Schuh said the incident is unlike anything he has seen in government or private business.
“I’ve seen malfeasance and fraud and mistakes, and I’ve seen payroll errors … they happen, mistakes happen,” he said. “I’ve never seen a miscalculation for such a protracted period of time.”
The number of employees impacted by the error has not been determined. Those most likely to be affected are public safety employees. Police and fire departments have large overtime budgets as officers and firefighters put in extra hours regularly. The fire department has 930 budgeted positions with the majority of those firefighters. The police department has 745 budgeted positions for sworn officers.
The county’s firefighter union, International Association Firefighters Local 1563, sent an email to firefighters alerting them of the payroll issue. That email — obtained by The Capital — states the issue goes back years and could total millions. Those numbers have not been verified.