Report: Township Supervisor's iPhone Gaffe Results in $1,600 Charge

When Lemont Township Supervisor Steve Rosendahl traveled to Mexico with his family over Thanksgiving, he didn't think twice about using his smartphone to check in on township-related business back home.

Using his iPhone, which is paid for by , he accidentally downloaded all of his emails.

According to a recent report by the Better Government Association, the data transfer resulted in a $1,616 charge, bringing the total bill — due in January — to $1,760.81.

Rosendahl, who has been the township supervisor for the past six years, said he was shocked by the bill, and immediately contacted AT&T to dispute he charge.

“I got on the phone with them right away to protest the charge, but there was nothing they could do,” Rosendahl told Patch in an interview Wednesday. "It was ridiculous because it wasn't intentional. I had no idea."

After AT&T refused to budge, Rosendahl made the decision to expense the entire tab, leaving taxpayers to pick up the cost. He felt it was appropriate, given that the download was township-related, he said.

"I left for Puerto Vallarta in the middle of a lot of big projects, so I ended up working on my vacation," Rosendahl said. "I don't think it was wrong of me to expense a charge for downloading work emails."

According to the BGA report, the Lemont Township Board of Trustees approved the bill, though at least one trustee claimed he didn't know about the charge.

Rosendahl said the transaction was not a secret, and that he was surprised when he was contacted by an investigative reporter from the BGA.

"I was told they received an anonymous tip," he said. "They proceeded to request all my cell phone bills, which we got together despite the great deal of time and money it cost."

Records obtained by the BGA showed that Rosendahl's entire phone cost for 2010 was $1,782.61 — about $20 more than the bill from Thanksgiving.

Though the BGA report was only published Tuesday, Rosendahl said he has yet to be contacted by any residents about the issue.

"I don't think I did anything wrong," he said. "It was an unfortunate accident. That's all I can say about it."

Rosendahl said he plans to address the issue during the next Lemont Township board meeting on Tuesday, May 10. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the Lemont Township Community Center, 16300 Alba St.