The president of the board of trustees of the village shall be and constitute the president of the board of local improvements and have all the powers and duties which the statute of the state of Illinois relating to local improvements confers upon the engineer, but the president and the board of local improvements shall have authority to employ an engineer to assist the president of the board of trustees in his or her said duties and to obligate the village for the payment of his or her fees and for services rendered in that behalf. The regular qualified and acting clerk of the board of trustees of the village shall be and constitute during his or her term of office the ex officio clerk of the board of local improvements of the village. (2005 Code)