Accused in ghost-payrolling scheme, preschool boss skips punching clock

The politically connected director of Island Lake's village-owned preschool is the only municipal employee who doesn't have to fill out time sheets to get paid, the town's finance director confirmed Wednesday.

A resolution adopted by the village board March 11 said Creative Playtime Preschool Director Sharon Hyde, who is facing felony charges in what prosecutors have called a ghost-payrolling scheme, no longer must complete time sheets.

That makes Hyde - the wife of ex-mayor Thomas Hyde - the only village employee officially exempt from that responsibility, Finance Director John Little said.

All other employees - including Little - must fill out time sheets, he said.

As a salaried elected employee, Mayor Debbie Herrmann doesn't complete them, but she does keep track of her hours worked, Little said.

Trustee Don Saville called the resolution granting Hyde the exemption "deplorable."

"It's about one employee getting special treatment," said Saville, a frequent foe of Herrmann's who has opposed the board's support of Hyde.

Village attorney Scott Puma defended the resolution.

"There's no law that says a salaried employee has to submit time sheets," he said. "It's no problem under state or federal laws."

But that's not what the village's employee handbook states. Adopted in January 2003, the handbook requires all workers to complete time sheets.

"Federal and state laws require the village of Island Lake to keep an accurate record of time worked in order to calculate employee pay and benefits," the handbook reads.

Puma declined to say if he was aware of the conflict when the board voted on the resolution.

He also insisted the March 11 resolution legally supersedes the rules in the handbook. A line in the resolution states any prior board actions that conflict with the resolution are, to the extent of such conflict, repealed.

Trustee John Ponio criticized Hyde's exemption.

"I think it is a problem (if) any employee in the village doesn't fill out a time sheet," he said. "The taxpayers should know when they're working."

Hyde was arrested last year after authorities said she collected an estimated $114,000 in pay for hours she did not work between 1999 and 2009. She is charged with theft of government property, official misconduct and making false entries.

As a village trustee and later as mayor, Thomas Hyde voted to approve the payments to his wife, authorities said. He is charged with official misconduct and having a prohibitive interest in contracts.

Both cases are pending in Lake County circuit court.

The March 11 resolution supported Hyde as some trustees were pushing to place her on administrative leave because of the criminal charges. The three-page document states Hyde is a part-time, salaried employee earning $25,740 a year.

The resolution also states Hyde "shall no longer be required to submit time sheets in order to be compensated for her time worked as she is a salaried employee of the village."

The resolution was adopted by a 4-0 vote. Herrmann and trustees Connie Mascillino, Donna O'Malley and Don Verciglio voted in favor of the proposal, while Saville, Ponio and Trustee Laurie Rabattini briefly walked out in protest and did not vote.

Reached via e-mail, Herrmann did not answer questions about the matter.

Different employees are handled different ways, Verciglio said Wednesday. For example, it doesn't make sense for Hyde to fill out a time sheet during summer months when Creative Playtime is closed, he said.

But according to Little, every other village worker - including the three department heads who are the town's only other salaried, nonelected employees - must submit time sheets.

Hyde has declined to answer questions about her employment or the criminal case against her.

On Wednesday, Hyde's attorney, Charles Smith, said his client was not involved in drafting the resolution and didn't see it before it was adopted.

Hyde will "continue to do whatever the village asks her to do to account for her time (worked)," Smith said.

Little expects Hyde will file a time sheet by Monday - the day it's due - even though the board's resolution said she no longer must do so.