A routine audit report that examined shift transfers of city employees has revealed that some transit drivers have been exchanging shifts for cash.
The findings were released to the Greater Sudbury Audit Committee at its Jan. 24 meeting.
The auditor general reviewed shift trading practices at Pioneer Manor, Emergency Services (EMS), fire services and transit services.
“Our office conducted the audit as a result of evidence of shift trading found during the planning stage of the transit services audit,” Brian Bigger, auditor general said.
The audit concluded that shifts are being bought and sold in the transit division. It also found problems with documentation of shift trading in the fire services department. No problems were noted regarding Pioneer Manor or EMS.
“The audit found drivers submitting time cards with other driver’s names on them,” Bigger said. “This has facilitated the practice of employees selling and buying shifts for cash within transit.”
Bigger said shift trading is a widely accepted practice, but said there are expectations that “the person who works the shift is the person that gets paid.”
Any shift trading needs to be done in a manner that is well controlled and documented.
Brian Bigger,
Greater Sudbury auditor general
Bigger would not reveal the number of drivers selling shifts for cash.
“As far as shift exchanges go over 80 per cent of drivers felt the need to do exchanges in the time period that we looked at,” he said. “Not all of those were for cash.”
He said dollar amounts were examined but would not reveal those findings.
The audit report contained several recommendations to resolve the problem, including the need to discontinue the practice of selling shifts for cash.
“We recommended that the sale of shifts for cash stop immediately,” Bigger said. “Any shift trading needs to be done in a manner that is well controlled and documented.”
The report also stressed the importance of formalizing policies and procedures for shift trades, including the need for the employee and manager to complete paperwork for each shift transfer.
Bigger said inspectors should sign and confirm accuracy of waybills, also known as time cards, to determine who was working each shift.
Liabilities and the impact of shift selling were explained to members of the audit committee in an in-camera session before the meeting. That information was not shared at the open meeting or explained to reporters.
Bigger said a follow up with be conducted with the transit department in three months “on whatever action plans and commitments management has made.”
“Fire has indicated to us that they’ve already responded in a positive fashion and implemented the improvements that we asked for,” he said.
The audit was conducted between Aug. 2010 and Oct. 2010. Bigger said he decided to present the information to the audit committee after the municipal election was over. “Essentially it was my call,” he said. “I intentionally did not want to get in the middle of the election.”
Mayor Marianne Matichuk said she was a little bit surprised by the findings in the report.
“I think that’s the role of the auditor to find out where we can improve,” she said. “I understand this is common practice in a lot of transit operations but it’s good that it’s come to light and I think it’s important that the people involved, the union and management, work on a solution to this.”
The report originally recommended “the audit committee accept the report dated Jan. 20, 2011 from the auditor general identifying audit issues and the steps taken by staff to resolve them, including the adequacy of management responses to audit concerns.”
Ward 10 Coun. Frances Caldarelli said she wanted to put forth a motion to change the motion to remove the final clause, which was seconded by Ward 11 Coun. Terry Kett. The audit committee unanimously accepted and carried the amended motion.
