08-19-2008, 03:04 PM
Payroll Dispute Leads To Turmoil Among Zephyrhills Police
By CHRISTIAN M. WADE and JEFF SCULLIN
The Tampa Tribune
Published: August 19, 2008
ZEPHYRHILLS - Police Chief Russell Barnes, one of two men at the center of an investigation of payroll discrepancies in the city's police department, is expected to be fired by the city council today.
City Manager Steve Spina is recommending the city council fire Barnes, 55, when they meet in a special session today. Spina put Barnes on unpaid leave and asked for his resignation Monday. Barnes, who has been on paid leave since July 29, didn't immediately respond.
Under the city's charter, only the council can fire a police chief.
A three-week investigation, unveiled Monday, concluded that Barnes falsified payroll records for Sgt. Robert Perrault Jr., the department's former spokesman and head of internal affairs.
"I just found that the trust in him was eroded," Spina said Monday in an interview. "I didn't think after this we could bridge that, come back from that."
In a written response to the investigation, Barnes' attorney, Ryan D. Barack, said Barnes didn't benefit from what he described as a "relatively minor bookkeeping issue."
Spina said he expects the council to fire Barnes. If so, his termination likely would take effect immediately.
A complaint was filed in August 2007 against Perrault, alleging that he was "double-dipping" - claiming to have worked for the city when he actually was teaching criminal justice classes at Pasco-Hernando Community College.
Barnes investigated the complaint and concluded it was unfounded.
Zephyrhills officials launched their own investigation after Kenneth Fong, who was fired by Barnes, filed a complaint July 29, alleging that Perrault and the chief had falsified time sheets and other records.
According to the city's investigation, conducted by Sgt. Jeffrey McDougal, Barnes didn't adequately investigate the complaint. Instead, Barnes created a log documenting so-called "flex time" Perrault used to justify the hours when he was on the clock for both the city and college.
"It is apparent that the flex time log was created and falsified after the allegations first surfaced and the numbers on the flex time log are unreliable," McDougal wrote.
Typically, flex time, a common practice in many companies, allows employees to adjust their shifts around personal appointments or job responsibilities that fall outside their normal working hours. At the Zephyrhills Police Department, Barnes and Perrault had an unofficial arrangement allowing Perrault to bank accumulated hours. But the city has no such policy on its books, and Spina said Perrault was the only employee in the police department allowed to bank the so-called flex hours. According to city records, he had racked up more than 140 hours at one point.
"We really don't have flex time, and that's why some of it was suspect," Spina said.
McDougal wrote in his report that there is "no way to determine if Perrault is guilty of theft or falsification of time sheets" but that he did violate the city's payroll policy.
"He very well may have worked the number of hours he personally claimed," McDougal wrote. "Yet, there is no way to corroborate that but to accept his word that he did."
In part, that's because the city does not retain logs of hours worked past 14 days, according to the report.
Perrault, 35, resigned Aug. 8.
In his resignation letter, Perrault denied any wrongdoing and said his decision to leave the city after nine years was not related to the investigation. He has been offered a job teaching criminal justice at Zephyrhills High School.
Perrault claims that the use of flex time is widespread in the police department as a means to reduce overhead costs.
"The use of 'flex' time has been documented by the city's payroll department to be widely used at the agency," he wrote in an e-mail Saturday. "It is a fact that is well known and widely accepted as policy."
Perrault's resignation effectively leaves the city with no means or need to discipline him.
Monday, Spina said the investigation into the payroll problems at the police department is over and that city officials don't believe double-dipping is an issue with other officers. The only complaint lodged was against Barnes and Perrault.
Perrault, who was hired in 1999, did not receive any significant admonishments while with the department.
But Barnes, who came in as chief in November 2003, has come under fire for violating city policies, buying 34 Tasers and four police vehicles prior to council approval, and playing "Asteroids" and other video games on his office computer.
The chief's December performance evaluation was satisfactory.
Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 948-4216 or cwade@tampatrib.com. Editor Jeff Scullin can be reached at jscullin@tampatrib.com or (813) 779-4614.
This is a molehill compared to the mountains of shennanigans the COP and the 3 Stooges under him partake in. Getting the boot for a payroll discrepency. KUDOS to the city manager for sacking up and doing what needed to be done. Hopefully someone will direct Doug Thomas to this article and he can get some pointers. It is highly doubtfull though seeing that the hometown Ledger has recently run some articles showing how inept the COP is and nothing has happened.
By CHRISTIAN M. WADE and JEFF SCULLIN
The Tampa Tribune
Published: August 19, 2008
ZEPHYRHILLS - Police Chief Russell Barnes, one of two men at the center of an investigation of payroll discrepancies in the city's police department, is expected to be fired by the city council today.
City Manager Steve Spina is recommending the city council fire Barnes, 55, when they meet in a special session today. Spina put Barnes on unpaid leave and asked for his resignation Monday. Barnes, who has been on paid leave since July 29, didn't immediately respond.
Under the city's charter, only the council can fire a police chief.
A three-week investigation, unveiled Monday, concluded that Barnes falsified payroll records for Sgt. Robert Perrault Jr., the department's former spokesman and head of internal affairs.
"I just found that the trust in him was eroded," Spina said Monday in an interview. "I didn't think after this we could bridge that, come back from that."
In a written response to the investigation, Barnes' attorney, Ryan D. Barack, said Barnes didn't benefit from what he described as a "relatively minor bookkeeping issue."
Spina said he expects the council to fire Barnes. If so, his termination likely would take effect immediately.
A complaint was filed in August 2007 against Perrault, alleging that he was "double-dipping" - claiming to have worked for the city when he actually was teaching criminal justice classes at Pasco-Hernando Community College.
Barnes investigated the complaint and concluded it was unfounded.
Zephyrhills officials launched their own investigation after Kenneth Fong, who was fired by Barnes, filed a complaint July 29, alleging that Perrault and the chief had falsified time sheets and other records.
According to the city's investigation, conducted by Sgt. Jeffrey McDougal, Barnes didn't adequately investigate the complaint. Instead, Barnes created a log documenting so-called "flex time" Perrault used to justify the hours when he was on the clock for both the city and college.
"It is apparent that the flex time log was created and falsified after the allegations first surfaced and the numbers on the flex time log are unreliable," McDougal wrote.
Typically, flex time, a common practice in many companies, allows employees to adjust their shifts around personal appointments or job responsibilities that fall outside their normal working hours. At the Zephyrhills Police Department, Barnes and Perrault had an unofficial arrangement allowing Perrault to bank accumulated hours. But the city has no such policy on its books, and Spina said Perrault was the only employee in the police department allowed to bank the so-called flex hours. According to city records, he had racked up more than 140 hours at one point.
"We really don't have flex time, and that's why some of it was suspect," Spina said.
McDougal wrote in his report that there is "no way to determine if Perrault is guilty of theft or falsification of time sheets" but that he did violate the city's payroll policy.
"He very well may have worked the number of hours he personally claimed," McDougal wrote. "Yet, there is no way to corroborate that but to accept his word that he did."
In part, that's because the city does not retain logs of hours worked past 14 days, according to the report.
Perrault, 35, resigned Aug. 8.
In his resignation letter, Perrault denied any wrongdoing and said his decision to leave the city after nine years was not related to the investigation. He has been offered a job teaching criminal justice at Zephyrhills High School.
Perrault claims that the use of flex time is widespread in the police department as a means to reduce overhead costs.
"The use of 'flex' time has been documented by the city's payroll department to be widely used at the agency," he wrote in an e-mail Saturday. "It is a fact that is well known and widely accepted as policy."
Perrault's resignation effectively leaves the city with no means or need to discipline him.
Monday, Spina said the investigation into the payroll problems at the police department is over and that city officials don't believe double-dipping is an issue with other officers. The only complaint lodged was against Barnes and Perrault.
Perrault, who was hired in 1999, did not receive any significant admonishments while with the department.
But Barnes, who came in as chief in November 2003, has come under fire for violating city policies, buying 34 Tasers and four police vehicles prior to council approval, and playing "Asteroids" and other video games on his office computer.
The chief's December performance evaluation was satisfactory.
Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 948-4216 or cwade@tampatrib.com. Editor Jeff Scullin can be reached at jscullin@tampatrib.com or (813) 779-4614.
This is a molehill compared to the mountains of shennanigans the COP and the 3 Stooges under him partake in. Getting the boot for a payroll discrepency. KUDOS to the city manager for sacking up and doing what needed to be done. Hopefully someone will direct Doug Thomas to this article and he can get some pointers. It is highly doubtfull though seeing that the hometown Ledger has recently run some articles showing how inept the COP is and nothing has happened.