Joliet Park Director's Buyout: Here's Why It's Expensive

JOLIET, IL -On Monday evening, the Joliet Park Board met to approve a buyout with Tom Carstens, executive director of the Joliet Park District. Under the arrangement, the Joliet Park District will pay Carstens a total of $82,137 as a so-called "separation sum." Just six months earlier, on Nov. 19, 2018, the Joliet Park Board approved a contract extension to keep Carstens as the leader of the park district until at least Feb. 11, 2o20.

At the time of his contract extension, Carstens was given a $146,002 salary and his contract extension called for a 3 percent raise to take effect this past Feb. 11. Joliet Patch determined that a 3-percent raise amounted to a pay increase of $4,380.

Therefore, Carstens was making $150,382 in regular salary at the time of this week's resignation. However, Carstens was also being compensated another $600 per month as a vehicle allowance provided by the Joliet Park District; that's another $7,200 annually.

Carstens came to Joliet in February 2016 from Frankfort. He replaced Dominic Egizio who left the Joliet Park District previous year as a result of a sexual harassment scandal that resulted in the payment of a $375,000 settlement to one of the Joliet Park District employees who was victimized by Egizio's improper conduct.

Under Monday's deal, Carstens will get three months of regular salary, totaling $37,596. He will get another $27,768 for 9.6 weeks (48 days) of unused vacation that Carstens had accrued after only three years and three months on the job.

Third, Carstens will get paid another $16,774 for 29 unused sick days he had accumulated.

According to his contract, Carstens was given four weeks of annual vacation time and Joliet Park District policy allowed him to carryover his unused vacation time, that way he could build up a large nest egg to turn it into a hefty payout whenever he left.

The decision to part ways with Carstens comes six weeks after the Joliet Park District asked voters to approve a 58-percent tax increase to help generate millions in new revenue. The measure failed and about 72 percent of the voters were against it.

Carstens showed up at a Joliet City Council meeting two weeks later and told the city's elected officials that he fully expected the tax increase proposal would pass. The Joliet Park Board and the Joliet City Council are two completely separate taxing bodies.