Politics & Government

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.

Find out what's happening in Palatinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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.

Find out what's happening in Palatinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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


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