123 Madison Street

Oak Park, Illinois 60302

www.oak-park.us

Village of Oak Park

Meeting Minutes

President and Board of Trustees

Monday, November 4, 2024

6:00 PM

Village Hall

I. Call to Order

Trustee Wesley called the Village Board Special Meeting to order at 6:12

P.M.

II. Roll Call

President Scaman joined the Meeting at 6:15 P.M. Trustee Enyia also

joined the meeting after it started.

6 -

Present:

Absent:

Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village

Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Straw, and Village Trustee Wesley

1 - Village Trustee Buchanan

III. Agenda Approval

There was no vote taken.

IV. Non-Agenda Public Comment

There was no public comment.

VII. Regular Agenda

ORD 24-168

An Ordinance Amending Chapter 2 (“Administration”), Article 1 (“Officers

and Employees Generally”), Section 2-1-6 (“Compensation of Elected

Officers”) of the Village of Oak Park Village Code to Provide for Periodic

Adjustments to the Compensation of the Village Clerk.

Village Manager Kevin Jackson presented the Item.

Trustee Robinson said we have not looked at the impact to our pensions

and the built-in automatic adjustment year over year is going to compound

that. This position may have a very high turnover every four years and there

may be people coming into the position with different vesting eligibility. She

said she would like to know the overall pension impact for this first before

she can support these built-in adjustments which cannot be changed during

the terms.

Assistant Village Manager/HR Director Kira Tchang said every year IMRF

assesses what the Village's employer contribution will be. Each year it

fluctuates little and the number is around 9% this year. Any increase to pay

results in a marginal amount of IMRF additional employer contribution

obligation. Increases would create incremental additional pension

obligation.

Trustee Robinson asked if a review is being built into the ordinance or if

that is something the Board will agree to do separate from the ordinance.

Trustee Wesley said it is not in the current ordinance. The understanding is

that the Board would do this on a regular basis going forward if it is the will

of the Board. She said she would like to know more detail about the

pension from the individual increase which gets compounded because it

could have a new person in it every four years. She said she would want to

know both from the individual incremental addition and also cumulatively

over a four, eight, 12, 16 year period in having a number of different

individuals qualify for that pension at the higher salary point.

Trustee Straw said he would like to have it indexed to some other measure

but for simplicity's sake today, he would put it at 3% which is what it has

generally been over the last 10-15 years according to the Bureau of Labor

Statistics Employment Cost Index (ECI). This is designed to be a full-time

position. If we hold it steady, we are expecting whoever is elected to this

role to take a pay cut of 12.5% over the next four years. We want someone

who is competent to operate as a professional in a sophisticated

organization and who can support their family on this income over the next

four years. He said he supports having an annual increase in the ordinance,

whether it is indexed to inflation or a flat 3%.

Trustee Parakkat said he is supportive of the annual adjustment. He said

he would have been a lot more comfortable with the 10-15% increase on

the previous salary which would be in the $85K-$90K range. On that basis

he was comfortable with an adjustment on a periodic basis. What we have

now is a base of $107K and then this adjustment on top of that.

Trustee Enyia said he agrees with a 3% annual increase.

Trustee Wesley said he is also in agreement with a 3% annual increase or

indexing it to an inflation tracking index like the ECI. For expediency's sake,

he said 3% seems to be something we can get around and then we can

discuss what the appropriate metric should be going forward. The Clerk is

a full-time position and unlike the Trustees, the Clerk is not expected to

have a second job. We would not hire any other position in our village and

say this is your salary for the next four years. He said he is strongly

supportive of a 3% increase over the next three years as previously written

in the ordinance.

Manager Jackson said an amendment would need to be made to the

motion to add the 3% and a limit to this term.

Trustee Straw said he prefers to leave the term indefinite and have a future

Board decide whether they want to do something different.

Trustee Robinson said if the goal is to create parity with permanent,

non-union staff, limiting it is the decision that does that. There are no staff

positions that get automatic guaranteed increases at a set amount. To

make it indefinite sets the Clerk separate and apart from regular non-union

staff. She referenced the Village's DEI statement that if pay adjustments

are seen as excessive or unjustified, it can foster resentment or

perceptions of inequality. She said let's not push the equity point back to

inequity.

Trustee Wesley said for him it is about ensuring the role is adequately

compensated per inflation and a future Board can adjust or limit.

President Scaman said she is more comfortable with the 3-year limit

because we were going to have the committee but she will vote with the

majority. Governmental bodies have had to take freezes and we would

have no way of making that adjustment during that term.

Trustee Straw made a friendly amendment to the motion to add 3% as the

annual adjustment and to limit the annual adjustment to the next term of the

Village Clerk. Village Attorney Greg Smith clarified that the language to be

added to the ordinance would state the annual rate of pay for the Village

Clerk will be increased by 3% on April 1, 2026, 2027, and 2028. Trustee

Robinson seconded.

It was moved by Trustee Straw, seconded by Trustee Robinson, that this

Ordinance be adopted. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was

as follows:

4 -

AYES:

Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Straw, and Village

Trustee Wesley

2 - Village Trustee Parakkat, and Village Trustee Robinson

NAYS:

1 - Village Trustee Buchanan

ABSENT:

VIII. Adjourn

It was moved by Trustee Robinson, seconded by Trustee Straw, to Adjourn. A

voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. Meeting adjourned at 6:38

P.M., Monday, November 4, 2024.

Respectfully submitted,

Deputy Clerk Hansen