Modesto employees working hard – or hardly working?

Modesto is investigating some of its wastewater employees after The Modesto Bee observed them during work hours visiting a home improvement retailer yet not turning in receipts to the city; apparently taking a more-than-hourlong break; and one of them seemingly sleeping on the job.

Deputy City Manager Joe Lopez confirmed the city has started a personnel investigation after the newspaper asked questions about how the employees were spending their time. Lopez said the city would not release the workers’ names because of the investigation.

Acting on a tip, The Bee observed:

▪  On Oct. 10 a wastewater truck was parked by the sewer lift station in Dry Creek Regional Park. From a distance, the truck appeared to be empty. But when a reporter walked by the truck, he saw a man slumped in the driver’s seat, apparently dozing, and heard the truck idling. The man emerged from the truck around 9 a.m., about 50 minutes after the reporter first spotted him, and walked into the lift station. The man left the station after several minutes, got into his truck and drove away. Records provided by the city show the truck was idling from 6:38 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. that day.

▪  On Oct. 12 a Bee editor observed two wastewater trucks in the parking lot of Lowe’s around 10 a.m. at the NorthPointe Shopping Center. One of the trucks, according to city records, is the same one spotted by The Bee at the Dry Creek station two days earlier. Records show that one of the trucks was parked at the shopping center from 9:38 a.m. to 10:31 a.m. and the second truck was at the center from 9:24 a.m. to 10:11 a.m. A city official said the employees assigned to these trucks did not submit receipts for any purchases for that day and only one for the entire week, which was for a tool purchased at Lowe’s on Oct. 11. There also was a city water division truck parked at Lowe’s. Lopez said there was no receipt for that employee and the city will look into that.

▪  Then later on Oct. 12, a Bee photographer observed the two wastewater trucks at the Dry Creek lift station from about 12:30 p.m. to about 1:45 p.m, when the workers left. The workers were in the station, but one later was spotted sitting in a truck. City records show one of the trucks was parked from 12:07 p.m. to 1:47 p.m. and the second from 11:38 a.m. to 1:47 p.m. A city official said he is not aware of any reason why the trucks would be at that lift station on that day for that long.

The employees assigned to these vehicles are plant mechanics who clean, repair and service Modesto’s roughly 60 sewer and stormwater lift stations. The employees work 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with two 15-minute breaks and 30 minutes for lunch. Plant mechanics earn $41,553 as a trainee to $71,377 as a senior mechanic, according to information on the city’s website.

Wastewater Division Plant Maintenance Superintendent Aaron Trott said typically two mechanics are assigned to a truck. He said one truck and its mechanics handle routine work at a lift station, but mechanics from two trucks work together on major repairs or projects. Trott said he is not aware of any major work that took place at the Dry Creek station Oct. 12 after checking with the mechanics’ crew leader and supervisor.

Trott said the city is not treating questions of misconduct lightly.

“The city of Modesto wastewater division takes employee efficiency very seriously,” he said, “and we follow up on issues that may be raised regarding the inefficient use of city time and resources. We have a responsibility to our ratepayers.”

But Trott stressed the city has not yet spoken with the employees and they may have good reasons for what they were doing. For instance, Trott said, employees buy tools and supplies from Lowe’s and Home Depot and there can be times when an item is not in stock. Plant mechanic Mike Karsner – who said he has been off work since Oct. 10 for medical reasons – said if a tool or part is not available, employees may look around the store for something else they can use for the job.

The Bee could not reach the other plant mechanics for comment.

Modesto provided GPS information in response to a public records act request after the newspaper provided the city with the license plate numbers for the two wastewater trucks. Trott said two mechanics are assigned to each truck. But he said on the day a man was spotted slumped in the truck with the engine idling, the other mechanic assigned to that vehicle was off. And for the second truck spotted at Lowe’s, Trott said only one of its mechanics was working that day.

This story was originally published October 29, 2016 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Modesto employees working hard – or hardly working?."