Commissioners debate on how to proceed in firefighter investigation

Two Clark County commissioners who support an investigation into firefighter sick leave abuse that cost the county $7 million in 2009 debated Tuesday how far back the probe should extend.

Commissioner Larry Brown said he wants those who committed crimes or misused the system punished, but he argued against investigating firefighters who had retired years ago unless there was solid proof they cheated.

County officials could wind up expending a lot of time and money on pursuits that don't pan out, he said.

"We shouldn't be chasing shadows over the past 10 years," the Las Vegas mayoral candidate said. "A lot of this is very difficult to prove."

Instead, the county should make examples of the flagrant wrongdoers and concentrate on reforming the system to prevent future abuse, he said.

Steve Sisolak, the commissioner who has offered the strongest criticism of the sick leave abuse, said any firefighter who committed fraud should be punished, no matter when they retired.

Law enforcement agencies have the resources and expertise to comb through years of records and ferret out any scams, he said.

"It's unconscionable that people would do this," Sisolak said. "This is just flat out greed."

The question is an important one because Las Vegas police and FBI officials are reviewing documents to determine whether a criminal investigation is warranted. If an investigation yields results, county officials might want to try to recover some of the money.

More than 230 firefighters each missed at least a month's worth of 24-hour shifts because of sick calls in 2009, according to county records. A dozen missed more than three months of work because of sick leave.

Firefighter sick leave cost the county so much because tight staffing requires those who fill in for co-workers to be paid overtime and because the system appears open to abuse. Most firefighters who return to work less than 12 hours after finishing a shift qualify for callback pay, in which a portion of that day's earnings goes toward pensions. Officials suspect that some firefighters worked in tandem to pump up each other's callback pay and, in turn, retirement benefits.

Also Tuesday, the county released the "sick rosters" to which Battalion Chief Renee Dillingham referred in an e-mail. They contain calendars showing Dillingham and other battalion chiefs scheduling sick calls months in advance.

Using sick leave as vacation instead of for medical problems violates the labor contract.

"To me, that shows there was collusion and a conspiracy involved to bump up sick leave and callback (pay)," Sisolak said. "It can't be any clearer."

Assistant County Manager Ed Finger said e-mails were circumstantial evidence and not enough to adjust pensions under the Public Employee Retirement System. After firefighters retire and their pensions are established, reducing those benefits becomes more difficult, Finger said.

However, Dana Bilyeu, PERS executive officer, said retired workers' pensions can be reduced if they did something criminal or improper to pump up their benefits.

The burden would be on county officials to prove the malfeasance, Bilyeu said. Firefighters who put in at least 25 years can begin receiving a pension immediately after retiring.

The retirement pay is based on the average of their three highest earning years; they receive 75 percent to 80 percent, depending on when they were hired.

Sisolak argued that callback pay can add tens of thousands of dollars to a firefighter's pension, totaling $1 million-plus during retirement.

One firefighter amassed $80,000 in callback pay in a year, Finger said, because of vacations, short staffing and sick leave.

Commissioner Tom Collins, a union advocate, left the meeting before the discussion. He said he had to make some business calls and watched most of the talks on a monitor.

He agreed with Brown's argument that the county should prosecute criminals but not chase after firefighters who took questionable sick leave years ago.

"I'll wait and see what happens -- if someone did something fraudulently," Collins said.

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@review journal.com or 702-455-4519.