Vernon Hills 'money man' retires after 31 years
The results are familiar, but the money man behind the scenes of many of Vernon Hills notable successes isn't as obvious.
Without question, the village board is the final stop for any decision. But often during the past 31 years, the board has relied on the input and advice of Larry Nakrin, the village's first and, so far, only finance director. And, now the unassuming Nakrin will close the ledger on a lengthy career.
“I've worked for tremendous bosses — we've always been encouraged to think long term,” he said. “I just appreciated the atmosphere here.”
The Long Island native had been an assistant comptroller in Springfield when he started in Vernon Hills on Dec. 3, 1984. He has worked with three mayors, 23 trustees, seven village clerks, three village managers and hundreds of employees, and he shepherded the village's financial system from paper to computers.
“The average resident probably won't know Larry as much, but he is such an important, integral part of our community,” said longtime village Trustee Cindy Hebda.
Trustee Jim Schultz added: “The only advice I got prior to joining the board was from my predecessor, Rick Duros, who said, ‘Pay attention to Larry as he is truly a remarkable asset to the village,' and I did just that.”
During Nakrin's tenure, the village budget of $3.45 million has grown to $28 million. Nakrin worked through several challenges during that time, including the Great Recession. He helped create an early retirement incentive program that allowed the village to make layoffs without reducing services. He has been instrumental in the village maintaining its top bond rating and compiling a cash reserve estimated at $20 million.
Through it all, the village has not had to institute a local property tax.
“There's always that criticism it's (the cash reserve) too much, but that's why we can do things,” he said.
Those “things” include a series of economic incentives that brought the Mariano's grocery store and the just-completed $50 million expansion of Westfield Hawthorn shopping center, for example. Nakrin also help guide the funding of a new village hall and construction of the Vernon Hills Athletic Complex, among other projects.
Schultz said Nakrin's expertise has allowed the village to save hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in borrowing costs.
Under Nakrin's guidance the past three years, the village has refinanced all its debt at an interest rate under 2 percent.
“I'm really proud of how proactive we are in our (police) pension funding and using conservative assumptions,” he said. The fund balance is $41 million and considered to be on solid ground.
Nakrin will be succeeded by Nikki Larson, assistant finance director, on Jan. 7.