requiring immediate attention.
In the past, the city relied upon the generator for as long as two weeks during power outages, according to Parks and Recreation Director Chris Buck.
“I don’t think we can go on very long without it,” Buck said in requesting the emergency expenses, which were unanimously approved by the board.
A similar generator is located at the city’s emergency services building, and both power units likely will need to be replaced within the next three years, according to Fire Chief Chris Amenn.
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