I'm unable to say whether CPT Collins is right about everything, but know he is acting in good faith. I also know his complaints about Keen's outside employment are very well founded.
Let me share what I know with you. In addition to being the Corrections Director, Keen is also a paid instructor with Penn State's Justice and Safety Institute.(JASI).
In September 2015, he was paid $240 to assist JASI with a service presentation. Since I do not have the date of this presentation, I am unable to say whether he was being paid by the County at the same time.
From January 18-20, 2016, Keen taught a First Line Supervision course in Hudson County, NJ. He was paid $600 by JASI as a stipend, and also claimed $660.88 in expenses. January 18 was MLK Day, a holiday in Northampton County. But January 19th and 20th were regular work days and Keen's time card report shows him at work during days when he was actually in New Jersey. He received $402.88 per day from Northampton County for the 19th and 20th while getting paid $200 per day by JASI to teach a course for corrections officers.
This facially appears to be some form of double dipping.
From May 1-5, 2017, Keen was paid $600 by JASI to teach a leadership and command course in the slate belt. This was just two weeks after Controller Steve Barron issued a report recommending that there be stronger controls over outside travel. Keen decided to take one personal day. The remaining days are reported as regular work days.
On June 12-14, 2017, Keen was paid another $600 by JASI to teach first line supervision. He took one personal day, but his time card report shows him at the courthouse and on duty on those other days. This is the course that Keen insisted his lieutenants attend. He took either four or five of them, even though that left CPT Collins short-handed at the jail. These officers had to go to Penn State for a course that Keen could have taught here. The County spent $1800 just for the course, to say nothing of the travel expenses.
It appears that Keen used the authority of his office to recruit these lieutenants and beef up his class size. He benefited financially. In this situation, the prudent practice would be for Keen to use his stipend to reduce the cost of this class to his lieutenants and continue to receive his county pay. That way, no one could accuse him of packing the course so he could get paid. In fact, this practice is followed in other counties
Can anyone say state Ethics Act?
Amazingly, Collins is the one who has been suspended.
In the interest of fairness, I presented Director Keen with this story and asked him to set me straight about any factual error I may have made. He has declined to respond.
My experience with him is that he has a deep sense of personal integrity, but I am troubled by these gigs.
20 comments:
Butterbean Keen has been buttering up his bank account with these teaching gigs. He is using his status as a county administrator to line his wallet. In the unethical Clown administration the brass can break all the rules, are rewarded with inflated salaries, and are still incompetent. Time for voters to show the door to Brown and his Blundering Herd of self-serving scrubs.
So will he have to return the pay? Come on how can this be justified? Maybe he should be walked out of the jail.... Just saying.
I think if Bernie's Blog should be published in Cathy Allen's county news letter and the Express Times. EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW who the crooks are.
Maybe Bernie has his facts wrongs and Keen isn't dignifying Bernie with a response. And how did Bernie get his timecard information? A RTK?
Institutional perks. Another director, under this corrupt regime, lying, cheating, and manipulating government time for extra personal income and perks. This whole conglomerate of gypsies, tramps and thieves, [Brown, Allen, Trapp & Keen], got to go! The problem is the apathetic and uniformed voters of NC do not care about who runs their county government. It's time for Lamont and company to start bashing his opponent and illustrate to the voters the dirty works of the Brown Administration, the useless council who supports him, and the cheating directors under him.
@7:43 am... maybe Amy Trapp gave Bernie the time sheet? Oh wait no she was too busy suspending people while looking the other way when a fellow director steals time!
With respect to Mr. Keen, Bernie you just scratching the surface with this character background. Check with the people at Franklin county jai.
Not leaning toward one side or the other. But, isn't this guy a salaried employee? Is he expected to be a M-F/9-5 employee, or are his hours in attendance flexible, but requiring a minimum of 40/week? We need more information, before accusing someone of double dipping.
"Maybe Bernie has his facts wrongs and Keen isn't dignifying Bernie with a response. And how did Bernie get his timecard information? A RTK?"
I did obtain some info via RTK. I am comfortable with my facts.
"But, isn't this guy a salaried employee? Is he expected to be a M-F/9-5 employee, or are his hours in attendance flexible, but requiring a minimum of 40/week? We need more information, before accusing someone of double dipping."
He is salaried, but his timecards show "regular" pay, "vacation," and "personal." When he is away to teach and be paid by another entity during regular business hours. I am troubled by what Keen is doing for several reasons.
First, I know from a previous RTK that he had been on the road at least 40 nights over two years. That has to make him less effective. We should not be paying for him to go to every conference he is so he can become president of the wardens' ass'n. I have written about this before.
Second, I have no problem with a salaried employee engaging in outside employment during nonbusiness hours or even during business hours if the employee is a person whose job is one that does not really require his physical presence during business hours. I do have a problem when the employee manages a large number of employees and is responsible for the jail. He needs to be there.
Third, this is really dicey under the state ethics act bc he clearly used the authority of his office to pack a class he was teaching.
Fourth, it is also dicey under the ethics act bc Keen is being paid to share his expertise at the jail. He is being paid what really amounts to an honorarium to share his professional knowledge as a corrections director. This would be illegal. The way this question is avoided in other situations is that the employee waives the honorarium, collects his county pay and a discount is given to county workers enrolled in the class.
You go Dave it is about time someone near the top exposed this place for the shithole it has been for years. Good luck.
This is fraud. And HR should be terminating.
He is a cabinet official and Any Trapp (thankfully) has no power over him. I do not think he should be able to pull county personnel so he can get extra $ to teach them. I do not think he did this to benefit himself, but think that practice needs to change.
The only questionable entries on the time card would be for "regular" hours. What someone does on vacation or personal time is nobody's business but the person taking the time off.
Keen needs to be prosecute and Mr kostura
Who cares what he does during his personal time.... you are going to far once again.
Keen is Trapp's lap dog, he's putty in her hands. A right to know request of thier email exchanges would read like a penthouse letter.
Truth be told if Keen, Kostura and Collins were all shown the door it would be an improvement!
10:21, It might, but it would be denied as predecisional internal deliberation.
Another phone and computer confiscated. Hmmm
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