State Auditor Dave Vaudt has advised the Woodbury County Sheriff’s office to keep better track of vacation time, with a paper trail. "Paperwork definitely helps document and makes sure that things are actually being approved and the documentation supports what action’s being taken," Vaudt says.
The state audit was launched after a citizen accused Chief Deputy Gregory Logan of not taking vacation time, but still being paid by Woodbury County when he went to Maryland to conduct training sessions at the National Emergency Training Center.
Over a three-year period Logan went to teach at the training center on 13 different occasions. The audit found paperwork showing Logan had taken vacation time in all but one instance. That was for a one-week period in December, 2007. Earlier this month, the department adjusted Logan’s pay for that week away.
"He indicated that it might have been overlooked by him, but it’s impossible to tell because he may have informed the payroll clerk that might not have processed it appropriately," Vaudt says. "That’s why the documentation is so important."
The Woodbury County Sheriff gave Logan verbal permission to leave for the out-of-state work, but the auditor recommends all vacation and leave time that’s granted be backed up with paperwork. "I think it’s so important…that a written record be maintained…That helps in future times going back to a particular pay period that it’s documented and it’s followed through," Vaudt says. "Without those paper records, it’s only someone’s memory."
The audit indicates paperwork was required for vacation leave for all but the sheriff and the top two deputies in the Woodbury County Sheriff’s office.