Three months into 2022 and after approving another severance agreement with a village employee, Oak Lawn is on track to end the year with a slight surplus, as budgeted, the village manager says.
The Oak Lawn Village Board approved a separation agreement April 12 with building inspector Steven Radice that provides him his salary for a year and coverage by the village employee group health insurance plan through April 22, 2023. His last day on the job will be Friday.
Radice’s base salary in 2021, as listed on the village website, was $92,251, plus $2,000 in overtime and incentives, and insurance benefits of $1,642.
When pension, Social Security and Medicare contributions are included, Radice’s total compensation last year was $114,714 last year.
The village is investing in a new enterprise software system that will eliminate some of the tasks Radice did, Phelan said. Radice’s other duties and responsibilities will be assigned to another employee already on the payroll.
“Mr. Radice’s separation agreement was part of an ongoing effort to better allocate resources and align positions and departments,” Village Manager Thomas Phelan said in an email. “There will be significant savings over the long-term.”
It’s possible more eliminations and consolidations will occur, Phelan said.
In December, the Village Board approved separation agreements with three other employees, whose base pay ranged from $50,000 to $127,957 in 2021, according to the salaries posted on the village website.
Department heads had been instructed to cut expenses as much as possible to plug an anticipated budget shortfall of between $2 million and $3 million, mostly due to a loss of revenue during the pandemic, Phelan said.
The village also decided to bring the Oak Lawn Regional Emergency Communications back in house after a year of hosting it off-site, to save an estimated $1 million a year.
The 2022 budget the Village Board approved in December was balanced with a projected surplus of $21,157 in the general fund.
“Barring any unforeseen problems or circumstances we are currently tracking within our 2022 budget,” Phelan said.
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