Forest View has new village administrator

By Carol McGowan

There’s a new face at the Village Hall in Forest View, as Michael Dropka has recently been named the village administrator.

While he may be a new face there, he is no stranger to working in local government, or to the area.

“Forest View appealed to me because it’s an area that I have been familiar with all my life,” he said. “After researching the village and what it has to offer its residents and businesses, I knew it was a village that I wanted to work for.”

Dropka is a lifelong resident of North Riverside, and a homeowner for 10 years. He has a B.A. Degree in Political Science from North Central College, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

He has been employed for 15 years in various roles with state government. Those roles included being responsible for monitoring local government financials, community development, public policy and outreach, as well as public relations. He also recently worked with the Village of Summit for three years.

Dropka has also served as an elected member of the Komarek School District 94 School Board in North Riverside, and has served on several community, ethnic and political boards.

For those not familiar with what a village administrator does, it’s a position that is the primary liaison to the village board and is responsible for implementing the policies set forth by the board. He manages the day-to-day responsibilities for the village and is the chief administrative officer.

Dropka is only Forest View’s third village administrator and is honored to be working for the community.

“After a few years of being employed by the State of Illinois after graduating college, I questioned what I really wanted to do. I found that being a village administrator is something that I wanted to do. I then enrolled back into school to get the advanced degree needed to pursue my dream.”

When asked of any challenges he’s been faced with so far, “One was to address and set the budget. When I started at the end of June, the village was two months into a fiscal year without a budget. It was imperative to get to know everyone quickly, develop trust and good relationships with them, and to find out the needs of the village so I could work with everyone to put together a budget for the year. It was quite a hectic first month, but I am proud of everyone pulling together as now we can focus on projects to accomplish for the rest of the year.”

On a personal note, Dropka is very involved in promoting his Polish and Czechoslovakian heritage, and belongs to several community and ethnic organizations as well as the Shriners International fraternity.

He is married to wife Christiana, and has a 2-year-old daughter, Kamila.

“I’m also a polka aficionado and have quite a collection of polka records that I picked up at estate sales. It’s a hobby I started from working with Judy Baar Topinka for a number of years.”

Dropka encourages residents to drop by the Forest View Village Hall any time to say hello, or call with any questions or services that they may need, or issues that need to be addressed.

“We are never too busy for our residents and would love to see and meet all of them!”