News
Former Lake County Clerk Thomas Philpot worked up to 15 hours per month on programs that added $3,500 or more per year to his $54,000 clerk's salary, state records show. And in some years, state reports show he and top deputies did no work related to the child support collections program that paid them bonuses.
Philpot in February repaid the county, with interest, the $24,000 in "supplemental pay" he received from 2006 to 2009 from a federal program that reimbursed the county based on the amount of money collected in child support cases handled by the Circuit Court, after a Post-Tribune report revealed Philpot awarded himself the extra pay without approval from the County Council.
The money came from a federal program that reimbursed county clerks and prosecutors based on the amount of money they collected in child support cases.
State officials say the money can be paid out as bonuses to employees involved in tasks entering data on payments, entering court orders into a statewide child support database or calculating payments.
The elected clerk has wide discretion on spending the money, though, and can give himself extra pay from the fund only with approval from the County Council.
Philpot and top deputies Sandra Radoja and Gus Trakas all received bonus pay from the fund from 2004 to 2009, though in several of those years, their names don't appear on hourly logs required by the state Department of Child Services.
The monthly reports are filed with the state Department of Child Services and are required for the county to receive funds from a child support incentive fund, called Title IV-D. Philpot regularly reported he worked on "IV-D related activities."
In 2006, Philpot's, Radoja's and Trakas' names do not appear on the report forms, which state "Each IV-D paid employee is to enter the hours worked on Title IV-D related activities for each paid working day."
That year, the trio received a combined $11,118; $4,249 for Philpot, $3,449 for Radoja and $3,420 for Trakas.
In 2007, Philpot and Radoja logged a total of 162.12 hours, in uniform daily increments ranging from .36 hours to .64 hours each work day. Trakas' name does not appear on the log sheets.
Philpot took no IV-D money that year on top of his $54,000 salary. Radoja got $3,554 and Trakas got $3,524.
In 2008, none of the three were included in IV-D records, but did receive bonus money for IV-D work in 2008 that was paid out on their first paychecks of 2009: Radoja received $43,833; Philpot $4,723; and Trakas $3,803.
In 2009, Philpot's last year in office, he and Radoja each logged 150 hours, again in small, uniform daily increments, while Trakas' name is not on the list of employees doing IV-D related work.
Philpot got $9,483, Radoja $4,012, and Trakas $3,913.
Philpot, who resigned as clerk in January to take office as county coroner and is running in the May 4 Democratic primary for sheriff, did not return calls from the Post-Tribune.
Radoja, who left the clerk's office after Mike Brown won a Democratic precinct vote to replace Philpot, said for at least part of Philpot's time in office, administrators calculated the amount of time they spent on IV-D activities by dividing their own 40-hour work week by the number of employees under their supervision who worked on IV-D duties.
"It was a number that would change from month to month, as we shifted people around when we'd get backed up in one area or another," Radoja said.
The extra money from the IV-D program boosted her salary, but wasn't a bonus, Radoja said.
"I was told I was going to get so much (in salary) and that was part of where it would come from. It was never treated as a bonus. I never asked for anything special," Radoja said.
"I worked my tail off every year I worked at the Government Center. I never want to be questioned for anything. I didn't decide how this was handled, I'm just the one who answers questions from reporters."
Radoja said her duties as chief deputy clerk involved supervision of the entire office, including employees who worked on child support collections. She declined to comment on what direct involvement in child support collections Philpot or Trakas had.
The Post-Tribune wasn't able to reach Trakas.
Money from the IV-D program can be used as incentive bonuses, or to pay all or part of the salaries of full- or part-time employees, anything that promotes increased collection of child support payments, said Joe Jean, assistant deputy director of IV-D programs at the state Department of Child Services.
"The money is federal dollars that are supposed to supplement the program itself, not necessarily as a bonus to salaries," Jean said. "It's supposed to supplement the area, bringing in new positions, doing something to the office like new equipment.
"Bonuses are considered something that would supplement your program if you're giving a worker something to improve their performance."
The total amount of child support payments distributed in Lake County rose each year, from $30.6 million in 2006 to $36.4 million last year.
However, the number of employees listed on IV-D logs fluctuated between nearly a dozen in 2007 to only one in parts of some years. And no employee, other than Philpot, Radoja or Trakas, received more than $900 from IV-D accounts during that span, county records indicate.
Philpot in February repaid the county, with interest, the $24,000 in "supplemental pay" he received from 2006 to 2009 from a federal program that reimbursed the county based on the amount of money collected in child support cases handled by the Circuit Court, after a Post-Tribune report revealed Philpot awarded himself the extra pay without approval from the County Council.
The money came from a federal program that reimbursed county clerks and prosecutors based on the amount of money they collected in child support cases.
State officials say the money can be paid out as bonuses to employees involved in tasks entering data on payments, entering court orders into a statewide child support database or calculating payments.
The elected clerk has wide discretion on spending the money, though, and can give himself extra pay from the fund only with approval from the County Council.
Philpot and top deputies Sandra Radoja and Gus Trakas all received bonus pay from the fund from 2004 to 2009, though in several of those years, their names don't appear on hourly logs required by the state Department of Child Services.
The monthly reports are filed with the state Department of Child Services and are required for the county to receive funds from a child support incentive fund, called Title IV-D. Philpot regularly reported he worked on "IV-D related activities."
In 2006, Philpot's, Radoja's and Trakas' names do not appear on the report forms, which state "Each IV-D paid employee is to enter the hours worked on Title IV-D related activities for each paid working day."
That year, the trio received a combined $11,118; $4,249 for Philpot, $3,449 for Radoja and $3,420 for Trakas.
In 2007, Philpot and Radoja logged a total of 162.12 hours, in uniform daily increments ranging from .36 hours to .64 hours each work day. Trakas' name does not appear on the log sheets.
Philpot took no IV-D money that year on top of his $54,000 salary. Radoja got $3,554 and Trakas got $3,524.
In 2008, none of the three were included in IV-D records, but did receive bonus money for IV-D work in 2008 that was paid out on their first paychecks of 2009: Radoja received $43,833; Philpot $4,723; and Trakas $3,803.
In 2009, Philpot's last year in office, he and Radoja each logged 150 hours, again in small, uniform daily increments, while Trakas' name is not on the list of employees doing IV-D related work.
Philpot got $9,483, Radoja $4,012, and Trakas $3,913.
Philpot, who resigned as clerk in January to take office as county coroner and is running in the May 4 Democratic primary for sheriff, did not return calls from the Post-Tribune.
Radoja, who left the clerk's office after Mike Brown won a Democratic precinct vote to replace Philpot, said for at least part of Philpot's time in office, administrators calculated the amount of time they spent on IV-D activities by dividing their own 40-hour work week by the number of employees under their supervision who worked on IV-D duties.
"It was a number that would change from month to month, as we shifted people around when we'd get backed up in one area or another," Radoja said.
The extra money from the IV-D program boosted her salary, but wasn't a bonus, Radoja said.
"I was told I was going to get so much (in salary) and that was part of where it would come from. It was never treated as a bonus. I never asked for anything special," Radoja said.
"I worked my tail off every year I worked at the Government Center. I never want to be questioned for anything. I didn't decide how this was handled, I'm just the one who answers questions from reporters."
Radoja said her duties as chief deputy clerk involved supervision of the entire office, including employees who worked on child support collections. She declined to comment on what direct involvement in child support collections Philpot or Trakas had.
The Post-Tribune wasn't able to reach Trakas.
Money from the IV-D program can be used as incentive bonuses, or to pay all or part of the salaries of full- or part-time employees, anything that promotes increased collection of child support payments, said Joe Jean, assistant deputy director of IV-D programs at the state Department of Child Services.
"The money is federal dollars that are supposed to supplement the program itself, not necessarily as a bonus to salaries," Jean said. "It's supposed to supplement the area, bringing in new positions, doing something to the office like new equipment.
"Bonuses are considered something that would supplement your program if you're giving a worker something to improve their performance."
The total amount of child support payments distributed in Lake County rose each year, from $30.6 million in 2006 to $36.4 million last year.
However, the number of employees listed on IV-D logs fluctuated between nearly a dozen in 2007 to only one in parts of some years. And no employee, other than Philpot, Radoja or Trakas, received more than $900 from IV-D accounts during that span, county records indicate.
