Jail, circuit court clerk funding requests shot down in Kane County

Kane County Board members could again be on a collision course with Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez and Circuit Court Clerk Deb Seyller at the end of the year after a committee said Thursday it won't give them a dime of additional money despite looming budget shortfalls in their offices.

Requests for more money to pay salaries at the jail and for 13 recently hired employees in Seyller's office forecast a combined budget hole that would eat up almost all of the county's $1.2 million contingency fund for this budget year. The jail wants a $587,000 midyear budget increase. Seyller wants a $577,000 hike.

Those requests were not greeted warmly last week by the board's Judicial and Public Safety Committee. The board's Finance Committee Thursday couldn't muster a formal motion to put the requests to a vote.

One committee member was aghast when hearing the jail request.

"You were given a budget, and folks have to learn to live within the parameters of the budget," board member Gerald Jones said. "I don't understand why someone would come back with a budget (request) this large. $600,000? That's a considerable miscalculation on someone's part."

Lt. Lynne Woodruff, a jail administrator, said the county board made the miscalculation. The money is needed, Woodruff said, to pay for contractual salary increases the county board signed off on. County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay said some of the issue may be resolved as the county heads into arbitration on the jail employee contract in a couple weeks.

As for Seyller's office, she said the employees and the money to pay them are needed to perform mandated functions. She made a similar case last budget year when requesting more money, and was unsuccessful.

"You were denied that amount, and now you're coming back to us saying you really should get that amount," county board member Cathy Hurlbut said. "You have control over the budget that you're given, not the budget that you'd like to have."

Seyller said she faces legal ramifications if she doesn't perform mandated functions.

"What I'm telling you is that it can't be done without (the additional employees)," Seyller said.

The committee did not vote on Seyller's request. It will go back to the Judicial and Public Safety Committee for further review.