Reported

In internal exit conferences in preparation of the Office of the City Auditor’s overtime audit, City Auditor Mike Taylor met with Revitalization Director Dave Harzoff and other employees to discuss four audit findings involving the Revitalization Department (Among them, that Parking District Supervisor Nancy Popovich worked substantial overtime without preapproval, though she did not claim and was not paid for standby time she worked).

According to audit officials’ summary of that meeting, provided in response to a California Public Records Act request:

Dave (Harzoff) had noted that our draft report was in PowerPoint form, and because their department had a majority of the findings, the reports appears (sic) to state that Parking is full of issues. The auditors understood and would make changes to the report to lessen the negative connotation to Parking, possibly by renaming the slide headings to not include the department name. Instead, in the body of the slide content, the department would be identified.

That is how the report was presented to the City Council’s audit committee this afternoon.

Taylor said, “He (Harzoff) was right … We did find a lot of things in Revitalization that needed to be corrected, but it wasn’t the only place.”

This afternoon’s meeting was from noon to 1 p.m., and Council members Leslie Baranco Martin and Dale Fritchen brought lunch. Fritchen ate a sandwich and chips; Martin had salad.

Greg Folsom, the city’s deputy director of economic development, told the committee the Parking District consists mostly of part-time employees and that, for an event this weekend, for example, “If one person doesn’t show up, she (Popovich) is going to have to go out there on overtime.”

Popovich said Harzoff after the audit was conducted ordered overtime to be significantly reduced. More parking attendants are being hired, she said.

“They finally approved for me to hire some more attendants,” Popovich said. “I’m hoping it will be better.”

Popovich was paid $33,737 in overtime in 2008, according to a payroll record. Her base salary was $64,076.

Asked this afternoon why she did not claim payment for standby time she worked, Popovich said, “That never even crossed my mind.” She said, “I just come to work, I do my job and that’s it. I don’t go home much.”

The audit report found overtime in some cases in city departments was improperly documented. It did not suggest abuse.