Motion filed to dismiss case

PRINCETON — The Springfield attorney for the Bureau County Board has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed against the board by Bureau County Clerk Kami Hieronymus.

On Dec. 21, attorney Gary Smith filed the motion at the Bureau County Courthouse. The eight-page document says, in part, that Hieronymus’ complaint is unclear, and her claims are not documented.

On Oct. 31, Hieronymus filed her complaint against the Bureau County Board, saying the board’s Oct. 18 approval of the 2007-08 fiscal budget made it impossible for her to fulfill her state-mandated responsibilities. Less money in her department budget, specifically in the “clerk hire” line item, meant the loss of one employee and the reduction of salary for another employee.

In her complaint, Hieronymus said she cannot fulfill her state-mandated job with less employees. The Bureau County Board needs to appropriate funds necessary for her to carry out her statutory and contractual duties, she said.

In his motion to dismiss Hieronymus’ complaint, Smith said the county clerk was not clear as to what specific statutory duty she was unable to fulfill under the new budget. Hieronymus also failed to demonstrate why she would be unable to perform her statutory duties with an $18,000 funding reduction in the “clerk hire” line item, Smith said.

In addition, Hieronymus failed to specify any basis to compel the Bureau County Board to fund her with an extra $18,000 for the clerk hire line item, Smith said. Specific statutory discretion is vested in the county board to establish budgetary limits for the compensation of county clerk employees, the motion continued.

“No cause of action exists for an unhappy county clerk to sue the county board for additional funding, and the complaint, in its present form, does not allege anything more,” the board’s attorney said in his motion to dismiss.

No court date has been set at this time to hear the complaint. Circuit Judge Marc Bernabei and Associate Judge C. J. Hollerich have both recused, or excused, themselves from the case. The complaint will be heard by Circuit Judge Joseph Hettel.

Bureau County State’s Attorney Patrick Herrmann is representing Hieronymus in her complaint.

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