Part II: How Much Do Palatine Council Members Make?
In early December You Ask, Patch Answers was asked about the compensation for village officials. Today we update that column.
In early December You Ask, Patch Answers received the following question:
I'm curious. Do you know what the salary is for council members?
The answer we printed did not fully answer the question. In today's You Ask, Patch Answers we are revisiting it.
Palatine Mayor Jim Schwantz earns $1,250 a month plus $25 a meeting. Village Council members and the Village Clerk earn $500 a month plus $25 a meeting.
In December we estimated there were three council meetings a month and calculated based on that premise. Since then we have learned that the $25 also applies to committee meetings and other meetings.
During a meeting, the council will adjourn and call a committee into session. Each committee called into session counts as a $25 meeting. The village can have six, seven or even eight meetings in a night. For example, at the Feb. 14 Village Council meeting, about seven other meetings occurred.
District 4 Council Member Greg Solberg, who has been on the council since 1987, said Palatine used to have some committee meetings on different nights and the policy dates back to that era.
He said the council could consider going to a flat rate for full council meetings but he said the current system has its advantages. For example, if a council member had to miss a portion of a meeting for some reason, he or she would not be paid for the missed committee meetings.
Palatine Mayor Jim Schwantz said one of the benefits of having the committee meetings and the council meeting on the same night is residents can get business done before the council in one evening.
"I think it works great," Schwantz said. "It gives us a much more streamlined process."
Here is how much the mayor, council and clerk earned from the village in 2010 (figures are after Social Security tax has been withheld):
Mayor Jim Schwantz: $23,219
Village Clerk Margaret Duer: $11,253
District 1 Aaron B. Del Mar: $12,076
District 2 Scott Lamerand: $10,421
District 3 James Clegg: $10,712
District 4 Greg Solberg: $12,438
District 5 John Wagner: $10,412
District 6 Brad Helms: $12,350
Patricia
9:55 am on Monday, February 21, 2011
How about the Palatine Village Manager who is now infamous throughout the State for making over $300,000 last W2, including all kinds of perks???
By the way, just who is the Palatine Village Manager??? Not on this list!!!!
Apparently, the game is to keep the "salary" practical and do all kinds of side goodies that don't show.
susanne reardon
12:05 pm on Monday, February 21, 2011
After owning and operating Gumbo A Go Go for three and a half years in Downtown Palatine, which is now a glorified bomb site - far from what my husband and I were promised - dealing with the corruption and laziness of the Palatine Village heirarchy was tortuous. We were delayed a year and a half for red tape before opening, and although our restaurant went into bankruptcy it was a relief to get away from Palatine. $300,000 for Village Manager? What a joke. And they're building a new Village Hall, still not the parking facility we were promised for our corner opposite Bob Hummel's Providence Building. I've never experienced such corruption, including the recent mysterious suicide of a prominent local businessman.
Bill
10:55 pm on Tuesday, September 13, 2011
New village hall? Nope. Try new police station. Village hall will stay in the same place. Susanne sounds like a bitter failed biz owner. Those are a dime a dozen. It's so funny and ignorant when people talk about corruption, but won't go prove it. Hire an attorney and get the Village council on American Greed. Have you ever been on a condo board or any sort of board? Any dolt can point a finger and talk about corruption or call someone racist or homophobic or whatever. Most of the time, you're just pointing at hard-working people who care about their town and have to try to work with emotional nonsense from others. Come to think of it, I've never experienced such corruption like I saw at Gumbo a Go Go. Those owners were the most corrupt people I've ever known! And you'd better research the mysterious suicide of my neighbor's dog (implying a connection to Gumbo a Go Go). See how easy that is? See how stupid it is throw that corruption nonsense around? Get some facts. Go open your biz somewhere else. We don't want you.
Scott
2:43 pm on Monday, February 21, 2011
Gumbo a Go Go failed because the food was no better then what my wife makes from a Zatarain box.
Carol
3:26 pm on Thursday, February 24, 2011
To Scott: What an inappropriate comment about the food! My family loved the food at Gumbo a Go Go and this restaurant was a real asset to the downtown area. FYI
badge
3:47 pm on Thursday, February 24, 2011
We liked the food too. And so did my kids and they don't usally eat "exotic" food.
Scott
8:13 pm on Thursday, February 24, 2011
Carol - you and I disagree but that doesn't make the comment 'inappropriate'. That word should be reserved for when it applies.
I never said the food was bad; just that there was nothing distinguishing about it. Obviously other people felt the same way or it would still be open.
Scott
8:16 pm on Thursday, February 24, 2011
This is more in the 'inappropriate' category:
"the recent mysterious suicide of a prominent local businessman."
and
"corruption and laziness of the Palatine Village heirarchy"
Some facts to prove this might be in order.