SACRAMENTO - The plot thickens in the State Parks Department money scandal.
Central Coast News learned how some of the department's top managers worked the system to cash out on unused vacation time while you were footing the bill.
On Wednesday, the Controller's Office testified to lawmakers in Sacramento that State Park officials used obscure payroll codes, like the Katrina code, meant for wildfires and disasters to work the system.
The state payroll system generally blocks managers from receiving overtime, but override codes exist for rare cases; the Katrina code is one example.
Because of that, this all went unnoticed, about $271,000 later.
"The immediate reaction from the controller was to suspend access to anyone involved in the scandal," said Jacob Roper, spokesperson for the Controller's Office. "And also to launch an investigation of Parks and Rec."
"We've taken a number of steps," said Assemblyman Bill Monning. "I voted last week as a member of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee for the independent state auditor to do a full and thorough audit of the State Parks Department."
Assemblyman Monning said he's also sitting on a budget committee that's taking testimony from State Parks representatives.
"The monitoring of it, the transparency of it, is what we seek and should absolutely be front and center," he said.
Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D-Salinas) also voted to audit the department.
He released this statement to Central Coast News: "One of the greatest things about California is our State Parks System. It is unbelievable to think that in a time when we faced park closures that the Department of Parks and Recreation would think it's acceptable to hide surplus funds and allow parks to be shut down. That is why as a member of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee I voted to audit the Department of Parks and Recreation to find out how the current situation was allowed to happen and to restore the public's confidence in the Department of Park and Recreation."
Sen. Anthony Cannella (R-Ceres) released this statement to Central Coast News: "The actions of management at State Parks is reprehensible, from hiding funds to taking advantage of the system for their own personal gain. As this was happening, there have been drastic cutbacks in park services and hours. I support a full investigation into the department's finances and immediate corrective action taken against the employees involved in wrongdoing."
The Controller's Office said it should have more information on the investigation in November.
