Hernando Today
Public Works Employee Suspended
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: May 16, 2008
BROOKSVILLE - A county Department of Public Works employee was suspended three days without pay for using a county-owned grader to spread limerock on his neighbor's driveway during work hours.
Assistant Public Works Director Steve Whitaker said the employee, Robert Batten, also did some unscheduled maintenance work on county right of way in front of the neighbor's yard, located at 24351 Mondon Hill Road in Brooksville.
That would have been bad enough, Whitaker said.
But Batten crossed the line when he spread limerock on his neighbor's driveway last September, he said.
Whittaker said he determined that the suspension was harsh enough for what he calls misappropriation of county equipment and supplies. Batten was also disciplined for not following department policies and procedures as they pertain to the daily work schedule.
If Batten had received payment from the neighbor for spreading the limerock, that could have been grounds for firing, Whitaker said. Batten, a 20-year veteran with the county, has the title special equipment operator.
Whittaker estimated the total costs for the limerock, use of equipment and the employee's time (about 30 minutes to grade the driveway) was about $279.
"It isn't a huge amount of money but the thing is, it's a huge problem with public perception for the public to drive by and see us repairing a driveway, especially when the employee is a neighbor," he said.
The driver of the truck that picked up the limerock from a mine on the eastside was not disciplined because it was determined he had no part in the matter, Whitaker said.
Whittaker said he wants to nip these kinds of actions in the bud because it gives the department a bad name. In the 22 years he's been there, there have only been a handful of such incidents, he added. This latest revelation, which happened last fall, comes on the heels of a controversy that erupted in the utilities department last month when three utility department workers received varying disciplinary actions concerning racial harassment.
According to the incident report, James Adkins phoned in on the county's ethics hotline Sept. 6 and said he saw a large county-owned dump truck dumping limerock onto a privately owned driveway at the Mondon Hill location.
The John Deere road grader spread the limerock from the road apron to 40 feet past the fence line of the property, the report said.
The report said Adkins, who is running for county commissioner, was upset when he saw what was going on and that the dump truck later pulled out in front of him while he was driving down the road. Adkins said he had to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting the truck.
Whitaker said he didn't believe there was any way to recover the money lost to the county from the neighbor. Instead, the county recouped the costs from Batten's loss of salary for three days, which amounted to more than $279, he said.
"That balanced it out," Whitaker said.
Whitaker said there are more than 100 employees in the public works department and he deals with incidents such as this whenever they are brought to his attention. Many times, that is from an alert citizen, as it was this time, he said.
Fortunately, such instances of misappropriation are few, Whitaker added.
Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or mbates@hernandotoday.com.
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)
* Keep it clean
* Respect others
* Don't hate
* Don't use language you wouldn't use with your mom
* Use "Report Inappropriate Comments" link when necessary
* See Member Agreement for details
TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online Member Agreement | Privacy Statement | Work With Us
Reader Comments
Posted by ( amyreag ) on May 16, 2008 at 2:39 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I can not believe you suspended him for doing a nice thing...I really do not see where he did anything wrong...Looks like politics at it's finest in Hernando County...he ain't getting my vote...we all know that the roads in that area are not the finest and could use a few dollars spent on them, it's just a driveway for petes sake that was probably messed up because of the road!!! Do you want some cheese with that whine Mr. Adkins!!!!
Report Inappropriate Comments
Posted by ( Harley2008 ) on May 16, 2008 at 1:20 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Are you sure this is the same James Adkins that is running for office, or is it one of the other men with that name in the area?
Batten did wrong, with MY money and some of us do not appreciate it.
Blame the county for the roads in the area, and don't give credit to a man who stole from the taxpayers.
Good job, Mr. Adkins. Now, we need more to speak up like he did!
Report Inappropriate Comments
Posted by ( SGB ) on May 17, 2008 at 8:26 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Sounds more like a little roadrage, at work, more so than fixing someone's driveway. Some people think, that being (a little miss goody two shoes), is the way to get ahead.The employee has worked for the county, 20 years, apperently, he has been doing something right.
Report Inappropriate Comments