Hoffman Estates village clerk retiring after 17 years, successor takes over Saturday

Hoffman Estates Village Clerk Bev Romanoff will step down this week after 17 years of service, with her appointed successor Patty Richter scheduled to take the reins on Saturday.

“I came in here not knowing anything, and I leave it hopefully better than I found it,” Romanoff said.

Though her current term ends next April, Romanoff said she’s already eager to spend more time with her 16-month-old grandson.

Faced with the task of finding a replacement — and one likely to be interested in running for the office next spring — Mayor Bill McLeod said he’s confident he found the right person in Richter.

“I’ve known her for a while,” he said. “She’s very efficient, very detail-oriented.”

And Richter also is familiar with the Enterprise Resource Planning software the village is incorporating into its operations. She is a business analyst with Links Technology Solutions, Inc. in Schaumburg.

Romanoff said her successor likely will find the responsibilities of a municipality different from those of the private companies with which she’s worked, but she’s been showing her the similarities and differences for the past week.

“I told her I had nobody training me,” Romanoff said.

McLeod said Romanoff found herself in charge of a department in great need of organization back in 2007 and handled it well.

“We appreciate all that Bev has done,” he added.

Though its duties are described on the village’s website, Romanoff said she’s fairly certain few residents understand all the responsibilities of the clerk’s office.

They include: record keeping; transcribing board minutes; acting as deputy registrar for the Cook County clerk; filing all official documents with the county; publication of bid notices and presiding over bid openings; publication of all ordinances passed by the village board; licensing all businesses, including contractors and home occupations; providing new residents with “welcome” packets; receiving freedom of information requests; processing passport applications; and research.

Though a usually elected member of the village board, the clerk doesn’t vote like the other seven board members.

Richter said when she learned that Romanoff was stepping down, she thought it would be a job she’d be interested in.

Her nomination by McLeod was unanimously approved by the six trustees last week with an effective date of June 29.