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Politics & Government

Kendall County Board Gives Coroner Small Raises

Salary will hop from $56,244 to $57,088 on Dec. 1.

If Coroner Ken Toftoy wins re-election in November, he’ll get a few slight raises during what may be his final term.

The voted, 5-4, Tuesday morning to bump the coroner’s salary from $56,244 to $57,088 on Dec. 1. Then, the salary will increase to $57,944 on Dec. 1, 2013, and remain that way for at least 3 years.

That salary is lower than the $87,454 the county clerk and circuit clerk make annually, according to The Beacon-News.

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County Board member Bob “H.D.” Davidson argued for a higher salary. He said increasing the salary might attract more candidates in four years, since Toftoy has said he might retire at the end of his next term. Oswego firefighter Mike Dabney has announced he’s planning to run as an independent against Toftoy, who also chairs the Kendall County Republican party.

On Tuesday, Davidson argued that the coroner was paid less than other elected officials because of some county board members’ negative opinions of Toftoy.

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“I think this should be the direction of the office,” Davidson said. “Let’s say that in 4 years we have another person take over this office. Are we as a board going to stand up … and bring this office up to $65,000?”

But County Board member Nancy Martin said the proposed pay was not a reflection of the personality or the person, but rather a reflection of the amount of work involved. Neighboring counties have hospitals, so victims of serious injury or traffic crashes are often taken to those hospitals – and if they die, those coroners handle any necessary investigation.

“Most of the deaths that we have a lot of times are in nursing homes,” Martin said. We’re in a unique situation, we’re not like some of the other counties.”

In April, the Coroner’s Office had 23 cases, four of which happened at a nursing home. Two happened on a roadway, one happened at a motel and the rest happened at residences.

Fourteen, or about 63 percent, happened outside normal business hours, according to Toftoy's monthly report. Four autopsies were performed, and two inquests were held.

Voting against the raises were: Dan Koukol, John Shaw, Jeff Wehrli, and Davidson. Chairman John Purcell, whose wife works in the coroner’s office, abstained.

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