D.A. unhappy about ex-employee’s payment

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    DOVER-FOXCROFT — District Attorney R. Christopher Almy is unhappy that a former Piscataquis County employee has allegedly been paid for time that they didn’t work and for vacation days that they weren’t authorized to take.

    Almy wrote a letter to County Manager Marilyn Tourtelotte and the commissioners prior to their Sept. 16 meeting, stating that he would not approve the warrant “because it is incorrect.” He explained that the person in question was not entitled to holiday pay after they resigned on Aug. 25 and “did not ask for leave time in accordance with the Piscataquis County personnel policy.”
    However, the county commissioners approved the warrant for $1,612.45 on a 2-1 vote with Chairman James Annie and Eric Ward voting “yes” and Fred Trask casting the negative vote.
    Trask originally suggested that the commissioner table the vote “until we get more information. I really don’t know what this is all about, but you guys (the other two commissioners) can do what you want.”
    But Alma Ryan, the county administrative assistant, said that the paychecks had already been sent out. “In that case, the best thing to do is to approve it and find out what it’s about later,” Ward said.
    The commissioners furnished a copy of Almy’s letter to the Piscataquis Observer, but the former employee is not being named due to privacy concerns.
    Almy said later that the questionable payroll time sheet came to him on the day before the meeting “and I did not sign it. I don’t believe people should be paid for time they didn’t work. This is fundamental public policy.”
    Almy also acknowledged that the employee in question had resigned once before, but was reinstated. “They (the county commissioners) had an executive session and never notified me. They didn’t involve me in the decision-making process, and I don’t think that’s right, either” Almy said.
    Annis said that “checks are usually sent out before approval (at county commissioners’ meetings) in order to keep a timeline on payday. This is historical. To wait for the commissioners’ approval could take extra time, especially if the meetings are irregular.”
    Tourtelotte agreed. “By law, employees must be paid within accordance of policies (bi-weekly  under the county policy),” she told the Observer. “These payrolls do not necessarily coincide with commissioners meetings. So when warrants are signed, payroll checks are often already sent out in accordance with the law. Warrants are signed and reviewed  by the auditors, who also review time sheets.”
    Almy said that approving a payroll warrant “after-the-fact doesn’t make sense. In this case, they saw my letter and chose to ignore it. I just don’t understand their reasoning.”