Daily Herald opinion: DuPage, Bartlett library pay controversies share a lesson — go the extra mile

There is a faint scent of an effort to determine “what the definition of is is” in DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin’s ruling last week that the County Board’s pay raise authorizations did not violate state Open Meetings law. But the overriding message from this controversy, and coincidentally, a similar one at the Bartlett Public Library Board, has more to do with perceptions than the law.

In April, the DuPage board voted to raise its members’ pay along with that of other county elected officials, but the action was later challenged by lame duck Clerk Jean Kaczmarek, who said the four days’ notice the board had provided before the vote did not meet the state Open Meetings statute’s requirement for six days’ notice in the case of pay raises for county employees. Arguing that elected officials are considered employees in certain circumstances, Kaczmarek filed complaints with Berlin’s office and the state attorney general, arguing that the raises, scheduled to take effect after the November election, were not valid.

In response to an attorney general’s request, Berlin used 12 pages of arguments and legal citations to declare that the six-day requirement did not apply in DuPage County’s case, because the legislation at issue clearly was intended “for the public to see the names of individually identified employees” in line to get raises. When the County Board approved its pay raises for officials up for election in November, he argued, it could not “post the name of the person who will hold that elected official's office, since the occupant of the office who will receive the compensation has not yet been determined.”

Cynics may respond that County Board members were at least hedging their bets by assuring that those who are successful in seeking reelection will get raises a month after Election Day, but in legal terms, Berlin seems to make a reasonable case. It remains to be seen whether the Attorney General’s Office will agree, but whatever that result, there is a question here of appearances that goes beyond the strict letter of the law.

Moreover, outside the parochial concerns of one governing body, it is relevant to note that the Bartlett Public Library Board found itself in a similar bind last week after boosting the library director's salary above the $150,0000-a-year figure that triggers the increased notice requirement. After one member complained to the attorney general about insufficient notice, the board temporarily rescinded the action and scheduled a new meeting Aug. 27 for which the requisite six days notice of the impending raise will be published.

The Bartlett case is not strictly equivalent to that in DuPage. The library director is indeed an individual and the board raised his pay, not that of the position of library director. Plus, Bartlett officials responded that they were unaware of the notice requirement when they approved the raises. But the important thing both of these cases emphasizes is that local officials must be aware of the law regarding raising officials' pay, respect the reasoning behind it and adhere to it before any trouble arises.

It certainly would not have hurt the DuPage board to give six days' notice rather than four, and it's not like they didn't have reason to know there could be a potential problem. The board, featuring some members still serving today, went through the re-noticing process in 2014 when a complaint by then private citizen Jean Kaczmarek questioned raises being given without the six days notice. Would it have been so hard to avoid another controversy and just publish their intent six days ahead instead of four?

The result in both these cases has been increased animosity among members and some question in the public mind about officials’ sincerity toward transparency when giving raises. It wasn't necessary. An abundance of caution could have eliminated the possibility of concern or complaint. Other local boards should take notice when they make plans to raise highly paid officials’ salaries.