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Round Lake board raises salaries for police chief, village administrator

Round Lake's two top employees are getting pay hikes as a result of a new merit-based pay scale recommended by a consultant hired to address concerns that the village's salaries were not competitive with those in other towns.

Village Administrator Steven Shields' salary was raised from about $135,400 per year to about $137,500 per year after a 1.5 percent salary increase. Police Chief Michael Gillette's salary was increased from about $123,000 to about $126,500 after a 2.75 percent salary increase.

The village hired GovHR USA in December 2016 to analyze village salaries, compare them to those in similar suburbs and recommend changes. Mayor Dan MacGillis said one reason officials hired the consultant was Round Lake had developed a reputation as a village that underpaid employees.

MacGillis said last year the data helped speed up negotiating sessions with the three Round Lake employee unions: Public Works Local 150, Police Officers MAP No. 444 and Police Supervisors MAP No. 459.

The consultant also recommended a new merit-based raise process for nonunion employees that's more thorough than what village officials had done before. MacGillis said at first he wasn't a proponent of doing the evaluations, which he said took several days to complete and included a thorough study of progress and accomplishments. But he's now a fan.

"The process is now in black and white," MacGillis said Tuesday. "How do you improve if you aren't tracking it like this?"

MacGillis said he believes some other villages grossly overpay their top staffers and he is wary of Round Lake going down that path, but he feels Shields and Gillette are worth their salaries.

"I'm blessed to have a village administrator who understands that this job is about more than salary," MacGillis said. "He calls Round Lake his home and wants to continue making it a better place."

The village board approved the pay increases at a meeting Monday night.

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