President and Board of Trustees

123 Madison Street Village of Oak Park Oak Park, Illinois 60302 www.oak-park.us 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. Present: 6- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Straw, and Village Trustee Wesley Absent: 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 A. 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 Village of Oak Park Page 1 Printed on 12/4/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 4, 2024 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. Village of Oak Park Page 2 Printed on 12/4/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes November 4, 2024 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: AYES: 4- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Straw, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 2- Village Trustee Parakkat, and Village Trustee Robinson ABSENT: 1- Village Trustee Buchanan 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 Village of Oak Park Page 3 Printed on 12/4/2024