St. Paul whistleblower prompts audit
Please click onto the COMMENTS for the story.
posted by Bob at Friday, December 12, 2008
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Friday, December 12, 2008
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15 Comments:
A city employee thought her department was not returning overpayments fast enough. The state auditor weighed in, and the department is retooling its billing system.
By CHRIS HAVENS, Star Tribune
Last update: December 11, 2008 - 8:26 PM
The city of St. Paul was routinely withholding overpayments it should have refunded to landlords until a city employee complained about the practice to state auditors.
The city official in charge of the Safety and Inspections department said that changes will be made in the billing system and that about $800 in overcharges on 29 transactions were an inadvertent mistake.
But the city employee who complained to the State Auditor's Office says the department managers knew money wasn't being refunded and did nothing about it. She also says the amount withheld was well more than $800.
"Bottom line is, it's the people's money, and I'll deal with what I have to deal with," employee Geri Boyd said.
City officials won't comment on personnel issues.
State law requires government employees who think they have found evidence of financial wrongdoing, such as theft or unlawful use of public funds, to report the alleged incident to the state auditor.
Employees should be able to make a complaint without facing any retribution.
State Auditor Rebecca Otto said she couldn't confirm or deny an investigation into the department.
Bob Kessler, director of Safety and Inspections, did confirm that auditors were in his department over the past few weeks.
Boyd, 59, has worked for the city since 1993. About eight months ago she began working in the Fire Inspections Department as a clerical worker. Her duties included processing checks from property owners for rental licenses.
It wasn't long, she said, before she noticed people were overpaying their bills. When she raised this, she said, the computer system was manipulated and she was told to enter the full amount of the check anyway.
Kessler said that there was no intentional misuse and that his staff is trying to contact people who are owed refunds.
The invoices sent out to property owners can be confusing, Kessler said, and people were sending in the full amount when they didn't need to. The staff couldn't figure out how to change the overpayment in the computer system, he said, and that's how the issue arose.
"We have some work to do to simplify the system," Kessler said. He said the auditor's staff made some suggestions on how to change the procedure.
"If I was blowing smoke, the audit department wouldn't have taken the time," Boyd said. "They're going to lay it on the employees. But it still goes back to management and not training people to do a job, especially -- especially -- if they deal with public funds."
Chris Havens • 651-298-1542
Kessler's statement "it was an inadvertent mistake" is one that any whitecollar criminal would make. It was a mitake my ass!
If a homeowner or rental property owner were to mail in a check that was of a lessor amount then requested Kessler would order for revoking the CO along with a code compliance followed up with an order for demo yet an overpayment gets entered as NO CREDIT to the property owner just PAID IN FULL! What a system he is operating here in St.Paul.
Chuck must still be working on his twist this morning for this article.
It's a "RICO" enterprise they are operating plain and simple.
Sounds like there has been monies that need to be refunded. 29 customers at somewhere between $25 and $30 each.
Refunds should be sent if the City can't hold it until the next bill is do.
Like I said all along if there were overpayments they will show up.
What you all were saying was that they weren't recording it as overpayments. Seems like they were giving everyone a credit on their account.
JMONTOMEPPOF
Chuck Repke
Rebecca Otto Site interesting
http://www.rebeccaotto.com/
Separate from State Sites www.state.mn.us
Hi All,
If you haven't checked out the link above do so. Look closely at the names who endorsed Rebbecca.
Many of those names are on our flow chart.
Bob a better link to Otto's endorsements is:
http://www.rebeccaotto.com/Personal/endorsements.html
Let's try this again,
http://www.rebeccaotto.com/Personal/endorsements.html
The last part keeps getting cut off, it should be .html
What are you all trying to say Bob?
It looks like a normal list of endorsements for anyone who is running statewide.
You wouldn't know that with any of your republican candidates because being open is not their thing.
Tell us what you're insinuating.
Eric
This topic is old news at A Democracy. ;-)
Eric, we are following the money. Tell everyone here why your advice to Montgomery was worth $5000. Come on now the truth.
It was $7500 for over three months of work and that was cheap. Look at what people pay an experienced campaign manager and communications director. I did those things and more. It wasn't just 'advice'.
I don't have to explain anything to you, because it wasn't public dollars. You can ask Debbie.
Her list of supporters do NOT tell you who donated to her. Regardless, everyone in public service is either elected or appointed by someone elected.
You people find anything to bitch about.
Eric
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