McHenry County Blog

The Algonquin Township salaries will be discussed at Wednesday night’s meeting of the Algonquin Township Board.

The meeting will be held at the Township Hall on Route 14 between Crystal Lake and Cary.

Recommendations from the Executive Branch’s elected officials will be considered.

According to a September 5th memo from Supervisor Dianne Klemm, Road Commissioner Bob Miller, Assessor Bob Kunz and Clerk Marc Munaretto propose annual salary increases of 2%, except for the Clerk.

Supervisor Dianne Klemm’s memo stating the recommendations for two per cent per year salary increases for the next four-year terms of the Supervisor, Highway Commissioner, Assessor, and Township Trustees. The Clerk’s salary would be frozen at $17,774.78.

The Clerk’s salary would remain at $17,774.78 per year.

Current Algonquin Township salaries offered for the consideration of the Township Trustees and the Supervisor at Wednesday night’s 7 PM meeting of the Township Board.

The current salaries are

• Supervisor – $66,655.40
• Clerk – $17,774.78
• Assessor – $84,430.18
• Highway Commissioner – $93,317.56
• Trustees – $2,370.25

After four years the salaries of the others would be as follows:

• Supervisor – $72,149.95
• Clerk – $17,774.78
• Assessor – $91,389.94
• Highway Commissioner – $101,009.93
• Trustees – $2,565.63

Of course, township elections are not until 2013, but I know people are already discussing running for the offices.

Some have commented that some officials’ salaries are too high.

Odds are good that most will be raised for the next four years.

If a candidate thinks the salary for the office he or she is thinking of seeking is too high, one can always promise to refund all or part.

Current Avon Township Officials Sam Yingling, Tom Brust, Lisa Rusch, Chris Ditton, Randy Evangeledes and Mark Feldstein pose with oversized check of salaries being refunded.

If health insurance and/or pension payments are part of the compensation package, one can promise not to take them.

I learned from “Round Lake District 116” blog that Avon Township officials are giving back the pay raises presumably approved by the people whom they presumably defeated.

Not a bad campaign pitch in the middle of a deep recession.

The story with the embedded truth that step and lane changes lead to salary increases, even if the language says, "Salary freeze."

While I was doing the story on how the Rockford Register-Star is trying to hold onto circulation, I found a story on the Rockford school district that had an interesting paragraph.

Here it is:

Union contract talks

In March, the School Board approved a one-year contract extension with the Rockford Education Association. Pay and benefits were frozen for the year and carried over from the previous year. Employee step and lane increases, however, were still in place, so many union members are still earning more money this school year, despite the freeze.

I would hope that any reporter covering teacher salary negotiations would figure out and report this essential aspect of the story.

From Fox News:

“So a new GS-15 would have started this year at about $124,000. After a year on the job, that government worker’s step-pay increase would lift that salary to about $128,000, even with the President’s pay freeze. And that’s before bonuses and overtime pay. “

Nice to have others verify my Monday story.

You will be reading about President Obama freezing federal workers pay for two years.

It is mostly a P.R. gimmick.

Why?

Because it isn’t a real pay freeze.

The White House said it will not impact pay increases from either step increases or bonuses for federal workers.

Did you expect anything real from an Illinois Democrat?

Liberal Democrats use words to their P.R. advantage, not to what they really mean.

Get used to two more years of liberal Obamaisms.

If you work in the private sector, a pay freeze means you aren’t getting an increase in pay.

No wonder Democrats have little clue how to rev up the private sector economy.

They likely think business owners are easily fooled by pay freezes that don’t freeze pay.