Burr Ridge Official In Dispute With Bosses

BURR RIDGE, IL — Burr Ridge has been paying its longtime finance director, Jerry Sapp, for more than four months while he remains on leave, costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.

On Monday, the Village Board is set to appoint the village's assistant finance director, Amy Nelson, to the department's job on an acting basis. In the board's meeting agenda, the village staff said it was recommending the action because of Sapp's "extended absence." However, Sapp told Burr Ridge Patch on Monday that he has long been ready to get back to work.

While Nelson is acting director, she is expected to make $110,000 over a year, a 20 percent increase.

In early September, Sapp, who has served as the director for 24 years, was rushed to the emergency room because he said he suffered an accumulation of stress and anxiety that led to an anxiety attack at work Sept. 4. He said he went home a few hours later.

In a letter to the Village Board in early November, Sapp said he was cleared by a doctor to return to work days later, but the village has not allowed him to come back.

In an interview Monday, Sapp said he sent documents through FedEx to the mayor and village trustees on Friday that he said make the case that he can return to work.

He said an independent report shows that six medical professionals have said he is fit for duty. But he said a city-funded medical report declares just the opposite. He said that report is full of errors, obsolete and 102 days old.

"They're paying tens of thousands in legal fees to keep me out," Sapp said.

He also said the village is spending money on a contractor to help the village's finance department because he was put on leave.

In his November letter, Sapp said Mayor Gary Grasso called him into his office in July and informed him that the board wanted Sapp out and Nelson in as finance director. Sapp noted he was 61 and Nelson was 45.

Other than Trustee Zach Mottl, village officials have declined to comment on Sapp's situation.

Sapp's leave has been during a time of turbulence at Village Hall.

In October, the board approved a resignation agreement with Village Administrator Doug Pollock, who received $38,000 in severance in exchange for agreeing not to file an age discrimination lawsuit.

Around the same time, the board was poised to hire the much younger Assistant Village Administrator Evan Walter as the new administrator.

But that was before Mottl released texts in which Walter repeatedly criticized Pollock to Mottl, calling Pollock a "p---y" at least twice. Walter questioned Pollock's competence and referred to Pollock an "assistant to the mayor. Not a leader of an organization."

These comments apparently upset trustees, who ended up naming Walter interim administrator instead. They said they would determine whether Walter was up for the job permanently.

In Monday's interview, Sapp said Walter filed a complaint against him alleging a hostile work environment. The complaint, Sapp said, lacked merit and has yet to receive a determination from the village.

Sapp said that in the village's report and interviews, Pollock verified that it was Walter who filed the complaint on the morning of Sept. 4 while Sapp was in the emergency room. In fact, Sapp said, "Evan was out of town on vacation when he filed the false complaint."

"This is part and parcel of Gary wanting Evan in and Doug out and Gary wanting Jerry out and Amy in," Sapp said in Monday's interview.

Mottl has suggested that Grasso and the trustees are discriminating against employees based on age. A couple of on-the-record comments by village officials indicated age may be a factor in hiring at the village.

Before announcing that Walter was the Village Board's selection as the new administrator, Grasso told Burr Ridge Patch that the village was considering a particular "younger" candidate to replace Pollock, apparently referring to Walter.

In a text message to Mottl last year, Walter, who is a few years out of college, commented on then-Village Clerk Karen Thomas, who announced her retirement in mid-February after 40 years of service to the village.

"I'm sorry to lose Karen's brain but honestly I'm going to get someone 40 years younger to replace her for 70 percent of the cost. My department will get more done after May 1," Walter said in the text.

In a statement Monday, Grasso told Patch that Sapp is entitled to and should receive his pay while on leave.

"Jerry’s leave is based upon his health issues that unfortunately the Patch published without respecting Jerry’s privacy," Grasso said. "The Village has respected Jerry’s service to the Village throughout."

Walter couldn't be reached for immediate comment.