BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo Common Council member Mitch Nowakowski sent a letter to the Office of the New York State Comptroller urgently requesting Comptroller Thomas Dinapoli conduct a risk assessment audit of all City of Buffalo employees on paid administrative leave.
"We need clarity and I don't wanna play politics I want to get to the bottom of it," Nowakowski said.
The letter comes after Nowakowski learned in September a city employee was placed on paid leave and received more than $600,000 for seven and a half years all while collecting a different paycheck from another job.
"The crux of my concern stems from the significant risk assessment involved. The financial implications of these unchecked administrative leaves represent a high risk, not only from a fiscal perspective but also concerning the erosion of public trust," Nowakowski wrote in his letter.
SEE: Buffalo City Comptroller investigation reveals $500k spent on suspended pay
The comptroller's office confirmed with 7 News that city employee, Jill Repman, retired on November 30th. The comptroller's office said her pension will be based on her 28.31 years of work but has not yet calculated her monthly earnings.
Earlier this year, Nowakowski requested City Comptroller Barbara Miller-Williams conduct an audit of all city employees on paid leave. Instead, Miller-Williams said she would rather investigate what happened, noting an audit takes too long.
SEE: Debate over audit for city employees on paid administrative leave
"This has been a back and forth in City Hall and I don't want to play ping pong with the comptroller, and to get to the brass tax of it I wanna get answers. I want it to be factual and I want to leave politics and personalities out of it," Nowakowski said.
At a December 5th committee meeting, the City's Chief Auditor, Kevin Kaufman, told Nowakowski the office was finalizing the report and planned to have it filed for the next meeting.
At Tuesday's Common Council meeting, no report was filed, but Nowakowski said Tuesday that Miller-Williams is wrapping up her investigation and has no apprehension about the state getting involved in this matter.
"The fact of the matter is it's taxpayer dollars and every penny counts and people are trusting us with their money," Nowakowski said.
