Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Audit Cites Improper Use of State Car by Fish and Game Worker

The California Department of Fish and Game has been criticized by the state Auditor's office for letting an employee use a state car to commute between her home in San Diego and Fish and Game's Los Alamitos office, costing taxpayers $8,282, plus $595 in lodging and meal expenses.

"On July 1, 2008, the employee transferred her headquarters from the San Diego office to the Los Alamitos office," according to the August 25 audit report, entitled "Investigations of Improper Activities by State Agencies and Employees".

"When the employee transferred her headquarters, her manager at the Los Alamitos office obtained a state vehicle for the employee to use and directed her to use the vehicle to commute between her home and the two offices where she worked."

"In December 2008 Fish and Game filled the vacancy in the San Diego office that was created by the employee transferring to Los Alamitos, thus eliminating the need for the employee to report to the San Diego office."

"Nonetheless, the employee continued to use the state vehicle to commute between her home and the Los Alamitos office.

"The employee logged nearly 20,000 miles before she stopped using the state vehicle for her commute in March 2009."

"When we asked the manager about obtaining a state vehicle for the employee to use for her commute to work, the manager stated that he obtained the state vehicle for the employee because she was working at two locations—the Los Alamitos office and the San Diego office."

"However, the mere fact that the employee was working at two offices on different days did not justify giving her a state car to commute to these two offices."

"We also asked the manager about the employee’s continued use of a state vehicle to commute between her home and Los Alamitos for an additional three months after she stopped working at the San Diego office."

"To this the manager replied that failing to require the employee to surrender the vehicle once she no longer was assisting the San Diego office was an oversight on his part."

"In addition to commuting in a state vehicle at the State’s expense, the employee submitted travel expense claims seeking reimbursement for $595 in lodging and meal expenses incurred within two miles of her headquarters location in Los Alamitos."

"When asked about the reimbursements during the investigation, the employee asserted that all of the expenses she claimed were incurred as a direct result of conducting state business."

"The manager, however, acknowledged that these expenses should not have been reimbursed and stated that approving reimbursement for the expenses was an oversight on his part."

According to the audit document, Fish and Game reported in June that it would "prepare a corrective counseling memorandum for the manager detailing the improper direction he provided to the employee," and "would provide him and other managers in the region with training detailing the proper rules and procedures for travel reimbursements and use."

"In response to our recommendation that it provide training to the employee regarding state rules about the payment of employee travel expenses, Fish and Game reported that it would provide training to all senior staff in the manager’s region.

"However, Fish and Game did not indicate that it intended to provide any training to the employee.

"Finally, in response to our recommendations that it seek recovery from the employee and the manager for the improper travel reimbursements we identified, Fish and Game reported that it would follow the appropriate process to collect the improper reimbursements made to the employee and that it would follow guidelines established in state regulations and allow the manager to respond to our findings."

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob
Next Article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule

The California Department of Fish and Game has been criticized by the state Auditor's office for letting an employee use a state car to commute between her home in San Diego and Fish and Game's Los Alamitos office, costing taxpayers $8,282, plus $595 in lodging and meal expenses.

"On July 1, 2008, the employee transferred her headquarters from the San Diego office to the Los Alamitos office," according to the August 25 audit report, entitled "Investigations of Improper Activities by State Agencies and Employees".

"When the employee transferred her headquarters, her manager at the Los Alamitos office obtained a state vehicle for the employee to use and directed her to use the vehicle to commute between her home and the two offices where she worked."

"In December 2008 Fish and Game filled the vacancy in the San Diego office that was created by the employee transferring to Los Alamitos, thus eliminating the need for the employee to report to the San Diego office."

"Nonetheless, the employee continued to use the state vehicle to commute between her home and the Los Alamitos office.

"The employee logged nearly 20,000 miles before she stopped using the state vehicle for her commute in March 2009."

"When we asked the manager about obtaining a state vehicle for the employee to use for her commute to work, the manager stated that he obtained the state vehicle for the employee because she was working at two locations—the Los Alamitos office and the San Diego office."

"However, the mere fact that the employee was working at two offices on different days did not justify giving her a state car to commute to these two offices."

"We also asked the manager about the employee’s continued use of a state vehicle to commute between her home and Los Alamitos for an additional three months after she stopped working at the San Diego office."

"To this the manager replied that failing to require the employee to surrender the vehicle once she no longer was assisting the San Diego office was an oversight on his part."

"In addition to commuting in a state vehicle at the State’s expense, the employee submitted travel expense claims seeking reimbursement for $595 in lodging and meal expenses incurred within two miles of her headquarters location in Los Alamitos."

"When asked about the reimbursements during the investigation, the employee asserted that all of the expenses she claimed were incurred as a direct result of conducting state business."

"The manager, however, acknowledged that these expenses should not have been reimbursed and stated that approving reimbursement for the expenses was an oversight on his part."

According to the audit document, Fish and Game reported in June that it would "prepare a corrective counseling memorandum for the manager detailing the improper direction he provided to the employee," and "would provide him and other managers in the region with training detailing the proper rules and procedures for travel reimbursements and use."

"In response to our recommendation that it provide training to the employee regarding state rules about the payment of employee travel expenses, Fish and Game reported that it would provide training to all senior staff in the manager’s region.

"However, Fish and Game did not indicate that it intended to provide any training to the employee.

"Finally, in response to our recommendations that it seek recovery from the employee and the manager for the improper travel reimbursements we identified, Fish and Game reported that it would follow the appropriate process to collect the improper reimbursements made to the employee and that it would follow guidelines established in state regulations and allow the manager to respond to our findings."

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.