Raise approved for Wheeling employees

Nonunion employees in Wheeling will get a 2 percent raise this year under a resolution passed unanimously by the village board on Monday.

The salary adjustments will take effect on May 1 for about 40 nonunion staff members, said Village Manager Jon Sfondilis. The other more than 150 Wheeling employees are members of police, fire or public works unions and receive annual raises according to their separately negotiated contracts.

Wheeling Village President Judy Abruscato said the raises are “business as usual” and were built into the 2012 budget, which was passed last fall without an increased tax levy for residents, a sign she said that the village’s finances are on the mend.

“We’re very fortunate to be able to give them a little extra,” Abruscato said. “They do an excellent job and are very professional.”

Nonunion employees received a 1.75 salary increase in 2009, no raise in 2010 and 2 percent in 2011.

The resolution applies to all nonunion salaries with the exception of department head salaries, whose positions and increases are determined after evaluation by the village manager with consideration to the annual budget.

Village trustees also approved the first stipend increases for themselves and other elected officials in more than a decade effective Jan. 1. Trustees now receive $6,000 annually instead of $3,000.

Sfondilis also received a merit-based raise from the board effective Jan. 1, increasing his salary from $136,000 to $150,000.

The 2 percent raises to nonunion employees appear to be in line with what many other suburbs are doing this year.

According to a study done by the village, Hoffman Estates, Mundelein, Mount Prospect and Buffalo Grove, among others, gave 2 percent raises to nonunion employees this year. Only a few suburbs, including Vernon Hills, Deerfield and Arlington Heights are giving larger raises to employees in 2012.