McHenry County board approves pay freezes
By an overwhelming margin, the McHenry County Board on Tuesday approved pay freezes for county board members as well as the sheriff, treasurer and county clerk.
Board members cited continuing economic difficulties in backing the measure, which will hold salaries steady for affected officials from Dec. 1, 2010, through Nov. 30, 2011.
"Economic indicators are all pointing down," District 6 board member Dan Ryan said. "We should be tightening our belts now."
While the freeze for board members passed unanimously, four board members voted against the freeze for sheriff, treasurer and clerk: Marc Munaretto, JS "Scott" Breeden, Mary Donner and Ed Dvorak.
Board members who opposed the freeze for the three elected officials said the board needs to take a more comprehensive look at employee and official salaries.
"We really should give ourselves a little bit of time to figure out how this will impact our entire organization and not just one or two employee groups," said Munaretto, chairman of the finance and audit committee.
But county officials said the board can only alter the salaries of officials who are up for re-election - which is why the measure would only apply to officials whose terms expire in the fall.
Sandra Salgado, chairman of the human resources committee, said her committee will re-examine compensation for elected officials in a year.
Before the freeze approved Tuesday, the officials were slated to receive annual raises tied to inflation. After the one-year freeze expires, affected officials will again receive inflationary increases, unless the board decides to extend the freeze or increase salaries.
The following salaries will be frozen during the next fiscal year: $145,661 for sheriff, $103,802 for clerk and treasurer, $79,063 for board chairman and $19,766 for board members.
Board members said they will also look at asking members who are not up for re-election to decline their scheduled increase as well as reducing the county's share of board members' health and pension benefits.