Seyller vs. Kane County mediation starts or ends with budget

When attorneys for the Kane County Board and Circuit Court Clerk Deb Seyller sit down for mediation of their differences, the first thing they'll have to mediate is what they want to discuss.

“One of the questions is what is the scope of the (mediation),” County Board Attorney Ken Shepro said. “Last year, (State's Attorney) John Barsanti said he wouldn't hire attorneys for the circuit clerk for the purpose of budget negotiations. And now it sounds like she wants attorneys to basically discuss her 2011 budget. If that's the case, then everyone is going to want their own attorney to negotiate the budget.”

Both the 2010 and 2011 budgets are at the heart of the disagreement. The county has already spent all of its contingency money for the 2010 budget. Indeed, Seyller appears to be unable to make her final two payrolls of the year unless Chief Judge F. Keith Brown agrees to let Seyller use special funds controlled by her office to cover the shortfall. Brown had not yet agreed to that plan earlier in the week.

Likewise, the county board has already locked in the 2011 budget with no real answer for what to do if Seyller goes over budget again. Because of both those realities, Seyller's attorney, Dean Frieders, said there's no way to eliminate budget discussion from the mediation.

“I would have thought that if there were some reservations about the appropriate scope of what the mediations should be, that the county would have talked to us about them,” Frieders said. “The root of this problem is to make sure there isn't annual appearance (of a shortfall).”

Frieders said the only way for that to happen is to figure out the best and legal uses for the special funds Seyller controls versus what costs in the circuit clerk's office should be covered by the county's main checkbook, the general fund.

In that statement may be the nugget of a middle ground. Both sides recognize Seyller's special funds are not the ultimate long-term answer.

“Everybody is aware of the fact that you cannot perpetually use those special funds as a piggy bank for budget overages because they will eventually run out of money,” Shepro said.

Determining general fund costs versus special fund costs will be the job of the newly-appointed mediator in the dispute. That role will be played by John Countryman. Countryman has political ties to Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay. Countryman is a recently retired judge and a former state representative. During his time as an Illinois lawmaker, he was aligned with eventual Congressman Dennis Hastert. Hastert is a political sponsor of McConnaughay.

Frieders said he has no concerns about Countryman's loyalties.

“We have a great deal of faith and confidence in his neutrality and his judgment and experience,” Frieders said. “We don't have any reservations as far as his leanings. He's going to do an excellent job.

Dates have not yet been set for the mediation hearings.