Fenton Mayor Paid $15,000 in Excess Salary; Police Chief Improperly Paid $21,669 in Overtime

Investigative auditors who examined the Village of Fenton’s operations found questionable salary payments to the mayor and overtime payments to the police chief, traffic fines that were not deposited, and delinquent utility accounts where service was not disconnected.

Between April and September 2016, Fenton’s mayor was paid $15,000 in excess compensation. The mayor and the town clerk told auditors that a clerical error resulted in the mayor being paid his $2,500 monthly salary twice each month during this time. Auditors found that while the mayor was told of the overpayments in September 2016, he did not begin repaying the money until after the audit started in November 2017.

In addition, auditors found that between January 2016 and October 2017, the Village police chief received $21,669 in overtime payments without proper authority or adequate documentation. The chief’s salary is set by Village ordinance, and the overtime payments increased it above the fixed amount, which could be a violation of state law. Auditors also found that while Village police officers are required to work at least 84 regular hours per pay period before claiming overtime, the chief worked eight regular hours per week and then claimed overtime for additional hours.

Auditors found as well that $5,195 in cash payments for traffic citations were not deposited into the Village’s bank account between May and July 2017. The administrative assistant in charge of receiving the fines and the mayor, who was responsible for depositing the money, denied taking the funds, although the mayor did acknowledge borrowing money from the collections. After auditors finished their work in the Village, officials found several envelopes in the administrative assistant’s desk containing traffic citation payments totaling $10,215 that appeared to have been collected between August and December 2017.

Village officials also improperly adjusted at least 76 utility customers’ accounts between April 2016 and October 2017, auditors said, which resulted in the Village foregoing $6,171 in payments, including $1,694 due from the mayor’s father. In addition, officials failed to disconnect the utility services of delinquent customers as required by Village ordinance.