River Forest Township has its first-ever administrator, and she already works there.

Supervisor Vanessa Druckman announced at the Sept. 8 township board meeting that she hired Assessor Kathy Elliott to fill the newly created position, the Wednesday Journal reported. Elliott will hold both titles simultaneously, working part time in each role out of the township offices on the second floor of the River Forest Civic Center at 8020 Madison St.

The dual appointment replaces two vacant staff positions. The township previously employed a mental health administrator and a senior services coordinator, but both left and were not replaced. Elliott is now the township's only direct employee.

She will earn $36 an hour in both roles. As administrator, she will work 15 to 20 hours a week. As assessor, she will log no more than 1,000 hours a year. She receives no benefits beyond 36 hours of paid personal leave annually.

"We are trying to be sure to be a very lean and efficient operation so having our assessor double as our administrator helps us do that," Druckman said at the Sept. 8 meeting.

Elliott, a Berwyn resident, has served as deputy assessor since 2018 and was appointed assessor in July after Pam Kende resigned following 21 years in the role. Because Elliott does not live in River Forest, she continues to serve as assessor on an independent contractor basis.

Druckman said Elliott's familiarity with the township was a major factor in the hire. As administrator, Elliott will supervise senior programming and handle tasks including writing the township newsletter.

The move also extends office coverage across the full work week. Druckman said in the township newsletter that she is in the offices on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Township Clerk Mark Hosty and Deputy Assessor Miranda Redfield each spend a few hours a week there as well.

Druckman, who took over as supervisor Sept. 1 after the resignation of John Becvar, had signaled the new role was coming. In an August interview with the Wednesday Journal, she described plans for a part-time administrator "to make sure that we really have someone on hand in the building to help us administer more direct services."

Elliott is not the only person in Cook County holding both titles. In Lemont Township, Mario Mollo has served as both assessor and administrator since 2024.