September 21 2006
Wheaton Park District director calls it quits
James Fuller Daily Herald Staff Writer
Wheaton Park District Director Rob Robinson unexpectedly resigned Wednesday night following community backlash about taxpayer dollars pumped into his free housing at Arrowhead Golf Course.
The announcement at the start of the park board meeting fueled public comments laced with vitriol. The comments were based on two Daily Herald reports.
The first report put the cost of upgrades to Robinson's house at $83,000. The second report cited documents obtained by the Daily Herald putting the actual cost at about $180,000, resulting in an explanation from the district that no one actually looked at the hard numbers before reporting the $83,000 figure.
Labor costs and a new garage will eventually put the cost of the project at about $300,000.
Park commissioners explained they had no idea the house needed such extensive repairs because they hadn't seen the inside in many years.
Community members said Wednesday night the house isn't worth the cost or the repairs night.
"I just don't think that's the best use of the public's dollars," Aileen Haslett told the park board.
"I want to make sure we get the most for our money."
Overall, the community expressed support for Robinson's leadership. It was exactly the opposite when he came to the park board.
One resident, Don Immekus, went so far as to call for the resignation of all seven park commissioners.
"As elected officials you have all violated your fiduciary responsibility," Immekus said. "You, as a board, lied to (Robinson) to get him here. That house was (former Director) Bob Dunsmuir's dog kennel. How long have you been on the board? Not one of you was ever in that house?"
Park commissioners defended the remodeling of the house as a necessary action to attract a quality director, and as an investment in an asset.
Park Board President Paul Fullerton said it's not a major ongoing cost to taxpayers, and no park maintenance went unperformed as a result of staff time spent on the house.
"We were not constantly updating the house," Fullerton said. "The reason costs were incurred was because the home had not been updated for some time."
Robinson offered no public comment about his resignation. Fullerton read a statement that said Robinson was resigning to return to Colorado because of family issues.
In the weeks leading up to Wednesday night's resignation, Robinson expressed concern to the Daily Herald about how news reports on the housing issue were stressing out his family and causing some of his children to endure uncomfortable questioning by peers at school.
Robinson did not immediately respond to an interview request after Wednesday night's meeting.
Park commissioners met in closed session to discuss a date for Robinson's departure and any legal obligations about severance pay.
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Friday December 22 2006
Ex-Wheaton park director still being paid
James Fuller Daily Herald Staff Writer
Rob Robinson isn't executive director of the Wheaton Park District anymore. He doesn't live in free park district housing. Nor does he live in Illinois.
But he'll still get paid for another month as if he was, a sum totaling a little more than $10,000, according to a copy of Robinson's resignation agreement.
Robinson's Sept. 20 resignation took effect immediately. At that moment he lost all his park district privileges. He turned in his park district cell phone. He relinquished the 2003 Ford Explorer the park district gave him to use for business purposes. And he had until the end of the year to move out of the free housing the district provided for him and his family.
Robinson is already out of that house, but he'll still see some money related to the housing down the road.
The park district places the fair market value of the free housing it provided Robinson at $25,000 for the year. Robinson must now include that as gross income on his taxes. For that, the park district will reimburse him up to $2,222 for the taxes owed.
But Robinson will receive more money for temporary housing the district provided while fixing up the park district home used to house the director. From Jan. 1 to June 30, the park district shelled out $24,000 in rent for Robinson and his family to live in temporary housing at 821 N. Wheaton Ave. That comes out to $4,000 a month in rent.
"It was basically a supply and demand thing," park board President Paul Fullerton said. "It was the only house we could find."
Robinson must also include the temporary housing payment in his gross income. The park district will reimburse him up to $9,600 for doing so.
Robinson exhausted all his personal and sick time before he left, which supports his statement about resigning because of health concerns. However, the park district did cut Robinson a check for $4,662 for 73 hours of unused vacation time.
Unless he gets a new job before then, Robinson keeps his health and dental benefits until Jan. 31. That's also the last day he'll receive a paycheck under the resignation agreement, for a total of four months of severance pay since September. Before taxes and retirement contributions, that's about $40,000.
The Daily Herald obtained Robinson's resignation agreement through a Freedom of Information request, a process some park commissioners indicated was costly and burdensome on park staff this week.
Fullerton agreed the public should know the details of Robinson's resignation agreement. However, because it is a "dicey" employment issue, the park board paid for a legal opinion on what it could and should release.
Fullerton said it does the same for all Freedom of Information requests.
"I'm into full disclosure and openness," he said.
Robinson did not respond to an interview request.
Under the resignation agreement, he is not allowed to make disparaging comments about the park district.
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