Mike Palazzolo will retire from his position as Germantown mayor in December, but with about seven weeks left, the only things remaining in his City Hall office are an almost empty box of tissues, city business cards and a few office supplies. 

The memorabilia that once adorned the shelves has been removed, and soon he will accompany those remembrances; his presence will no longer occupy the space where he worked the past 12 years. He’s still getting texts — some people thanking him, others expressing code compliance concerns plus some invitations to community events.

Before his dozen years as mayor, he served a decade as alderman following about eight years on various citizen-led commissions. He applied for commissions after graduating from the inaugural Leadership Germantown class in 1996. 

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