Officials To Probe Call-Offs At Allegheny County Jail
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Allegheny County leaders are angry about what they call a significant number of call-offs at the Allegheny County Jail over the Super Bowl weekend.
County leaders tell the KDKA Investigators close to 160 corrections officers called off sick between Saturday afternoon and Monday morning.
Investigators say the call-offs will cost county taxpayers nearly $24,000 in overtime.
"We have to get more internal procedures down there," says County Controller Mark Patrick Flaherty. He just finished an audit pointing out nearly $3 million in overtime at the jail each year.
"What we need to do is correct the system and allow for more internal controls and procedures that eliminate the abuse," he said.
A KDKA Investigation reveals the call-offs aren't just limited to Super Bowls. In 2009, nearly 40 corrections officers called of the first day of trout season, 48 called off the night of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup and 82 called off Super Bowl Sunday that year.
Right now, the county says every corrections officer that called-off this weekend will have to provide a written excuse or they will face disciplinary action.
Meantime, union leaders representing the corrections officers say they are always short-handed. Union leaders say the county has to hire more corrections officers.
