A County Board committee is recommending 3-percent annual pay increases for county officeholders who will be elected this fall. But there had been some discussion about a higher amount. Bill Pickett explains….
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Circuit Clerk Melissa Quick had suggested 3-percent increases for the first two years of their terms and 5-percent the other two years.
County Board member Jim McMahon reacted to Quick’s proposal…
Audio Player{Audio: “It sounds good what you’re saying. It sounds really good. But we can’t control what money we have two years from now. So if we say it’s 3, 4 or 5…we could be in a whole situation without Quaker Oats. And what is that impact going to be on our county? How much money are we losing from Quaker Oats? It needs to be something we look at way in advance. We have to look in a complete circle to know what the income is going to be for the county to know what money we can give out for the county.’’}
Supervisor of Assessments Matt Long had another suggestion….
Audio Player{Audio: “Three-percent was great as long as inflation was staying at about three-percent, but I don’t think it is anymore. Is there a chance to hook those pay increases maybe to the Consumer Price Index, or a running trend to the Consumer Price Index?}
The Finance and Personnel Committee of the County Board voted to recommend the full board approve 3-percent annual increases. It would raise the salary for the Circuit Clerk, Recorder, Coroner and Auditor from $79-thousand, 583-dollars to $86-thousand, 970-dollars for the next fiscal year. By the final year of their terms the salary would be $89-thousand-500-dollars, if approved by the County Board.
The Vermilion County Coroner, Recorder, Auditor, and Circuit Clerk also receive a $6-thousand, 500-dollar annual stipend from the State of Illinois.
Salaries for the other county officeholders will be up for review in 2026.
