ADDENDUM TO PAYROLL AND OVERTIME AUDIT

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I will always support the WPB Police Dept; and the men and women who protect the residents every day while knowing they are targeted by some. There are a few officers who make it difficult for others to do their jobs and cast a dark shadow over the City. This report covers 2019 with a change in Administration.
City of West Palm Beach Internal Auditor’s Office 7 pages, and can be read below.

“During the original City-wide audit of Payroll and Overtime, we identified inaccurate timecard reporting that contained overlapping hours within the City’s Police Department (Finding 5 of the Payroll and Overtime Audit Report). Our testing was limited to the top 20 Earners of City-paid and vendor-paid overtime during FY2019. The process to analyze the records was time consuming and labor intensive, thus we did not have the resources to expand the review to all officers within the scope period of the audit. Subsequently, we requested resources to conduct testing on all officers during the audit period which was
granted. As such, we have attached the Internal Auditor’s Office Addendum Report to the Payroll and Overtime Audit which details the results of the additional testing.

We thank our contracted auditors, Monica Sanchez and Elena Gonzalez, for their work in completing this audit. Further, we thank the management and staff of the Police Department for their time, assistance, and cooperation during this audit.

 

Opportunities for Improvement – Addendum
Inaccurate Police Officer Timecard Reporting

Condition
We conducted a review of all police officers (about 285) that had City-paid and vendor paid work hours in FY19 to determine if there were any instances where the hours overlapped, and officers were potentially overpaid. We found that 77 (27%) officers had numerous instances where hours overlapped, meaning that they logged work hours for multiple locations at the same time, for a combined total of 462.25 overlapping hours. Using the hourly pay rate of the officers that had overlapping hours, these officers were
potentially overpaid by the City and/or the vendor for a combined total of approximately $19,6531.

Criteria
All City employees are expected to accurately report time worked. Further, the City hasan ethics policy that all City employees are required to adhere to.

Cause
The conditions we identified occurred due to:
Vendors are permitted to pay officers directly for hours worked and no requirement exists for vendors to track officer hours paid versus hours worked;Systems that do not communicate with one another, thereby making it difficult to flag overlapping hours; Higher ranking staff that can enter their own hours and do not require approval; and Lack of ongoing reconciliation of total (vendor-paid and City-paid) hours worked.

Effect
Failure to properly manage and oversee the total employee hours worked, results in an organization that is highly susceptible to improper actions and is exposed to financial loss. When abuse goes unidentified or unquestioned the organization can develop a culture where abuse becomes normal, which ultimately hurts the City’s reputation. It should be noted that when conditions are such that: 1. controls are weak or virtually
nonexistent it creates an opportunity; 2. there is a need which creates pressure; and 3. there is a pay discrepancy which permits rationalization of actions; the organization now has the three elements of the fraud triangle, and it becomes highly likely that fraud may occur or could be occurring undetected.

Recommendation
NOTE – The following recommendation replaces Recommendation 5 from the original Payroll and OT Audit.

The Police Department should ensure adequate monitoring and accurate reporting of hours worked by:
A. Improving technology and access to data. Dedicating resources to finding one automated solution that can support all aspects of the extra-duty and outside employment program, satisfy all data needs, and integrate with the City’s timekeeping and financial systems.

Management Response
Management agrees improved technology would allow for better oversight of both regular duty and overtime.

B. Recovering the overpayments identified in this analysis and/or future overpayments wherever warranted, cost-effective and within the confinement of existing laws and regulations.

Management Response B1
Management does not agree it is prudent to pursue “recovery of overpayments.”However, future oversight and identification of similar “overpayments” would warrant an investigation, appropriate discipline and/or restitution.

Administration Response B1
City Administration agrees with the Police Department that it is not prudent to pursue “recovery of the questionable overpayments” for the various reasons stated in the report among some others.

Auditors Comment B1
The Auditor’s Office recognizes that it may not be cost effective to recover all overpayments, however, it may be helpful to conduct an analysis and determine if it would be cost effective to recover some of the overpayments.

Management Response B2
The audit team made a historical finding for FY2019 of 462.25 hours of potential overlapping hours. An average hourly salary (from an Assistant Chief to new Officer) has been determined to be $41.89. The estimated total potential monetary amount in question is approximately $19,363.65.

Auditor’s Comment B2 

We spent a significant amount of time with PD management to validate the exceptions found related to the 77 officers. PD management was given ample time to review the exceptions and provide any additional information that could impact the results. As such, the results provided here represent discrepancies that PD management could not reconcile after exhaustive reviews.

Management Response
Management agrees there must be more effective review of hours worked by all employees; improved distribution of relevant information to supervisors should allow for appropriate reconciliation of work hours without designating more staff to track employee hours worked. The training and use of the new EDS reports during payroll approval can be implemented by November 30th.

C. Designating staff to periodically reconcile all vendor and City-paid hours. To accomplish this task, the designated staff should have access to all systems that track employee hours worked.

Management Response
Management agrees there must be more effective review of hours worked by all employees; improved distribution of relevant information to supervisors should allow for appropriate reconciliation of work hours without designating more staff to track employee hours worked. The training and use of the new EDS reports during payroll approval can be implemented by November 30th. Entire Internal Auditors Report can be read below.

Addendum to the Payroll and Overtime Audit Report AUD19-04(1)

Personal message
City Commission meeting 4/18/2022 and I spoke under Public Comment when my time ran out so what I wanted known will be added to the story as I want my experience on the record

I left a City Commission meeting in Oct. 2021 and made it to 45th. St. when one of my tires began to go flat. I made it home and parked. The next morning both front tires were flat. A friend arrived to help and said he would put “plugs” in the tires. He removed both screws and placed a plug in each tire, which helped, but both tires had a slow leak. New tires were not in my budget so I had to inflate both tires 2-3 times a week. Nov. 2021 tires were replaced.

2/22/2022 I was removed from a City Commission meeting for refusing to put on a mask until Mayor James did. I was escorted from City Hall when I was asked to sit in the courtyard for a little chat, which I did. I was kept there listening to information I had no interest in. When I finally asked him why he was telling me this, his response was he wanted me to know a few things about him. He received a text message, got up and said he had to go. 20-25 minutes of my life I will never get back. It surprised me to learn he knew I had a handicap placard.

I drive a Hybrid and while driving on 95 my car just died and I had the car towed to my home. The Hybrid battery was guaranteed for 10 years and the dealer wanted $4,000.00 to replace it. I knew it had to be replaced when I was told about a company called “Green Bean” who charged $1,500 to replace with a lifetime guarantee.

A technician arrived with a new battery and while installing it noticed I had a small oil leak. He was kind enough to look under the car and the leak was coming from my oil filter. He called me over and told me to look down and he turned the oil filter back and forth, and then hand tightened it, looked at the dipstick and told me I had no oil in the car I assumed it was the battery that caused my car to die, it wasn’t. I bought 2 quarts of oil, which was enough to get me the station for a new oil change.

Two incidents with my car after leaving City Hall is 2 to many and as I have told readers in the past I don’t believe in coincidences. It makes me angry and I don’t go away, I dig in and if I believe residents need information on what goes on behind the scenes I tell them. For example:

The City Charter says the City Administrator MUST live within City Limits. and I made an issue of it a few times. Well I’m happy to say the City Administrator Faye Johnson purchased a condo in November and it’s located within City Limits. What I don’t understand is why her car still resides in unincorporated Palm Beach County.
The end