The City Manager of Pasadena gave pay raises do department heads months after an audit found the city utility saw millions of dollars disappear from its coffers.
The Pasadena Star-News reports, “One month after an audit criticized the management of a multi-million dollar utility fund, which allegedly had been swindled for $6.4 million, City Manager Michael Beck gave pay raises to department heads, including the two managers who oversaw the fund and its accounting, city documents show.”
The city council approved the raises at Beck’s recommendation.
The council also agreed to renegotiate the embattled administrator’s contract, allowing Beck to turn unused vacation hours into a $64,000 “deferred compensation” package, according to the documents obtained by the Star-News.
“In May, when the city uncovered the suspected embezzlement scheme, officials went to the district attorney seeking a criminal probe. Additionally, the city began its own administrative investigation and hired KPMG to conduct a forensic audit of the fund.”