By:Nick Buglione
The report can only lead to the conclusion that there has been a breakdown in the administration of the [jail], Comptroller Howard Weitzman said at a press conference disclosing the audit-s findings.
Covering 2002 through April 2004, the audit found that overtime was granted to correction officers without proper verification of the hours worked, and had increased 100 percent in four years. The jail paid out $10.3 million in overtime in 2000, which ballooned to $20 million in 2003, Weitzman said.
What-s more, 32 correction officers each earned more than $50,000 in overtime in 2003, including one whose overtime earnings were $118,000.
Employees are entitled to overtime that is legitimately earned, and there may well be times when overtime is necessary and proper, Weitzman said. Our audit, however, raises serious doubts about the legitimacy of many of the jail-s overtime practices."
Jail officials partially blamed the excessive overtime on staff cutbacks. There are a lot of factors that play into the paying of overtime, and staffing is one of them, said John O-Connor, chief of staff of Sheriff Edward Reilly, who runs the jail.
John Duer, president of the Sheriff Officers Association, the union that represents Nassau County jail correction officers, says the facility is understaffed. "I've been pushing for more correction officers for some time," Duer said. "We have a little over 1,000 officers working in there now, and we could use about 100 more."
The audit also found that top jail administrators improperly granted themselves thousands of hours of compensatory time, equaling $194,000, between 2000 and 2002. In addition, the jail overpaid for shift differential, which is extra pay given for night work, in 2002 and 2003. The personnel unit routinely granted 80 hours of shift differential, regardless of whether the officers actually worked the hours, Weitzman said. The excessive payments totaled around $300,000.
Meanwhile, extra sick leave at half pay, which is granted when correction officers have exhausted their allotted sick days, was often given without any of the required medical documentation or supervisor authorization. In 2002-03, 930 days of sick leave with half pay were granted, only 223 of which were properly authorized, costing the jail some $82,000.
Lax supervision has led to soaring personnel costs and widespread abuse of time and leave, Weitzman said. Our auditors found that there are very loose controls. He added that the county's commissioner of corrections position has gone unfilled for four years. The commissioner is charged with the responsibility of reviewing personnel issues like those revealed in the audit, Weitzman said.
In accordance with the audit, we are looking to appoint a commissioner of corrections, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi said.
While he praised the job Reilly has done of increasing safety at the jail since he became sheriff, Suozzi said Reilly has done a poor job of time and leave and personnel issues.
It is a problem that likely exists in other departments, Suozzi said, which is why the county hired a consultant to revamp its employee time and leave system. Those changes most likely won-t be in place for another two years, however. In the meantime, we have to have short-term solutions and better oversight, Suozzi said.
When asked if Reilly would be fired over the audit-s findings, Suozzi declined to comment. After the audit was released, Nassau County Legislator Joseph Scannell (D-Baldwin) called on Reilly to quit.
Increasing the safety of inmates and correction officers has been the jail-s top priority since guards beat an inmate to death in 1999, O-Connor said, explaining that other personnel issues fell by the wayside.
The jail is committed to working with the comptroller in tightening its controls, having formed a task force to deal specifically with these issues in March 2003, O-Connor said.
Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
