LARGO –– Rodney Fischer worked so much between August 2008 through 2011 that the leader of Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board only logged one vacation day, records show.
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The latest revelation comes as Fischer waits for members of the licensing board to vote on his request to stay on the payroll through June to collect 1,168 hours, or about 146 days, of unused vacation time –– worth about $66,000.
Fischer resigned Jan. 31 after a series of Tampa Bay Times articles detailed the way the board disciplines contractors and whether the board treats consumers and contractors fairly. Fischer also clashed with his employees and butted heads with county officials.
The Times asked to examine payroll records going back to when Fischer became the licensing board’s executive director in July 2001. The county, however, only provided records going back as far as Aug. 4, 2008.
From August 2008 until August 2016, the records show he logged 20 vacation days, including just one from 2008 until 2011. That’s an average of less than three days a year.
Fischer used an additional 10 days after the Times started its investigation last fall.
Since 2008, he also diverted 160 days to a county program that allows employees to forgo the time off in exchange for money paid in a lump sum. Fischer received payments totalling about $68,000, according to the records.
So what about the seven years not covered by the records? How much vacation time could Fischer have used or exchanged?
Not much, it turns out.
During his nearly 16-year tenure, he would have earned about 350 total vacation days. From that, subtract the 190 days he either logged as vacation or exchanged for cash. And then subtract the 146 days he says he is still owed.
That leaves just 14 days for him to have used from 2001 to 2008, or an average of two days a year.
The Times asked Fischer on Monday to explain how he recorded his hours since 2001.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Fischer said on the telephone. "I’m unprepared to talk without the records in front of me."
The Times tried to reach Marion Hale, Fischer’s personal attorney, but she had not responded by mid-afternoon Wednesday.
Paul Skipper, the licensing board’s former chairman, told the Times last week that Fischer "worked lots of evenings and weekends. He didn’t get paid overtime."
His large amount of unused vacation time surprised county officials, who had no authority to verify his work habits or examine how he logged his hours. His annual contract as a senior manager doesn’t specify how Fischer was to record hours.
Additionally, Hale told the board last week Fischer is owned three months salary for administrative leave, worth about $30,000. That’s in addition to the 146 days of unused vacation hours he says he is owed.
His employment contract states he is owed administrative leave "in the event the employee is terminated by the board." However, the board didn’t fire Fischer; he resigned at the urging of state Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater.
Fischer implored the board to vote, but the men tabled the request without legal advice. A Clearwater attorney representing the board said county lawyers ordered him not to intercede. Pinellas County Attorney Jim Bennett hired the firm in November to represent the board.
The legal services agreement, worth up to $20,000, states the firm can provide advice on "personnel matters or employment contract issues" for exempt staff. Bennett did not return multiple calls to explain why he forbid the attorney from providing advice.
At Thursday’s meeting, board members could reconsider hiring a former county administrator as an interim director. The group rejected hiring Gay Lancaster last week and chose instead to let office manager Anne Maddox continue to run the troubled agency. She served as Fischer’s top aide since 2013.
The rejection triggered Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe to start the process to convene a grand jury to investigate possible criminal activity.
The board’s decision also outraged Latvala, an influential state lawmaker, who had supported allowing the agency to remain free from county oversight as long as it hired Lancaster.
McCabe and Latvala both said Lancaster could help restore public trust at the agency, but the board’s move showed that its members do not want outsiders nosing around in its business.
Contact Mark Puente at mpuente@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2996. Follow @MarkPuente
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