Sacramento firefighter online diplomas bring raises, criticism

Monday, October 8, 2007

Sacramento firefighter online diplomas bring raises, criticism

Monday, October 08, 2007

SACRAMENTO (AP) Sixteen Sacramento city firefighters were paid an extra $50,000 cumulatively for higher education credits they earned from online schools that often grant degrees with little or no course work or classroom study, a newspaper reported.

Their 5 percent raises were stopped after fire officials began investigating when a dozen more firefighters applied for the pay hikes, according to city payroll records and other documents obtained by The Sacramento Bee under the California Public Records Act.

No one was disciplined because it was considered too difficult to prove the firefighters intended to defraud the city, Deputy Fire Chief Leo Baustian said. He said the clerk who processed the claims has since retired.

The 16 firefighters were allowed to keep the extra money they were paid between April 2005 and April 2006 after their union complained about attempts to recover the money.

Other fire departments have had similar problems in recent years but have taken stronger disciplinary actions.

For example, the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, which serves unincorporated Sacramento County, is investigating a dozen employees after seven firefighters submitted degrees from online universities to receive raises of 10.5 percent.

Employees with that agency are being disciplined and will be required to repay the money with interest, said Richard Margarita, the fire district's general counsel.

Information from: The Sacramento Bee, http://www.sacbee.com

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How fires get their names

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Monday, October 8, 2007