A former city traffic signal repairer bilked the system for almost $1,800 in fraudulent overtime, a move that’s changed how the Traffic Engineering Division handles its early morning shifts.
An Office of Inspector General report distributed late Thursday details how Todd Jackson, the former employee, took advantage of an on-call shift for traffic signal repairers during the midnight-7 a.m. shift.
Jackson was arrested for grand theft, using his city-issued vehicle to unload unknown materials. The inspector general reviewed an official misconduct allegation relating to the fraudulent overtime.
According to the report, on at least 15 occasions from Jan. 1-Aug. 31 of last year, Jackson either submitted no or incomplete overtime forms that were inaccurate or false to support claims totaling almost $1,800.
The on-call person carries a city-issued cellphone for overnight complaints about malfunctioning traffic signals.
The department didn’t always verify the overtime was worked, which has since been corrected.
For the 15 incidents, 12 calls to Jackson came from “general citizenry. During the period reviewed, Jackson received more than 240 calls on his work and on-call phone from the same number.
The office was unable to find out who the number belonged to because it was disconnected.
Jackson was arrested in September 2015, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months of community control. He also paid back the $1,767 of unlawful compensation along with another $570 of unlawful compensation identified during the criminal investigation.
The department as a result of the investigation will eliminate its on-call shift starting Oct. 1 and instead replace it with a regular shift.
According to the report, that move is expected to save the city $45,000 over the next three years.
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