Stop Burr Ridge Official's $38K Severance Payment: Trustee

BURR RIDGE, IL — Burr Ridge Trustee Zach Mottl asked the village Wednesday to stop the $38,000 in severance pay for its retiring administrator. He said the village may have violated the law in the process of considering the compensation.

In an email to officials, Mottl noted the attorney general's office is considering his complaint in connection with the matter.

He alleged the village did not allow him to listen to recordings of the Village Board's closed-door discussions last month about an agreement for Village Administrator Doug Pollock's early retirement.

Mottl and Mayor Gary Grasso exchanged a series of emails before last week's meeting, where the board approved the agreement with Pollock. In the emails, Grasso told Mottl he would be the one that the trustee must go through to listen to the recordings. Grasso gave Mottl a number of times in which they could meet at Village Hall for Mottl to hear the tapes. Mottl contended the times were limited and inconvenient.

At September's board meetings, Mottl tried to connect by telephone, but the board twice voted to block him from doing so. Trustees said he could attend in person or through the Zoom videoconferencing program.

See the attorney general's response to Burr Ridge Trustee Zack Mottl and emails between Mottl and Mayor Gary Grasso.

On Wednesday, the attorney general's office sent a letter to Grasso saying further action was warranted in response to Mottl's complaint. The office asked Grasso to answer Mottl's allegations, particularly on why only the mayor could arrange for Mottl to listen to the audio.

The attorney general's letter prompted Mottl's email to village officials.

"Depending on how the attorney general rules, it’s possible that the entire village board and village administration staff may have violated the law," Mottl said. "I don’t see why we should risk additional injury to the people of Burr Ridge by paying out $38,000 of their money when we can wait a few weeks for this to be resolved."

In an email to Patch on Wednesday, Grasso said only he would meet with Mottl because of the trustee's "sustained and constant verbal abuse" of staff and trustees. He noted the board had reprimanded Mottl four times and called for his resignation. He said no one wanted anything to do with Mottl.

"As Mayor, I was left with the unfortunate task of having to deal with him. If someone would step up, I’d gladly pass the baton," Grasso said. "I’ve given him several opportunities to hear the tapes of meetings he missed without explanation still and refused to attend at the Village Hall or on Zoom like all the other Trustees."

Grasso said Mottl doesn’t really want to listen to the tapes.

"He wants to play victim and have reporters like you not see through it," said Grasso, who defeated Mottl in the April 2019 election.

The $38,000 payment to the administrator is set to be made in December.

Check other stories related to the departure of Village Administrator Doug Pollock:

Burr Ridge Administrator Leaving Village After 25 Years

Why Is Burr Ridge Giving $38,000 In Severance?

Burr Ridge Eyes 'Younger' Person To Lead Village: Mayor