McHenry City Council won’t take pay raises

Neither the McHenry City Council alderpersons nor the city clerk will get pay raises anytime soon, nor will the meeting time change.

The council chose not to vote Monday night on a proposed ordinance that would have increased pay for elected officials following the Spring 2027 elections.

City Attorney David McArdle had brought up the possibility of increasing pay for elected McHenry officials at the Sept. 16 meeting. According to McArdle’s report to the council, which cited state law, “any adjustments to compensation must be made at least 180 days prior to the beginning of a new term of office.” He suggested that if the board were to approve pay increases now, they should go into affect after the spring 2027 elections.

But council members chose Monday to keep their current compensation of $350 per month or $4,200 a year. Mayor Wayne Jett did not seek any increase to the $15,000 he receives.

“We are not attracting crowds at 7 p.m.”

—  McHenry Alderwoman Sue Miller, 7th Ward

“We do this because we like doing this,” said Alderman Frank McClatchey, 3rd Ward. “I don’t think we need to play ‘keep up with the Jones,’” and increase the pay to be equivalent to other communities.

Alderman Michael Koch, 6th Ward, and Alderman Andrew Glab, 2nd Ward, spoke in favor of a small increase but did not put a number out for a vote.

“It would be a nice pat on the back to get a little something extra,” Koch said.

Glab asked if an increase would encourage more people to run for the council in upcoming local elections.

“When you leave it that low, is it disenfranchising” and discouraging people to run, he said, but noted he wouldn’t want to see people run for the office to get paid either.

The council did not vote on whether City Clerk Trisha Ramel should see a bump in pay. The elected position makes $400 a month plus $75 per meeting, for a possible total of $6,600 each year. As McHenry’s clerk, Ramel attends the meetings and does the official minutes.

“If we are not getting rid of the city clerk, then leave it as is then,” Koch said. McHenry voters turned down a referendum question in November 2020 that would have eliminated the elected role.

Most of her work is done after the meeting, Ramel said, noting that she does not have a vote on the council or on whether she should receive an increase.

The question of whether the McHenry council should move its meeting time came up during a vote on its 2025 meeting schedule. It did not include what would be the first regular meeting of the year on Jan. 6. That, assistant Clerk Monte Johnson said, is because that meeting is regularly cancelled. He noted the board could vote to include it, or change the date and times of meetings too.

Alderwoman Sue Miller, 7th Ward, moved to retain the Jan. 6 meeting, and move the regular meeting time to 6 p.m.

“We are not attracting crowds at 7 p.m.,” Miller said. “I am just trying to change it and do something different.”

That motion failed, with only Miller and Alderwoman Chris Bassi, 4th Ward, voting in favor. The final vote to add a Jan. 6 meeting was unanimous. The meetings will continue to be held at 7 p.m.