The District’s Department of Public Works redirected $800,000 to cover “unanticipated” fiscal 2009 overtime roughly two weeks before a blistering audit revealed overtime abuses in the agency. A “reprogramming” request submitted Nov. 27 to the D.C. Council sought permission to move $3.2 million within DPW to “offset cost overruns in the Fleet services due to unanticipated related expenses.” One-quarter of the total was for overtime. The council’s review lasted 14 days and the Fenty administration’s request was approved without a vote. The Examiner first asked DPW about the reprogramming on Dec. 11, two weeks before a draft audit that was released internally to agency leadership on Christmas Eve revealed serious questions about the agency’s handling of overtime — if not the specter of outright fraud.
Nancee Lyons, an agency spokeswoman, did not respond to The Examiner’s request until Monday, six weeks later. Of the $3.2 million diverted, $2.4 million covered an extension of the fiscal 2009 leaf collection program from three to 12 months, Lyons said in an e-mail. The remainder, $800,000, covered unbudgeted overtime. “DPW has numerous scheduled and unscheduled overtime events required to complete the work of the agency and also to assist other agencies, i.e. snow clearing and other urgent weather events, numerous special events like the Mayor’s turkey giveaway event over the holiday, and last year’s presidential inauguration,” Lyons wrote.
Public works was budgeted $3.3 million in fiscal 2009 for overtime but spent $4.19 million.
The Examiner first reported on the overtime probe, performed by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, in mid-January.
Auditors found numerous instances of time and attendance fraud, undocumented and unauthorized overtime, and excessive and “extreme” payments. One staff assistant was keeping and modifying time and attendance information for her sister, her spouse and another employee who did not work shifts but received regular pay anyway, the report revealed.
The bulk of the questionable overtime payments fell to the solid waste and fleet management administrations.
D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles has vowed to fire any employees involved in illegal activity, but that decision must wait for the final report. Auditors recommended further investigation by the inspector general.
