Lake County forest workers will get their raises after all

Despite a last-minute attempt to freeze employees' salaries, the Lake County Forest Preserve District board on Thursday approved a $147 million budget that included raises for workers.

The new, tiered salary program limits raises for directors and senior managers to a maximum 1 percent in the 2010 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Salary increases for non-unionized employees would be limited to a maximum 3 percent under the plan.

Salaries for union employees, such as the district's rangers, are set under separate contracts.

After a public review of the proposed spending plan during Thursday's board meeting in Waukegan, district Commissioner Michelle Feldman, a Deerfield Democrat, spoke out against the budget. In light of the county's nearly 10 percent unemployment rate and other economic factors, Feldman urged the board to reject the budget.

"I think for right now, salary increases are not warranted," she said.

Feldman's crusade was a fairly lonely one, however. Only three other commissioners - Republicans Diana O'Kelly of Mundelein, Brent Paxton of Zion and Suzi Schmidt of Lake Villa - sided with Feldman and voted against the plan.

The other 15 commissioners in the room supported the budget.

Feldman was the only commissioner who addressed the salary proposal before the vote.

The spending plan, which is about 10 percent bigger than the current year's budget, is fattened by millions in additional tax dollars that were approved by voters in November for land purchases and development projects.

About $75 million of the $185 million raised by that ballot proposal has been delivered to the district so far.

"We may not spend (all of that) in this specific year," said Bonnie McLeod, the district's finance director.

The spending plan is balanced, with about $147 million in revenue expected to fund unspecified land buys, salaries, equipment purchases, construction, restoration efforts and other programs.

The national economic turmoil helped shape the budget, forest district Executive Director Tom Hahn said. It includes several cuts, including a restructuring of the education and public affairs department and the implementation of low-maintenance designs at some preserves, he said.

"We have to do our jobs more efficiently in the future and be reflective of the economic conditions," Hahn said. "We are incorporating cost-savings measures across all departments and will continue to do so."

Commissioner Stevenson Mountsier, a Lake Barrington Republican who leads the board's finance committee, insisted the district is not facing any serious financial challenges now. Even so, staff members will watch the economy and the district's finances closely over the next year, he said.