Battle between Kane County Board, circuit court clerk ends... for now

Another legal feud between the Kane County Board and Circuit Court Clerk Deborah Seyller may be brewing, even as the first clash of lawyers ends.

The county board's Judicial and Public Safety Committee met with Seyller Thursday to review her latest attempt at crafting a 2010 budget that cuts as much as possible.

The meeting began with the announcement that State's Attorney John Barsanti rescinded the appointments of outside attorneys hired to represent the board and Seyller as they worked through differences regarding the 2009 budget.

"It is my understanding the Kane County Circuit Court Clerk will not be 'over budget' for the (fiscal year) 2009 budget, and therefore, the reason for your appointment is now moot," Barsanti's letter to the outside attorneys reads.

But after the committee read the letter, Seyller said Barsanti's understanding about her budget is false.

Seyller said she will be over budget in 2009 by at least $2,500, in part because she hired four new employees despite a county hiring freeze.

"Why would you go out and hire four new people?" committee Chairman Mike Kenyon asked. "That would ensure you'll be over budget."

Seyller responded that she doesn't have enough money or personnel to carry out the legal requirements of her office.

The office has cut back on answering the phones, delayed the processing of child support checks and cannot input all the traffic offenses into driving records on a timely basis. As a result, there are drivers on the streets with DUIs on their records that may not show up in a police background check.

Seyller said she's so short on staff that she's illegally paid some personnel expenses out of special funds restricted against such uses.

"That's a lawsuit that's waiting to happen," Seyller said. "That can remove me from office."

Against that backdrop, Seyller requested a nearly 20 percent increase over last year's budget and clarified her stance against the 4.5 percent cut the board is seeking.

The committee grilled Seyller over everything from merit raises for employees, to the benefit of shuttering the courthouse for a time to cut expenses across the judicial system.

No cuts were found. The committee asked Seyller to come back next Tuesday to take another shot at it.

"This is the real world," Kenyon said. "We don't have enough money to fund everybody. No raise. That's the real world."

After the meeting, Seyller said it's clear that she and Sheriff Pat Perez are being treated differently than departments which received a warmer reaction to their inability to cut more from their budgets.

"They may still want their lawsuit," Seyller said. "Honestly, was I expecting anything different? No. It's because I'm not going to sit back quietly any more and say run the county any way you want to. I live in Kane County, too. I'm a taxpayer. And I see mismanagement there."