McHenry Times

Illinois Policy Institute thinks it’s a strange time for McHenry County administrators to be considering giving themselves a raise.

“The McHenry County Illinois board appears to think it is an appropriate time to award itself a pay raise,” the think tank posted on Twitter. “Illinois’ unemployment rate hasn’t budged since March and is the 8th highest in the U.S.”

The county board is responsible for establishing pay scales every decade as part of the redrawing of county board districts following the completion of the U.S. Census.

With the number of members set to be reduced from 24 to 18 beginning in November 2022, county board members presently receive $21,000 a year and other benefits.

County Chief Financial Officer Kevin Bueso argues the $21,000 salary put in place nearly a decade ago is now actually worth about $2,000 less than it was when it was established, based on inflation.

"You can look at it two ways: The equivalent value of $21,000 then would be approximately $23,000 now, or $21,000 then only buys you $19,000 now," he said.

While some members insist salaries should remain what they are to save money for the county, others argue the reduction in board members will have the same effect.

"We haven't had a raise for some time, but we're moving to fewer county board members," Democrat Paula Yensen told the Daily Herald. "What are the committees going to be like and what is that workload going to be? And since there's going to be fewer people on the county board, to me, hypothetically, that means more work for many of us based on the committee assignments."

On the flip side, Republican member Pamela Althoff said she worries about what kind of message lawmakers would be sending to constituents if they gave themselves a raise now given the struggle many area residents are facing.

"It probably would be a message to our constituents if we keep our salaries flat that we are taking into consideration their personal experiences and possibly where they are with their employment situations," she said.

Presently, the board spends $504,000 on salaries for 24 board members. With the reduction in board members, those remaining could be paid up to $28,000 annually with the overall price-tag remaining in place.  

With the new fiscal year slated to commence on Dec. 1, the board has until the end of November to finalize a decision.