Some Kane County employees may see 3% raises this fiscal year, after the Kane County Board Executive Committee on Wednesday recommended approval of wage increases for non-union employees in the county’s various departments, and for non-union employees working in the County Board office.
The proposed raises are set to come to the full Kane County Board on Tuesday for a final vote.
All non-union employees working in county departments, including but not limited to department heads and Animal Control employees, would be getting the 3% pay hike, per the measure discussed and recommended for approval Wednesday. Employees whose pay is set by a collective bargaining agreement, statute, ordinance or employment contract would not be included, nor would employees who have been working in the county for less than 90 days.
The Kane County Board is also set to vote Tuesday on a separate measure granting a 3% pay hike for non-union employees working in the County Board office. That accounts for a total of seven employees, the county’s spokesperson confirmed — four employees directly within the County Board office, and three who oversee the spending of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, funds.
The raises, if approved, would be effective as of Dec. 7, 2025, which was the start of the first pay period after the beginning of the county’s 2026 fiscal year, per the county.
According to documents included in Wednesday’s meeting agenda, the additional costs for the department employee raises are going to be paid from the fund balance reserves of each fund, and the nearly $300,000 that would otherwise have been coming out of the county’s general fund will instead be covered by expense reductions.
For the Animal Control raises, all of the $27,450 in additional costs would be covered by reducing expenses, per the county — the Animal Control Department is primarily funded by fees, rather than through the general fund, the county spokesperson said.
As for the raises in the Kane County Board office, those are being covered by expense reductions within the general fund — the bulk of it coming from what had been budgeted for the county’s strategic plan, per the county.
The strategic plan has previously been a source of debate among the board, with the Finance Committee in September considering terminating it early, but ultimately opting not to cancel it. The board also considered paying for the contract in the 2026 fiscal year with money from the Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund, which provides a portion of the annual net operating income of the Grand Victoria Riverboat to the county, but that too was voted down.
The county ultimately ended its relationship with the accounting and consulting firm BerryDunn after the county opted not to fund the strategic plan in the 2026 fiscal year, the county’s spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday. The contract was for a period of one year, meaning it is set to expire in February.
Following an affirmative vote by the Executive Committee on Wednesday, the raises are now set to be voted on at the county board’s meeting on Tuesday.
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com
