Joliet Township Clerk’s improper compensation – Part XV

Joliet Township (ECWd) –

We believe the Joliet Township Clerk was compensated in excess of the lawful Compensation setting resolution in the amount of $133,888.00 for the term of office starting in May of 2013 and ending in May of 2017.

Compensation of elected officials in Illinois must be set at least 180 days prior to their term of office, according to the Illinois Local Government Officer Compensation Act, Section 2 (5 ILCS 145/2).

The duties of a Township Clerk do not speak of part-time or full-time – the Clerk’s duties are whatever time it takes to get the job done.

Fixing the compensation of the Clerk does not entail any determination of whether or not the position is full-time or part-time. There are set duties, and they must be completed – Section 75-5 of the Township Code, 60 ILCS 1/75-5.

When compensation is “set” according to the statute, the Township (in this case) is informing the public, and all potential candidates for the specific office, what they will expect to receive upon running for election, winning, and commencing the term of office – it leaves absolutely no doubt as to the compensation (unless it is Joliet Township).

On November 20, 2012, the Joliet Township Board decided to get sneaky, and pass an improper compensation setting Resolution hoping nobody would notice (see pages 8 and 9 of this pdf):

• The Resolution set 2 compensations for Clerk
• It stated the Board would determine if it was full-time or part-time (fine if done 180 days prior to taking office)
• The vote by the Board for full or part-time was taken on March 26, 2013 (well after they knew who was, or was not, running for the Clerk’s position)
• The March vote also increased the Clerk vehicle allowance by $1,800.00 per year and additional compensation of $172.00 per year beyond the original resolution
• The Board does not have the power to determine full or part-time – only to set the compensation, which was required to be set 180 prior to taking office, but instead was done less than 45 days prior to taking office, making the compensation improper.

Apparently, when the Board knew who was, or was not, running for office, they “decided” it was a full-time position, but they also made an increase of $172 on top of the full-time compensation above what was listed in the Resolution passed In Nov 2012, and also increased the vehicle allowance by an additional $1800 per year.

The Compensation voted on in March of 2013 violated state law in that it was not “set” at least 180 days prior to taking office.

This action resulted in the Township Clerk being granted an additional $31,672.00 per year, plus an additional $1800 per year for vehicle allowance for a total overpayment of $133,888.00 over the four-year term of office.

Stay tuned for more exposure of Joliet Township’s inability to follow the law.

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