The Austin Public Health office at the Bergstrom Technology Center in Austin, Feb. 28, 2025. Austin leaders and Public Health officials held a press conference to discuss a case of measles in Austin as well as encourage the public to check their vaccine status and get up-to-date on their vaccination against the virus.
Sara Diggins/American-Statesman
An Austin Public Health financial analyst drew a full-time paycheck from the city while also working full time for a state agency, according to a new city auditor report that found the now-former employee never disclosed the outside job and that her performance suffered as a result of the dual employment.
The Wednesday report comes two months after the American-Statesman reported that three top Austin IT officials were fired after the city found they had undisclosed second jobs, including two who were working simultaneously for the city of Dallas. Together, the cases raise new questions about how Austin monitors outside employment and potential conflicts among city workers.
Article continues below this ad
Read More: Austin’s top IT officials fired over side gigs — including work for Dallas
The Austin City Auditor’s Office said it received multiple complaints that Marie Joelle Dan, a financial analyst on Austin Public Health’s financial services team, worked full-time for both the city and state. Investigators found Dan was employed by a state agency in April 2023 when the city health department hired her as financial analyst and that she received a promotion in July 2024. She also was employed by the same state agency in 2021 when she worked as a temporary employee for the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, according to the report.
Dan did not disclose the outside employment to her manager or the city, investigators found. City employees are required to disclose outside work and potential conflicts of interest. She resigned from the city in November 2025 after the auditor’s office interviewed her.
The report does not name the state agency Dan worked for but a spokesperson for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission confirmed Dan’s previous employment.
Article continues below this ad
The Statesman’s attempts to reach Dan by phone and email to request comment were unsuccessful.
Dan told investigators that she worked two jobs “because of significant financial obligations and the need to support myself and my family.”
“My decision was rooted in financial survival rather than any intent to disregard policy or misuse City resources,” she said, according to the report.
The auditor’s office found that Dan’s performance at the city suffered, likely because it required a similar daytime schedule as her state agency job.
Article continues below this ad
Her former manager told investigators that Dan received a memorandum of substandard performance in April 2025 and was about to be placed on a performance improvement plan.
“Dan’s supervisor at APH noted that her performance was poor and had begun to affect team morale and project deadlines,” the report said. “According to her supervisor, she was behind on her work and had not been able to contribute to the most recent budget season.”
Dan told investigators she understood the demands of both roles and tried to complete city responsibilities during standard business hours and handle additional work obligations outside those hours but that “balancing two full-time roles over an extended period became physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting,” she said in a written response. She said the strain contributed to personal hardship including complications during her pregnancy and the loss of her child, adding that in hindsight, she recognizes that the situation was not sustainable.
When the Statesman reached out to Austin Public Health for comment, a spokesperson referred the newspaper to written responses from Director Adrienne Sturrup included in the auditor’s report.
Article continues below this ad
In her comments, Sturrup said the department began appropriate disciplinary action to address Dan’s conduct and performance issues prior to the auditor’s investigation.
“APH takes fraud, waste, and abuse seriously,” Sturrup wrote. “I am confident this matter was handled appropriately by APH management.”
Brian Molloy, chief of investigations at the City Auditor’s Office, said the city shared its concerns with state agency officials and interviewed witnesses there as part of the investigation.
HHSC spokesperson Tiffany Young said the health commission is reviewing the city’s audit findings and has referred the case to the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector general for investigation.
Article continues below this ad
“HHSC takes fraud, waste and abuse seriously,” she said in a statement that confirmed Dan worked at the commission from from September 2013 to March 2026 and “is no longer employed at HHSC.”
Molloy said the auditor’s office could not calculate exactly how much money, if any, the city could seek to recover. Investigators could show that Dan worked simultaneously for the city and state, he said, but could not determine the exact amount of city-paid time at issue.
Auditor cases are not automatically referred to the Austin Police Department, Molloy said. But police could review the report and decide whether to investigate further.
The case comes after several recent Austin employee misconduct cases involving undisclosed outside jobs or alleged misuse of public money.
Article continues below this ad
In April, the Statesman reported that three top IT officials were fired after city officials found they had undisclosed second jobs. One had a side business, and two worked for Dallas and Austin at the same time.
Three people were indicted last August after the auditor’s office found an Austin Energy employee routed nearly $1 million to fake vendors.
Molloy said he has seen an increase in allegations involving city employees holding undisclosed second jobs. Since becoming chief of investigations in 2018, he said, the auditor’s office has encountered allegations nearly every year involving a city employee working a concurrent job that was undisclosed or presented a conflict of interest.
Article continues below this ad
Recently, he said, those complaints appear to be increasing.
“I think it’s trending up just because it’s getting harder and harder to live and afford everything in the world, so the amount of people working more than one job, I think, is increasing across the board, not just with the city,” he said.