AUSTIN (KXAN) — An investigation by the Office of the City Auditor found a Code Department inspector used a city vehicle to visit family members on city time outside of his work zone, logging more than 1,330 miles in those visits and failing to meet inspection quotas, according to the investigation report.
Code Department officials noticed the employee’s productivity levels dropping in November 2017 and began investigating. The inspector, who was placed on administrative leave in January and later resigned his position, is not named in the report.
You can read the audit report here.
Cora Wright, director of the Code Department, said improvements to oversight, standardized performance metrics and caseload monitoring helped the department discover the “apparent misconduct.” Those improvements were put in place after a department “realignment” in October 2017, according to Wright’s response letter in the audit.
City auditors reviewed the Code employee’s GPS history, mileage and work history.
Between August and December 2017, the inspector drove to two residences that were eight and four miles south of his inspection district. His mother, mother-in-law and sister lived in the homes. The employee made more than 88 visits in that timeframe and drove about 1,331 miles, according to the report.
The employee was required to average five inspections per day. From October 2017 through January, the employee averaged less than 1.5 inspections a day, which was the lowest on his team.
