ALBANY — An audit examining time-and-attendance reporting for Albany County workers found that over $1.2 million in “unidentified payments” were distributed to hundreds of county employees over the last three years and that at least one employee falsified their county time records while doing outside work for a different employer.
The audit report states that “significant and meaningful improvements” have been made since the County Legislature passed legislation in 2022 and 2024 that updated county rules on time-and-attendance reporting, editing and approvals. Those measures, developed by the comptroller’s office and the county human resources department, were spurred by County Comptroller Susan Rizzo’s earlier report on time and attendance in 2020.
The new report, issued this week, does not address concerns raised in a 2019 report issued by Rizzo’s predecessor, former County Comptroller Michael Conners, which alleged widespread abuses in the county’s payroll practices that included allegations workers were compensated with public funds engaged in campaign activities on behalf of County Executive Daniel P. McCoy while on county time…