Will County Gazette

The Tinley Park village council approved the appointments of six village staff members during a municipal reorganization session.

During the May 2 Tinley Park village board meeting, officials celebrated the appointments and promotions of six village employees. 

The first appointment was to approve Pamela Ardagh from the position of administrative support for the police department to the police chief’s administrative assistant. Ardah has worked for the police department since 2013, and has provided expertise on payroll, records, and scheduling for command staff since 2021. 

"She does everything for the entire command staff and all roads lead to Pam," Police Chief Matt Walsh said at the meeting. "We rely on her heavily as well as she still assists all the clerks with the payroll and everything else that goes on at the front desk. She handles all the confidential information for any internal affairs. I appreciate everyone's effort in getting this done."

The board also approved the appointment of Michelle Boone to the position of office coordinator. Boone has worked for the village since 2012, switching to manage the fire department in 2021. With operational needs in the village growing, board members heard that her expertise is needed in the office coordinator position. 

After fire chief Stephen Klotz praised Boone, Mayor Michael Glotz joked, “So basically you and chief Walsh can't do your jobs without Pam or Michelle.” 

William Gomolka was approved for the position of public works administrative manager, having served as the office coordinator for public works since 2018. Walter Smart was promoted to zoning administrator. Smart joined the zoning department part time in 2016. Due to the expansion of the department’s service to residents and his strong abilities with customer service, the village is eager to have him in a full-time position. Jose Garcia was promoted to community service officer - field operations. Garcia joined the police department part time in October 2022 and has prior experience as a CSO. Finally, Jill Hodge was appointed to administrative assistant, expanding her part-time roll with the fire department to full time in June when another employee is expected to retire.

The board also voted to table both the approval of the fiscal year 2024 staff appointments and the appointment of Michael Mueller as mayor pro tem for the fiscal year until its May 16 board meeting. The board also recently saw a change in trustees as Diane Galante lost her seat to Kenneth Shaw during the election. Staff appointments that will be approved include: Patrick Carr, village manager; Hannah Lipman, assistant village manager; Donna Framke, marketing director; Daniel Ritter, community development director; Matthew Walsh, police chief; Stephen Klotz, fire services administrator; John Urbanski, public works director; Angela Arrigo, human resources director; Lisa Kortum, emergency management & communications director; and Peterson, Johnson & Murray Chicago, LLC, as village attorneys.