Sugar Grove raises coming next summer
The Sugar Grove village president and board of trustees can look forward to a pay increase that will take effect May 1, 2009, after the April election.
At Tuesday's committee of the whole meeting, the board directed staff to prepare an ordinance that will give the village president a pay increase of $500, making the annual compensation $10,100. Trustees' pay will increase by 4.1 percent to $4,180 annually.
The discussion came after the board learned that the village is again expecting to lose revenue because of slow housing starts.
"It's unfortunate we're talking about both these issues the same night," said Village Administrator Brent Eichelberger. "But we have to pass the (pay) ordinance 180 days before the election."
The vote will come as early as the Sept. 2 village board meeting. The ordinance must be in effect by Oct. 1, because of a state law.
Trustee Kevin Geary said he was in favor of suspending pay increases for a year because of the current economic downturn, but Village President Sean Michels defended the increase.
"I spend about a fifth of my week on village business," Michels said. "It's time consuming. I'm not recommending the position be full time, but someday that may have to change."
The raises are in accordance with a code amendment the board approved in 2005 that sets annual increases each May 1. The code calls for a $500 increase for the village president and a percentage for the trustees that meets the tax cap percentage.
The board declined to make the pay increases even higher in order to equal the median of pay in ten other municipalities. The pay is below the median of 10 other municipalities in Kane County, according to a survey completed by Sugar Grove Village Clerk Cindy Welsh.
According to Welsh's survey, the median pay for the mayor or president of the 10 other communities, including Batavia, Geneva and Elburn, is $11,900 and the median for trustees or councilmen is $5,400.
The board also discussed belt-tightening measures after Finance Director Justin Vanvooren told the board that the staff was reducing the number of expected building permits during the current fiscal year of 2008-09 from 76 to 21. As each permit represents a net revenue of $2,429, the reduction of 55 permits represents $133,600 less income in the general fund.
The village has issued only two building permits during the first quarter of the 2008-09 fiscal year.
Vanvooren recommended deferred hiring of staff and asked department heads to make budget cuts, because of the loss.