The director of the Perry County Rescue Squad may have received more than $60,000 in pay to which he wasn’t entitled, according to a new audit from the Tennessee Comptrollers’ Office.
According to the audit, the director, whose named Comptrollers did not mention, got a lot more than his regular 40 hour per week salary.
No one at the Perry County Mayor’s Office respond to The Tennessee Star’s repeated requests for comment.
Comptrollers, however, had plenty to say in their report.
“Although the Perry County Commission authorized the director to collect payment for any hours over 40 that he worked, records were insufficient to determine if he worked all of the hours he reported, and the director’s hours were not reviewed or approved by the county mayor prior to payment,” according to the audit.
The director collected this extra money between 2015 and 2017. During this time, he said he worked on average an additional 53.2 hours per week for total payments of $30,475.75, the audit said.
The 40-hours per week for his salaried position and the average of 53.2 hours per week of additional time, auditors wrote, equaled more than two full-time jobs — or 93.2 hours.
“Investigators were also unable to determine if the PCRS Captain paid for a pickup truck that he purportedly purchased from the PCRS in 2015 for $850,” Comptrollers said in their report.
“The PCRS was unable to provide records for the sale. The captain stated his payments were made a little at a time and by purchasing items for PRCS.”
Comptrollers reported finding other problems.
Members of the rescue squad, for instance, did not paint or apply proper markings to rescue squad vehicles, the audit said.
Comptrollers also questioned Perry County Emergency Services fuel purchases. The EMS director, Comptrollers went on to say, failed to properly account for his accrued sick and vacation leave.
Comptroller investigators said they have reviewed their findings and recommendations with the district attorney general for the 21st Judicial District.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Downtown Linden, Perry County Seat” by perrygountygov.
