War of the raises begins in Kane County

Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti fired the first salvo Wednesday in what might become a war of the raises when he stated his frustration over raises handed out in other departments while his employees get nothing.

Barsanti appeared before the county board's Judicial and Public Safety Committee to present an early look at his 2010 budget. Barsanti had remained neutral during the county board's battles with Sheriff Pat Perez and Circuit Court Clerk Deborah Seyller, who report to the same committee.

Barsanti bemoaned his inability to give raises to his employees while sheriff's officers are set to receive 4 percent raises and circuit court clerk workers will receive raises of up to 7 percent.

"I don't know how you explain that to employees in other offices who are biting the bullet," Barsanti said. "My people have zero, nothing. From my perspective, it's not fair."

Barsanti said his employees did not receive raises this year, and he's prepared them for not receiving raises next year either.

"Most of them, what they said is, they're happy to have a job right now," Barsanti said. "The legal business is hurting."

The primary difference between the three offices is Barsanti deals with mostly nonunion workers. Cutting raises in the sheriff's and circuit court clerk's offices would require bargaining and union concessions.

While not providing dollar figures, Barsanti said he will seek a "significant increase" in his 2010 budget for staffing and infrastructure improvements. Specifically, he'd like to provide office space for employees in the Child Advocacy Center. However, if budget belts are tightened another notch, Barsanti said those are improvements he could do without.

Committee members praised Barsanti for being a "team player" compared to some other department heads who haven't followed the county board's mandate to trim budgets. Committee Chairman Mike Kenyon said neither he nor the public are buying any excuses about not being able to make cuts.

"When somebody says (they can't make cuts) you either think we're the dumbest public, or they're not a manager," Kenyon said.

Seyller and Coroner Chuck West were also scheduled to present their 2010 budget drafts, but did not attend the meeting. Committee members said they were informed ahead of time Seyller had not completed her budget work sheet because she is away attending conferences.