Village of Huntley welcomes back David Johnson as village manager

HUNTLEY – Having served as Huntley’s village manager for the past 12 years, David “Dave” Johnson’s resignation was officially accepted by the Board of Trustees at the April 9, 2020 Village meeting. Johnson’s reason for leaving was due to having accepted a position at Aurora University as its chief operating officer, which he was slated to start on April 14, 2020.

Johnson wrote a short speech that he read out loud to the Board before his departure.

“I am grateful for being part of so many projects in this Village. I won’t even try to name them. Some were much more prominent than others, but all I know is the ones that were most satisfying to me were the ones that built homes for people to live in. Now, I watch children playing in yards and neighbors talking with one another, and I think back to when these areas were farm fields…Being part of building a community that people call home is no job at all. It is incredibly satisfying,” Johnson said, detailing moments during his time as village manager.

As a result of Johnson’s resignation, Lisa Armour who served as Huntley’s assistant village manager, was tasked with taking on the role of interim village manager until recently.

At the Village of Huntley’s Jan 14 Board meeting, Mayor Chuck Sass announced that Johnson would be returning to his role of village manager beginning Jan 15 upon approval from the Board of Trustees.

Before taking votes to re-appoint Johnson as village manager, Trustee JR Westberg commented, “I just want to reiterate and say thank you, Lisa for filling in during that time frame. You did an outstanding job.”

The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to accept Johnson as the Village of Huntley’s new village manager, changing Armour’s position to deputy village manager.

In appreciation of Armour’s service as interim village manager, Sass presented Armour with a certificate on behalf of himself and the Village Board of Trustees.

“In grateful appreciation of your commitment to providing exceptional service to the Huntley community during your time as interim village manager…Your willingness to serve as village manager during these times shows your dedication for Huntley. We thank you for your tireless work and dedication,” Sass said, reading off what was written on the certificate.

Following Armour’s acceptance of her certificate, Johnson added, “If anybody probably knows this, but Lisa and I worked together for almost 17 years. Going back to 2004, [I] had the opportunity to see what I’ve known for a long time, that she’s a tirelessly dedicated professional and now you all know who the brains behind the operation [was] all along.”

Johnson’s annual starting salary will be $197,500, which upon appropriate reviews, will be increased annually. The Village will also provide Johnson with an automobile allowance in the amount of $500 per month or the option for unlimited business and personal use of a Village-owned automobile within the State of Illinois, according to the meeting packet provided.

Sass noted that the only difference between Johnson’s old contract with the Village of Huntley, was that instead of receiving nine months of severance pay, that amount was lowered to six months.