After the Madison County Finance Committee voted against a resolution seeking additional pay or comp time for four Madison County departments during the COVID-19 pandemic, a revised resolution is on the agenda for the County Board meeting today.
Also on the agenda is a planned executive session to “discuss actions on specific personnel.”
The meeting will be held via teleconference at 5 p.m.
The revised resolution for comp time and additional pay reads:
“Wheras Madison County is faced with responding to a global pandemic of COVID-19 and the number of confirmed county cases is increasing daily.
“Whereas, the Governor of Illinois has required the citizens of Illinois to stay at home and to engage in social distancing to fight the spread of COVID-19.
“Whereas, Madison County has taken steps to maintain county operations while engaging in social distancing with employees working from home and limiting operations to essential activities.
“Whereas, because of the State COVID-19 response, many Madison County residents now find themselves unemployed and economically struggling and businesses throughout the county closed for the foreseeable future.
“Whereas, during this time of great countywide difficulty the County Board Administration has recognized the need to maintain county employees with regular pay while not adding additional benefits such as comp-time for those not working from home.
“Whereas, the County Auditor, State’s Attorney, Sheriff and Recorder have decided to give additional benefits to employees including comp-time for reporting to work that is not a part of the county collective bargaining agreement.
“Now therefore it be resolved that the attached benefits called “COVID-19 Additional Benefits Report” detailing the benefits given by the County Auditor, State’s Attorney, Sheriff and Recorder creating a liability of at least $380,599.66 shall be considered approved,” the resolution states.
The original version of the resolution was first introduced at a special Finance Committee meeting on April 3 and sought additional pay or compensatory (comp) time for specific employees for the two-week payroll period ending March 27. When none of the members moved to vote on the matter, the resolution was added to the agenda for the regularly scheduled committee meeting on April 8, where members voted against the extra compensation requests.
Committee chair Don Moore (R) and members David Michael (R), Jamie Goggin (R), Chris Guy (R), Tom McRae (R), and Larry Trucano (D) voted no on approving the resolution. Committee member Gussie Glasper (D) voted to approve the resolution, and member Robert Pollard (D) abstained.
During the April 8 meeting, Moore told the committee that in his opinion, they need to look at the resolution from the perspective of all Madison County taxpayers – many of whom have lost their jobs and are not being paid during this time – and be efficient with their tax dollars.
Guy added that many people are not being paid right now and should not have to pay for additional benefits for county employees.
“I don’t expect them to pay for this comp time,” he said. “The taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for this.”
Guy thanked county employees but said that with thousands of taxpayers unemployed at home, they should be thankful they are getting a paycheck.
“So good news for county employees, our law enforcement, you’re still getting a paycheck,” he said. “I’ll make sure you still get a paycheck, and I support that. I appreciate your help.”
“A majority of the county departments did not make this request, so to those, thank you for your good management,” he added.
Major Jeff Connor of the Sheriff’s Department said the comp time was offered in response to county administrator Doug Hulme’s memo stating that all non-essential employees would be sent home but would still be paid. The employees who still had to come into work were offered comp time.
“We felt it best for our employees to give them the time off to be taken at a later date,” he said.
He added that there is no purpose to the resolution.
“It’s already been done,” Connor said. “This has already happened.”
He said that on April 1, employees were brought back.
Gov. JB Pritzker’s Families First Coronavirus Response Act went into effect April 1.
Connor explained that employees with the sheriff’s department are allowed to carry over 240 hours of comp time, but said a majority of them “aren’t even near that amount.”
Compliance Manager John Thompson said that there are currently 58 employees who are already over the 240-hour limit without including the requested COVID-19 comp time.
Comp time that is not used or comp time in excess of the 240-hour limit is paid out into a post-employment health account at a rate according to the employee’s wage.
McRae said the comp hours requested by the sheriff’s department amount to about 10,000 hours, which is equivalent to five employees.
“For people to burn that, that’s going to take a lot,” he said.
“it is a liability at some point,” he added.
Sheriff John Lakin said he had a potential solution, which would be to rotate employees, so no one feels slighted. Faccin said that is what his department is doing.
Things got heated when Lakin suggested the dispute over awarding comp time for employees who came into work is a political stunt.
“It’s obvious this is being done for Kurt’s political benefit, because there is no cost to this right now,” Lakin said.
He added that sheriff’s deputies are at a heightened risk of exposure and anyone who doesn’t support the request doesn’t support law enforcement.
“Like I said last week, tell an employee from the sheriff’s office in uniform, whether it be a correctional officer or a sheriff’s deputy, I would hope that you would go up, introduce yourself at a safe distance and let them know you do not support them at all,” Lakin said.
Over some objection from Moore for talking without being given the floor, Hulme responded that he takes offense to Lakin’s accusations.
“I just want to point out that my dad was a police officer for 20 years, he was in Illinois state police and I just get sick and tired of this anti-law enforcement thing,” Hulme said. “We’re trying to do our jobs. Our job is to be mindful of the cost of the taxpayers.”
Moore told Lakin he appreciates and is praying for the sheriff’s deputies and anyone else putting themselves at greater risk.
“We do appreciate what they do. I so appreciate the police department and what they do. I get emotional when I talk to police men knowing the kind of things they have to face in this country just by being a police officer, protecting us,” he said.
“We appreciate you for that,” he added, “but we pay you for that.”
Moore said it is the committee’s job to manage the budget, and they need to manage it with the understanding that they don’t know what is going to happen with the COVID-19 crisis.
Another board member added that asking questions doesn’t mean people don’t support law enforcement.
“I don’t know why this is viewed as a political thing, but it is fair to ask questions about financial decisions,” he said. “In fact, it’s required.”
Faccin also said the dispute is a political ploy by Prenzler and “doesn’t have any teeth.”