Officials approve multiple personnel pay and leave changes, including public defender and EMA raises

County officials approved a package of personnel and compensation changes at a meeting that consisted largely of roll-call votes and brief motions, including discretionary leave approvals, pay increases and an executive-session motion on collective bargaining.

The most significant formal actions approved were an increase of $10,000 to the public defender office manager position and an EMA director salary raised to $75,000, both effective Dec. 1, 2025, as recorded in the meeting. Officials also approved a wage increase for a circuit clerk IT position — a $1-per-hour raise plus a 3.5% nonunion adjustment effective Dec. 1, 2025 — and granted discretionary leave to the nursing home, corrections and highway departments.

The meeting record shows one additional personnel item: a motion to increase the felony legal secretary stipend effective Dec. 1, 2025, “pending signed MOU between the county and AFSCME.” The transcript includes a spoken numeric figure for the stipend that is unclear and inconsistent in the record; the approved motion in the meeting did not include a clarified or legible stipend amount on the public audio transcript.

Most motions passed on voice or roll-call votes. For example, the motion to increase the public defender office manager position by $10,000 passed after a motion made by James Bailey and seconded by Kathy Bright. The EMA director compensation increase to $75,000 was moved and seconded and passed on the record. The wage adjustment for the circuit clerk IT position also passed following roll-call votes. Discretionary leave for the nursing home, corrections and highway departments was approved in separate motions, each recorded as passed.

The meeting also included a motion to enter executive session under the statute cited in the record (the transcript renders the citation as “5 ILC s 120 slash 2 c”) for collective bargaining matters and deliberations concerning salary schedules. That motion was seconded and passed by recorded voice votes; the meeting subsequently reconvened and resumed voting on the personnel items.

No additional discussion, rationale, or budgetary breakdown for the increases appears in the public portion of the transcript beyond the motions, the effective dates listed (all effective Dec. 1, 2025), and the note that the felony legal secretary stipend increase was contingent on a signed memorandum of understanding with AFSCME. The transcript does not show department-level presentations of cost estimates, funding sources, or related ordinance references.

Votes and approvals were recorded in short roll-call exchanges across the items. The meeting record lists the following named vote participants repeatedly: Mike McEmory, Kathy Bright and James Bailey. Anita May moved to enter the executive session; Melissa (last name not specified in the transcript) was asked to handle verbiage on one item.

Next steps noted on the record include the contingency that the felony legal secretary stipend increase is effective pending a signed MOU with AFSCME. No other follow-up assignments or reporting deadlines were stated in the public transcript.