Already, at least two higher-ranking firefighters have been fired, and several others have been disciplined. <\/p>\n
AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Austin police have opened an investigation in a broadening examination into overtime billing discrepancies in the Austin Fire Department (AFD) that also raise questions about department financial oversight.<\/p>\n
Details about the number of current and former employees under investigation and the amount of money that they are accused of potentially overbilling the city for fire hydrant inspections is not immediately clear.<\/p>\n
Austin police, whose special investigations unit is handling the matter, said they could not comment because the matter is ongoing. They are currently examining firefighters who worked in AFD’s fire prevention unit over the past several years, determining whether they were paid overtime and comparing their reported hours with data from city vehicle tracking devices.<\/p>\n
Already, at least two higher-ranking firefighters have been fired, and several others have been disciplined.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The records also reveal what employees described as a widespread practice and lack of understanding in the AFD’s prevention unit about how they were supposed to track and bill overtime hours, creating inconsistencies that went unaddressed for years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The department said in a statement this week that it has since \u201cimplemented an auditing process and revised the added time and overtime policies to ensure clarity among all divisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAustin Fire is committed to ethical public service and being good stewards of city resources. We will continue to uphold ourselves and one another to those standards,\u201d the statement said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Firefighters said in statements as part of the department\u2019s investigation that they believed they were required to charge overtime to the city that matched the same amount that the city charged property owners to conduct inspections. However, those fees typically included charges that helped support the operation of the inspection program, including clerical staff \u2013 not just for firefighters\u2019 overtime.<\/p>\n
Firefighters often documented that such inspections took at least an hour, for instance, even if they didn\u2019t, documents show.<\/p>\n
\u201cA member engaging in this practice might record 10 hours of added time but a later review of their vehicle records show they spent less time,\u201d the department said in an investigative report.<\/p>\n
The department said it began investigating overtime issues in June after receiving a complaint about possible overtime fraud.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last week, as the investigation continues, Fire Chief Joel Baker fired Division Chief Steven Truesdell for what a disciplinary memo said was \u201cfailing to maintain acceptable standards\u201d in the division, including \u201callowing members to misreport timekeeping.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChief Truesdell will fight these allegations and accusations not only for himself but also for his firefighters,\u201d his attorney, Matt Bachop, said.\u00a0<\/p>\n