Come the end of February, Dan Hayes will retire from being Waterloo’s city attorney, a role he’s held for over 14 years. 

Throughout his time with Waterloo, Hayes has handled countless union negotiations, ensured hundreds of meetings ran smoothly, made sure the municipality has followed all laws and more. 

Hayes has also represented the Village of Sauget, Village of Shiloh, Mascoutah School District and other large clients, with his practice being headquartered in nearby Belleville. 

He said among his various clients, Waterloo has set itself apart in many ways. 

“People are very volunteer-minded and very interested in what’s going on. (They’re) concerned about people who maybe are having hard times. Everyone is very polite, congenial, and very rarely have I seen ill words between people in Waterloo. I won’t say that other communities don’t have a lot of that too, but Waterloo is a very special community,” Hayes said. 

Hayes said Waterloo’s public servants are extremely dedicated to their duties, further making the city unique. 

“The mayor takes his job very seriously. It’s supposed to be a part-time job but he works full-time and the aldermen work very hard to do a good job,” Hayes said. 

With over a decade of working with the City of Waterloo, Hayes has seen it blossom over the years. 

“Downtown is pretty lively now – it’s a place to be. I think when I started it wouldn’t be that difficult to find a parking space on a Friday or Saturday night downtown, but that’s changed. That’s become very popular,” Hayes said. 

He credits the city-sponsored Façade Grant Program for helping keep up Waterloo’s impressive landscape. 

“They give grants to businesses to fix up the front of their buildings, their façade,” Hayes explained. “That’s a great idea and it’s been very successful.” 

Hayes’ last city meeting will be at the end of February. Waterloo Mayor Tom Smith said he will be choosing an attorney to take Hayes’ place and it will be brought before the city council for a vote. 

By this time, Hayes will be almost completely finished with his legal practice. Over the years, Hayes has gradually been narrowing down the scope of his practice as he nears retirement. 

“I’ve been able to narrow it down as I’ve gotten closer and closer to retirement. That’s one advantage of being an attorney, you can kind of limit your own work as you near the end of your career,” he said, explaining his work has kept him busy over the years. “I didn’t take many long vacations, put it that way.” 

Smith said he will not be the only one sad to see Hayes retire.

“The police department, all the aldermen and staff and (all Hayes worked with) here has enjoyed working with him for the last 14-plus years, so we hate to see him leave,” Smith said. 

As Hayes said, he too will miss those he’s grown to know in Waterloo. 

“I do want to say for the record that I’ve really enjoyed representing Waterloo. It is a really wonderful municipality. People are very lucky,” Hayes said.