More and more issues with the town of Paonia’s bookkeeping have been revealed.
It was discovered that the town has been overpaying its chief of police and its public works director. To sort through some of this, KVNF's Jake Ryan talked to Paonia Town Manager Jane Berry.
She says that the two heads of the departments received overtime, double pay and on call pay for years, but they should be considered exempt from overtime. That practice, says Berry, cost the town at least $20,000 a year in salary expenses.
The town also bought some property for the new sewage treatment plant in town, and on that property was a house. Berry says that about eight years ago, Police Chief Scott Leon made an arrangement with the town, and moved in. Berry’s looked at the records, and it seems he started paying rent on the property last year.
The board has yet to decide what, if any, action will be taken.