Palatine Council Members Opt Out of Pension

Palatine village council members and Mayor Jim Schwanz voted to remove themselves from the state’s municipal pension fund at the June 18 council meeting.

As a result of the periodic review of Palatine’s Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund participation, a resolution was adopted to remove the mayor and village council from participation, according to village documents.

There was no discussion on the matter at the village council meeting, with the exception of Councilman Aaron del Mar, who read from a statement.

“I am proud to be working together with my fellow council members to make this happen tonight,” del Mar said. “I believe that we are setting a positive example for other elected offices to do the same with the hopes that many will no longer look at public service as a job and start looking at as simply a civic duty.”

The action will save residents of Palatine more than $11,400 annually, and $5,700 for the remainder of 2012. Elected officials may participate in the state retirement fund if they perform at 1,000 hours or more per year, or roughly 20 hours per week.