Hoffman Estates appoints new village manager from River Forest
Hoffman Estates village board members Monday unanimously appointed River Forest Village Administrator Eric Palm to be their own new village manager beginning on Feb. 15.
He succeeds Jim Norris, who retired in mid-August after becoming Hoffman Estates' longest-serving village manager at 22 years.
"I'm very excited, I'm honored and I'm humbled by this appointment this evening," Palm said. "My background is originally I'm a radio and television major in undergrad, and then I worked my way into municipal government."
After spending some time at the city of Des Plaines, the Mount Prospect resident became the first village administrator of Hampshire before serving in that same role in River Forest for the past decade.
"Congratulations to Eric J. Palm," Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod said after the board's votes on his hiring and employment agreement. "We look forward to working with you."
Palm will start the job with an annual base salary of $225,000, a $500 monthly automobile allowance and four weeks of vacation each year.
Norris retired with an annual salary of $235,235, a $600 monthly automobile allowance and six weeks of vacation.
Patrick Seger, the village's director of human resources management, said the details of such employment agreements are largely market-driven within that professional field.
While the search for a new village manager has continued since Norris' retirement, Hoffman Estates Finance Director Rachel Musiala has also been serving as acting village manager.