Months after approving salary raises for countywide elected officials, the McHenry County Board has decided not to take up compensation for its own members in the near future.

The salary discussion began during a budgeting season in which county officials had to close a budget gap that ran as high as $3.7 million at one point.

The County Board in September approved raises for other county elected officials, although the new salaries for the sheriff, treasurer and clerk/recorder won’t take effect until late 2026, when the next terms for those offices begin.

[ Your guide to the March 2026 primary election in McHenry County ]

Increases for the County Board chair, coroner, auditor and circuit clerk will start in late 2028, when new terms for those offices begin. County Board committees earlier this year opted to table discussion on the board’s compensation until after the budget and levy passed.

The county’s fiscal 2026 budget and property tax levy were approved last month, but financial strains, including the end of COVID-19 relief money, are on the horizon for next year.

Amid discussions of raises for the countywide elected officials, there also had been talk about whether to upwardly adjust County Board members’ salaries.

But a pair of committees decided in recent days to hold off on revisiting the issue until July 2029. The county’s administrative services committee last week floated the idea of taking up the salaries in 2031, ahead of the full board standing for reelection in 2032.

The entire County Board will be up for reelection that year after the 2030 census and subsequent redistricting.

Salary adjustments must be approved at least 180 days before an election, but county officials have said those adjustments historically get passed before the primary election.

County Board member Pamela Althoff said at the administrative services committee meeting last week that discussing salaries that close to the 2032 election could lead to a less “candid” conversation. Althoff suggested bringing the issue back in 2029 so there’s a little “gap” in between, and the salaries are set “before it becomes a political football.”

At a county finance committee meeting the following day, where the topic also was on the agenda, committee Chair Michael Skala said he was “disappointed” that the other committee tabled the salary discussion. He said he would attempt to bring the matter back next month.

The salary resolution that was included in meeting documents – but was tabled – would have kept board salaries level for two years. It didn’t specify a 2029 base salary, but in fiscal 2030, the County Board would have gotten the previous fiscal year’s salary and an increase of the lesser of 3% or the consumer price index, a measure of inflation.

Under that proposal, the board also would have continued to be eligible for benefits. However, starting in fiscal 2029, board members would have been entirely responsible for the cost of their benefits. The county currently pays a share of the cost for board member benefits, similar to county employees – and this will continue in the near future, as this resolution was tabled.

Skala’s seat is up for reelection next year, but he decided not to run again. He nodded to that at the finance committee, saying that he wouldn’t be around when the topic comes back in July 2029.

County Board members are currently compensated $21,000 in base pay but are eligible for benefits such as health and dental insurance that county employees also are eligible for. Most County Board members take benefits. County Board Chair Mike Buehler has a base salary of $86,300, but he does not take benefits.

There was a proposal to eliminate County Board members’ health insurance during this past budget season, but that proposal did not get included in the final 2026 budget. Even if that proposal passed, it would not have taken effect until fiscal 2027.