The Greene County Board recently dealt with the fallout from new public protection laws passed by the Illinois General Assembly.
On April 19th, the General Assembly passed Public Act 102-0699 Article 15 requiring the salary of the county sheriff in a non-home rule county to not be less than 80% of the salary set for the local State’s Attorney. According to the bill, the state must furnish 2/3rds 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 listed at $69,392. The Greene County State’s Attorney’s annual salary is listed at $142,068. Under the current legislation, the Greene County Sheriff would receive a $44,262.55 increase in annual salary to $113,654. With the restructuring of the pay, the county will now save $31,510 per year on the Sheriff’s salary.
The Greene Prairie Press reports that it took 3 meetings of the Greene County Board to come to an agreement on wording of the county ordinance on the pay structure. The board members are said to have taken umbrage with the fact they are being mandated to restructure the pay scale. The reworded resolution passed at a May 24th scheduled meeting.
According to the Greene Prairie Press, since board members are paid $35 per meeting on different days, the rewording of the ordinance and the multiple meetings cost the county an additional $455.