After being unanimously approved by the Board of Trustees, Austin Haacke was sworn in as La Grange Park’s new Finance Director/Treasurer.
“My first priority is just to learn what makes La Grange Park so great,” Haacke, 29, said in a telephone interview later. “It was evident from the people and the energy in the room that La Grange Park is a special community.”
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Haacke replaces the previous Finance Director and Treasurer, Larry Noller, who left the Village to be Finance Director of Glen Ellyn.
He was selected after a nationwide search, assisted by GovHR USA, an executive recruitment firm specializing in local government, and will begin his duties December 19. His starting salary will be $132,000 for the Finance Director’s position, in addition to $3,000 from Treasurer.
Haacke will also participate in the Illinois Municipal Retirement (IMRF) Fund and be eligible for full participation in the Village’s other benefit programs.
Haacke was born and raised in Dwight, Illinois, graduating from Dwight Township High School before earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Financial Accounting from Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal.
He is currently preparing to take the exam to become a Certified Public Accountant.
Haacke has seven years experience in local government finance, all of it with the Village of Dwight, where he served as Finance Director/Treasurer starting in 2015.
Haacke was instrumental in a variety of different initiatives in Dwight government, including serving as Treasurer of the Illinois Municipal Insurance Cooperative and Dwight’s representative to the IMRF.
At Dwight, he also served as the village’s budget director, managed the village’s human resources, and participated in labor negotiations with various bargaining units.
Moreover, he was instrumental in the oversight of two tax increment financing districts and the development of a future TIF District.
“It was pretty much a one-man show,” Haacke said, stressing that while his experience would be helpful, he didn’t expect to make any drastic changes in his new position. “I’m just here to complement things.”
The next La Grange Park Board meeting will be 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 10, in the Village Board Room, 447 N. Catherine Ave.
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.