City Hall
City Employees Punished for Giving Selves, Family Members Breaks on Utility Bills
One former and four current Seattle Public Utilities employees will receive fines for giving friends and family members breaks on their utility bills at next week's meeting of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission. The fines, which range from $300 to $1,500, come on top of the firing of three Seattle Public Utilities employees for manipulating their own or family members' utility bills, waiving late fees, and making deferred payment arrangements without approval.
The former employee and one of the current employees were charged with misusing their positions at the city. The former employee was fired and fined $1,500 after SPU management discovered he had falsified payments to his own account totaling more than $1,000. The current employee was fined $1,500 after SPU management discovered she had made 18 separate payment arrangements for her City Light and SPU bills over a 14-month period, in violation of city policy, which requires customers to follow the terms of payment arrangements. In most cases, the employee simply didn't pay her bill and rolled over her existing balance into a new arrangement; in one case, when she was supposed to pay a minimum of 75 percent of her balance, she paid just 3 percent.
A third employee was fined $700 for setting up 16 payment arrangements for himself over three years. A fourth was fined $400 for setting up four payment arrangements for herself during a six-month period. And a fifth was fined $300 for waiving fees for late payments and extra garbage for her parents.
The former employee and one of the current employees were charged with misusing their positions at the city. The former employee was fired and fined $1,500 after SPU management discovered he had falsified payments to his own account totaling more than $1,000. The current employee was fined $1,500 after SPU management discovered she had made 18 separate payment arrangements for her City Light and SPU bills over a 14-month period, in violation of city policy, which requires customers to follow the terms of payment arrangements. In most cases, the employee simply didn't pay her bill and rolled over her existing balance into a new arrangement; in one case, when she was supposed to pay a minimum of 75 percent of her balance, she paid just 3 percent.
A third employee was fined $700 for setting up 16 payment arrangements for himself over three years. A fourth was fined $400 for setting up four payment arrangements for herself during a six-month period. And a fifth was fined $300 for waiving fees for late payments and extra garbage for her parents.
