The Tazewell County Board is in a furor after County Clerk John Ackerman gave his employees raises after the board approved a budget next year.
Ackerman used fee funds not controlled by the board to give his employees raises. County board chairman Dave Zimmerman said the move left board members feeling deceived, morale in other departments depleted, opened up the county for unfair labor practice complaints from union members in other departments who didn't benefit from the raises, and set up the county for potential fines from the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund.
He said the average raise doled out by Ackerman is 22.5 percent, and claimed some employees saw raises as high as 63 percent.
Ackerman disputes those numbers. He said 47 percent of his employees are getting a nine percent raise, and less than a third of his most experienced employees are getting a 22 percent raise. Two employees are getting a 13 percent raise, he said.
The county clerk said Thursday he was trying to bring his department's employees up to the pay levels other county employees enjoy without a property tax hike or a county budget impact.
Zimmerman said Ackerman's move could impact upcoming union contract negotiations. He said layoffs in the county clerk's office are possible, but said the county board's budgets are "kind of tied" until next year's budget cycle.
None of the several board members who spoke about the raises explicitly mentioned Ackerman by name at Wednesday's meeting, but alluded to him several times.
Board member Nick Graff said Ackerman touted transparency throughout his career, but was non-transparent in the budget process to the point of deception. Member Brandon Hovey said he had rose-colored glasses when he first joined the board, but said Ackerman's actions have "shattered" them.
Zimmerman said Thursday the board is considering censuring Ackerman.
