LaSalle County forwards EMA staffing proposal to Salary and Labor Committee, then returns to executive session

LaSalle County board members voted to forward a proposal to the Salary and Labor Committee to pursue hiring either a part-time assistant or a full-time director assistant for the county Emergency Management Agency (EMA) and asked human resources to conduct a salary study. The board then voted to return to executive session under 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) to discuss appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of a specific county employee.

The motion to refer the EMA staffing proposal and request the salary study was moved by Mike and seconded by Ron; a voice vote followed and the chair announced the motion carried. The motion included both the option of hiring a part-time assistant and the alternative of hiring a full-time director assistant, and it directed human resources to review current pay levels “to maybe adjust those,” according to the motion as placed on the record.

After that vote, Mike moved and Ron seconded a motion to go back into executive session citing 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1), the Illinois Open Meetings Act exemption that covers personnel matters. The board conducted a roll call for the executive-session motion; members recorded as voting in favor include Mike, Joe, Ron, Wally, Bridal and Ray. The meeting then proceeded into the closed session portion referenced in the motion.

The actions recorded in the public portion were procedural referrals and a motion to enter a closed session; no final hiring decision or personnel outcome was announced in the public record during the excerpted discussion.

Board members did not detail a hiring timeline, a salary range, or which specific EMA position (beyond the two options discussed) would be filled; those specifics were not stated in the public record provided. The personnel discussion that followed in executive session was cited under the statutory exemption and took place in closed session.