Circuit court clerk next up on Kane County's list of budget conflicts

The Kane County Board won't wake up from its budget nightmares even if it finds $1.2 million at the last minute to help Sheriff Pat Perez' budget in 2009. Once attention turns to 2010, the county board will quickly have to address its impasse with Circuit Court Clerk Deb Seyller or risk déjà vu in November 2010.

The board's most recent discussions with Seyller found her asking for a 12.2 percent increase to her budget in 2010 so she could end what she believes are illegal uses of money from certain accounts that are being diverted to cover payroll. The county board wanted Seyller to cut 4.5 percent from what she received in 2009. Even that was an amount over which Seyller and the board came to the brink of a lawsuit. The compromise that resulted was holding Seyller's budget flat for 2010.

But Seyller has not submitted any plans that show how she'll be able to make due with a flat budget. Indeed, she's never even agreed to live within that budget and has expressed a continuing desire to have legal counsel (which the county board has rejected).

As proven in dealings with Perez, finding money to address a giant budget shortfall is more difficult in the eleventh hour than at the beginning of a fiscal year.

County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay said Thursday that Seyller and the board aren't anywhere near coming to terms.

Asked if the current dealings with Perez are training for negotiations with Seyller, McConnaughay gave a frustrated laugh and recognized that the bad blood is still very present.

"She prefers to just go to court," McConnaughay said. "She still wants a lawyer."

Seyller was unavailable for comment Thursday.