Seyller files suit to get money for Kane Co. circuit court clerk's office

A judge will decide whether Kane County Circuit Clerk Deb Seyller will be allowed to surpass her budget by $555,000 this year.

Less than an hour after the Kane County Board voted 21 to 1 Tuesday morning to deny Seyller's request for an additional funding for 11 more employees, Seyller filed a lawsuit asking for a judge to step in.

Seyller, in a prepared statement, said she was "disappointed" with the board's decision but felt she had "no other option" after her attempts to "establish a dialogue" with county leaders.

"The decision of the Kane County Board today, which does not provide that funding, has placed the Circuit Clerk's office in a precarious position of not being able to fulfill my legal obligations to protect the public welfare and safety, and to secure the integrity of our property and person. For that reason, I have filed a lawsuit today seeking the assistance and intervention of the court," part of Seyller's statement read.

The lawsuit filed by Seyller asks for a preliminary injunction to force the county to pay the additional funding she requested until the court case is resolved. The suit charges the county with being "arbitrary and capricious" in its discretionary funding and asks Judge Michael Colwell to find the county board "statutorily obligated" to pay "reasonable and necessary" expenses of Seyller's office.

The initial court date was listed as Jan. 4, 2011; Seyller's office could exhaust its funding next month if staffing remains as is.

Seyller's move followed a county board vote to deny additional funding and give Seyller a deadline of Sept. 21 to submit an emergency spending plan to the board and notify Kane County Chief Judge Keith Brown.

That deadline is now moot given the lawsuit.

The board passed a tersely-worded resolution that detailed point by point the county's efforts to work with Seyller; how case filings have decreased from 2006 to 2009; how Seyller has continued to automate services, which would reduce personnel needs; and how Seyller hired more employees without notifying the county's Judicial and Public Safety Committee or the county board.

The board did not discuss the resolution before voting. That discussion presumably took place in a 45-minute session behind closed doors that Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay described as a "sensitive pending litigation issue."

After the vote, McConnaughay said the dispute was not personal nor retaliatory but an effort to best manage the county's resources.

"It got to the point of begging and pleading ... please give us more detail as to why you need the money," McConnaughay said. "It demands an answer, and she did not answer that question."

After Seyller's suit was filed, McConnaughay said all elected leaders have to make difficult decisions in light of the recession and sagging revenues.

"Instead of doing the responsible thing, Ms. Seyller has decided to make matters worse through litigation," McConnaughay said.

Board member Deborah Allan cast the lone "no" vote Tuesday, and board members Cristina Castro, Donnell Collins and Michael Kenyon were absent.

"I think when we start going to court, that we've lost," Allan said. "We've messed up, and we haven't figured out how to work together."

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<h2>Related documents</h2>

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<li><a href="/pdf/boardres.pdf">Board resolution denying supplemental budget request </a></li>

<li><a href="/pdf/kcdocs.pdf">Seyller's lawsuit against Kane Co. Board </a></li>

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