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Anderson calls for elected officials to take pay cuts  Share
Will County Board Member John Anderson (D-Monee) urged fellow county board members on Tuesday to take a pay reduction to help offset the county's budgetary challenges. Like virtually every other governmental entity in the country, Will County has seen its income streams fall in the last 18 months, largely due to diminished consumer spending, fewer building permits, and a sagging national economy. Anderson stressed, however, that Will County's economic structure rests on a solid foundation of sound fiscal management. Unlike many county governments in Illinois that engage in deficit spending, Will County government runs in the black. Anderson feels that spending cuts are a superior option to raising taxes. Over the past several years, Will County tax rates have gone down or, at a minimum, remained relatively stable. While taxpayers may have seen rises in their property taxes over the years, such increases are the product of either an elevated assessment by the township assessor (a separately-elected position) or perhaps an increase by another taxing body (such as the school district, library district, or municipality). Anderson is proud of the county's conservative financial position. ''I have never voted for a tax increase,'' he declared, ''and the reality is that we just don't need to raise taxes; we only spend what we have.''
Nonetheless, Will County is no different from any other in that the recession requires it to explore various belt-tightening measures, particularly when it comes to staffing costs. The county is examining a number of options to remediate this problem, including voluntary furloughs, buyouts and others. However, in a memorandum circulated to finance committee members on Tuesday, Anderson urged that county board members lead by example, by giving back a portion of their salaries. ''Time and again over the last several years, we have asked county officers, departments and employees to do more with less,'' Anderson said. ''However, the county board has not adequately answered that call on its own.'' Instead, over the last five years, the county board has increased its salary and, in several instances, some members have advocated raising county board members' salaries dramatically. Anderson, though, has established himself as something of a financial watchdog and was one of only two county board members to vote against the pay raises. ''I voted against the pay raises because I thought they were a mistake, and I donated mine to charity,'' he said. ''I do not believe any elected officials should be giving themselves pay raises, especially when we are making cutbacks. It's ludicrous.'' Anderson's proposal was met with criticism from Will County Board Chairman Jim Moustis (R-Frankfort), who has previously advocated pay increases for county board members. Anderson vowed, however, that he would not be deterred. He acknowledged that the proposed pay cuts for county board members and other elected county officials would not - standing alone - be sufficient to completely close the gap. Still, Anderson reasons, ''We cannot ask anyone else to tighten the belt if we are not willing to do it, too. When you get elected, your job is to be a leader. Here, we need to lead by example. At a time when we are again asking our employees to sacrifice, it is only fair that we answer our own call. It's the right thing to do.'' Barb Dorman is a reporter for Russell Publications.
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