Greene County Council recently addressed the fallout from new public protection laws passed by the Illinois General Assembly.
April 19e, the General Assembly passed Section 15 of Public Law 102-0699 requiring that the county sheriff’s salary in a non-self-governing county be not less than 80% of the salary set for the local state’s attorney. According to the bill, the state must provide 2/3 of the total annual salary from the Illinois Department of Revenue’s personal property tax replacement fund or the state’s general revenue fund. The other 1/3rd of the salary must be covered by the county’s general funds.
According to public records, Greene County currently covers 100% of the sheriff’s salary, which is $69,392. The Greene County State’s Attorney’s annual salary is $142,068. Under current law, the Greene County Sheriff would receive a $44,262.55 increase in his annual salary to $113,654. With the pay restructuring, the county will now save $31,510 a year on the sheriff’s salary.
The Greene Prairie Press reports that it took 3 meetings of Greene County Council to reach agreement on the wording of the county’s pay structure ordinance. Board members reportedly took umbrage at being mandated to restructure the pay scale. The reworded resolution was passed at a meeting scheduled for May 24.
According to the Greene Prairie Press, because council members are paid $35 per meeting on different days, rewording the ordinance and multiple meetings cost the county an additional $455.
