CALHOUN: County Board votes to increase salaries of county officials
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By Caitlin R. King
The Calhoun County Board of Commissioners held their regular monthly meeting Monday, April 18, where several matters were dealt with, most notably, voting on a resolution to increase the salaries of a number of county officials.
When proposing the salary increases, Commissioner Phil Robeen said, “There are a lot of gracious people in Calhoun that have long been underpaid.”
The Board voted to increase the salaries of the County Clerk, County Treasurer and Circuit Clerk by 16%. The increase would bring their hourly rate to $21.11 for the entirety of their next term of four years. The Board also voted to increase the sheriff’s salary by 15%. The sheriff’s yearly salary would now be $55,336 for their next full term of four years. The commission elected not to increase the salaries of the commissioners, so they will remain at their current rate.
In other business, following the approval of last month’s meeting minutes, the board upheld the previously approved project to improve the county’s Geographic Information System (GIS) Mapping software. The project will be spearheaded by a Batavia, Ill. based company, Bruce Harris & Associates (BHA). The project will help make 911 and emergency call location retrieval service more accurate. The Board’s goal with this project is to improve emergency service response time by providing EMS with more accurate locations of emergency calls.
Membership in the zoning and planning boards, respectively, was also discussed. Chairman Terry Woelfel reiterated the importance for those interested in joining either board to reach out to him and the commission. The push for more members also comes following the resignation of Janet Droege and Gary Rose from the zoning board.
Discussions regarding the use of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the applications of additional grants to retrofit the existing community center to also act as a warming and cooling center. The board also discussed construction improvements that need to be made in the courthouse. The board ultimately decided that it will revisit this discussion in May.
The Board also voted to adjust the courthouse building’s hours of operation. Starting May 1, the courthouse will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Calhoun County Baord of Commissioners meets on the third Monday each month at 5 p.m. in the Marvin Richter Administrative Building at 301 S County Road, Hardin, IL 62047. The public is encouraged to attend.
