Kane County to hire temporary budgeting help

The loss of Kane County’s finance director will mean raises for the remaining two finance department employees and the hiring of an auditing firm so officials can still piece together a budget for next year.

Joliet-based Wermer, Rogers, Doran & Ruzon, LLC will provide budget projections and financial advice to the county board during the budget process. The firm was selected because it is already familiar with the county’s books and computer system having recently completed an outside financial audit for the county.

But county board members will lean heavily on the institutional experience of the two Finance Department employees remaining after Cheryl Pattelli’s resignation to piece together the meat of the budget. Pattelli recently quit the county to take a job in Colorado. For the extra work, county board members want to compensate the two Finance Department employees an extra $800 per month through the end of the fiscal year.

Members of the county board’s Finance and Budget Committee also informally decided to move ahead with the quest to find a permanent replacement for Pattelli. That process will involve the selection of a headhunting firm. Board Member Cathy Hurlbut said she’s uncomfortable with beginning the search at this time.

“Headhunter services are expensive,” she said. “And not knowing who the new chairman will be, you may be spending money for no reason.”

Indeed, county board members recently decided to hold off on finding a permanent replacement for Paul Kuehnert, the former executive director of the county’s health department, until the new chairman and county board take over.

Committee members agreed the search for Pattelli’s replacement will take several months just to line up potential candidates. They want that search to progress far enough that the new county board chairman, and county board, can pick a new finance director from a ready list of candidates shortly after the November election.

The county is also in the market for temporary coroner and a new Animal Control director.