East Dundee wants former trustees to repay technology allowance

What the previous East Dundee village board giveth, the current village board plans to taketh away.

Village President Jerald Bartels says three former trustees and one sitting board member must repay about $1,200 each in overpayments the trustees received under the technology reimbursement program from November 2007 to October of last year.

The computer allowance ordinance was approved in November 2007 limiting payments to $50 per month. Payments were retroactively applied to May of that year when newly elected officials took office. Dan O'Leary, Jeff Lynam and Jim Carlini received payments backdated to May. Kathleen Mahony was appointed to the board in July 2007 to replace O'Leary who took over as village president when Bartels stepped down from the post.

Trustees at last week's committee of the whole meeting directed staff to send a letter to the trustees requesting repayment of $300 per board member for the retroactive pay, as well as receipts justifying purchases between $900 and $1,200 per trustee, Village Administrator Frank Koehler said Friday.

"If there is adequate documentation there shouldn't be a problem," Koehler said. "If it is not fully documented, that could be construed as compensation and create other problems for the elected officials."

Koehler said the letter, which was sent Friday, was on the advice of the village's auditor, Aurora-based Sikich LLC.

Bartels, who long criticized the program as a pay increase for board members, says trustees accepted money in the form of compensation and not reimbursement - a violation of state statute that prohibits local governments from approving pay raises in the middle of a term. Verbiage in the ordinance did not specify retroactive payments or advances. Bartels estimated overpayments amounted to about $300 each.

"Board members can only take payments in compensation or expense reimbursements," said Bartels, who championed the program's termination last year. "They never submitted receipts for the money that was paid out, so the way the money was handled, it was treated as compensation. That could get us in trouble with the IRS."

But trustees say the village board gave the payments the green light after receiving legal counsel and approval.

O'Leary, former trustees Carlini and Mahony, as well as current trustee Jeff Lynam, received payments to offset the costs of purchasing a laptop computer - and related hardware and software - to conduct village-related business. Others opted to use their own laptop or a village-issued laptop. Those who did not use a village laptop were eligible for the program.

Trustees at the time said the program would save village residents money on the costs of creating and collating information packets that are distributed to the board before meetings. Trustees now receive board packets via e-mail.

Trustees said the intent of the ordinance was to begin payments from the start of the term and to reimburse board members for expenses incurred to conduct village business, not a pay raise.

"Nobody received more money than they were entitled to," said Lynam, who called the issue vindictive. "It's a matter of timing when the monies were issued based on an interpretation of the ordinance. It's a hairsplitting situation that we have here."

O'Leary, who lost his re-election bid in April 2009 by one vote, said trustees should repay the money if they received more than they were entitled to.

However, O'Leary said, trustees rightfully accepted the money to reimburse costs related to village business.

"There were still expenses incurred by these four board members," O'Leary said. "It is petty what's happening."