Audit finds ill-applied overtime in Streets Department

This might be hard to swallow for some of you 9 to 5-ers. Anyone who works longer than that should just stop reading now.

An audit by City Controller Alan Butkovitz found $120,000 worth of overtime in the Streets Department. Interviews found the department staff and supervisor thought overtime pay begins at 7.5 hours of work.

The audit uncovered the mistake after sampling some payroll information. The error persisted through fiscal years 2006 to 2008 before the audit was conducted and the mistake corrected.

“Auditors found that workers starting at 8:30 a.m. and taking a one-hour lunch were receiving overtime after 5 p.m., instead of after 5:30 p.m.,” says a report released today from the controller’s office.

The Department made the adjustment, and no improper overtime was found in fiscal year 2009.