The Ogle County Board on Tuesday, April 21, voted to approve a salary for the circuit clerk’s office, but denied salary structures for the county clerk and recorder’s office and the treasurer’s office.
The board voted 16-7 to approve an elected official salary for the office of circuit clerk, with a structure of $94,164 in fiscal years 2027 and 2028 and the fiscal years of 2029 and 2030 listed as “TBA”.
The salary is in the “high-80 percentiles” among reporting counties in the state, said board member Skip Kenney, chairman of the county’s human resources and risk management committee.
The board voted 16-7 to deny an elected official salary for the office of county clerk & recorder with a structure of $94,164 in fiscal years 2027 and 2028 and with the fiscal year of 2029 seeing a 1% increase to $95,105 and fiscal year 2029 seeing a 2% increase to $97,007.
The board voted 14-9 to deny an elected official salary for the office of treasurer with a structure of $94,164 in fiscal years 2027 and 2028, with the fiscal year of 2029 seeing a 1% increase to $95,105 and fiscal year 2029 seeing a 2% increase to $97,007.
Ogle County currently pays both its county clerk and recorder and its treasurer $94,164 in salary yearly. Among 40 counties in Illinois that responded to a survey, Ogle County’s clerk and recorder salary ranks at sixth highest in the state and its treasurer salary ranks fifth highest.
Board Vice Chairwoman Patricia Nordman raised concerns with the salary structures, including no potential for increases in salary for the next two years, and the desire to reduce salaries when a new elected official comes into office.
“When the new coroner came into office a couple years ago, as a board we recognized financially that the previous salary was a large salary for a newly elected official starting and openly decided that that salary would be reduced,” Nordman said. “When we have the opportunity to be financially responsible and reduce a newly elected official’s salary, we should take advantage of that. This has nothing to do with the person; it’s about finances.”
Kenney said he desired to see the elected officials’ salaries in question reduced in the case of previous long-term officials recently leaving office.
“Because of the longevity that predecessors earned and raised those salary levels up, they became way out of line compared to the majority of reporting counties in the state,” Kenney said.
When asked why all three proposed salaries were the same amount, Kenney said that “it’s a parity thing that had been going on for years” and said that other counties do not have the same salary numbers for all three positions. The salaries for the county clerk and recorder and treasurer will be sent back to the HR and risk management committee.
Solar
The board voted 17-6 to approve a special-use permit for a 35-acre, 4.99-megawatt community solar energy facility located in the 2,900 block of North Willow Road in Mt. Morris Township.
Last month, the board voted to send the special-use permit application back to the county’s zoning board of appeals for another vote due to the zoning board holding two votes on the matter and concerns about the solar project’s impact on the area.
Cypress Creek Renewables is the operator of the project. The Village of Mt. Morris sent a letter to the county last month stating it had no plans for development in the area of the proposed solar development.
Nick Standiford, an attorney for Cypress Creek Renewables, spoke during the public comment portion of last month’s Ogle County Board meeting and described the project’s location and cited a recent court decision that said special-use factors can’t be applied to solar farm projects. Recent state legislation aims to remove local siting permission for solar farms, leaving only state standards.
“We think we satisfied the special-use factors, and certainly satisfied the state standards that apply and that the court says are the only things you have to consider,” Standiford said last month. “We think this is a really good project. It’s a good location and not around a lot of houses. We’re 1,700 feet away from the nearest neighbors. We know all solar farms aren’t created equal. But we think this a pretty darn good location.”
Building
The board unanimously approved a $4,713 change order to its current remodeling project that will see the county’s animal control department move to its 907 Pines Road office in Oregon and Veterans Affairs filling the space left by animal control in the historic Ogle County Courthouse.
The Ogle County Health Department space at 907 Pines Road will also be expanded to facilitate the consolidation of its two offices. The OCHD will be closing its Rochelle office at 510 Lincoln Highway effective June 1.
Board member Don Griffin, chairman of the county’s long-range planning committee, said that the OCHD work is ongoing and planned to be completed in June.
Gas
The board voted 16-6 to approve a three-year contract with Mansfield Energy to provide natural gas to the county for its facilities at a fixed rate of $0.436. The county’s current gas contract was set to expire in August. The county is currently paying $0.4731. Griffin said the move was made in an effort to lock in pricing amid uncertainty in the market.
Economic development
The board voted unanimously to pay $50,000 to the Ogle County Economic Development Corporation. The OCEDC was established in recent years to bring a concerted effort to economic development in the county and is made up of representatives from the county and various Ogle County municipalities.
The county will pay half of the $50,000 immediately and the other half before the end of the fiscal year.
Proclamation
Board member Steve Huber, chairman of the county’s ethics and governance committee, read a proclamation in honor of Child Abuse Awareness Month in April. Huber then presented the proclamation to representatives from Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center and CASA.