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Posted on Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 12:20 p.m.

Payroll records raise more questions about former Ann Arbor police chief's time juggling 2 jobs

By Ryan J. Stanton

An MLive investigation has raised more questions about a former Ann Arbor police chief's time working two six-figure, full-time jobs for two financially distressed cities 70 miles apart.

The latest report highlights a trip Barnett Jones took in September where he spent three paid work days at a law enforcement conference at a northern Michigan resort courtesy of the city of Flint.

111411_Barnett_Jones.jpg

Barnett Jones

Jones was Flint's public safety administrator at the time.

On those same three days, Jones' time records for his second job in Detroit show he also put in eight hours of work as security chief for the Detroit Water and Sewer Department, MLive reported.

Jones, who was Ann Arbor's police chief until retiring early last year, recently resigned from his job in Flint after it was revealed that he had been juggling two jobs since May.

In Detroit, Jones still works under Sue McCormick, who also worked with Jones as recently as 2011 in Ann Arbor, where he was police chief and she was public services administrator.

During the eight months he worked both jobs in Flint and Detroit, Jones' time sheets indicate he worked eight hours at each job nearly every weekday, despite the fact that the cities are about an hour's drive apart on I-75, MLive reported.

Neither his Flint calendar nor the time sheets from either city indicate Jones ever worked a weekend, though he told The Detroit Free Press in January that he worked late nights and weekends to put in 40 hours a week at each job, MLive reported.

Jones' Flint payroll records don't indicate he took any sick days and he took only one vacation day, even though there were at least 10 days off marked on his daily calendar, and another four week days where he had written about out-of-state events or conferences.

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.

Comments

Great Lakes Lady

Tue, Feb 19, 2013 : 6:16 p.m.

What a gig....go from gov't job to gov't job collecting separate pensions from each one, after only 5 years of "work"?!? Then work 2 full-time 6-figure jobs simultaneously?!? In addition to collecting 2 salaries simultaneously from 2 "full-time" jobs, he also collected 3 different pensions ....from Ann Arbor, Sterling Hts, and Oakland County. Amazing!!

cindy1

Tue, Feb 19, 2013 : 2:25 p.m.

The John Heifjte-Roger Fraser reign over Ann Arbor set a tone which could be labeled "corrupt." I know, it's a strong term. But not a stretch if one reads some investigative reporting on inner workings of the city over the past decade. The Ann Arbor News-annarbor.com were mostly (not all of the time) in collusion with gov., so those who actually read local news rarely knew what was (is) actually going on. Jones and McCormick were participants in and are "products" of this unfortunate environment.

Jack

Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 7:10 a.m.

They are not "products." They are the instigators. I have read some of the stuff from a2politico. Much of it appeared to me to be hyped up allegations that played on people's fear and lack of knowledge. I'm not saying I like the Heiftje bunch; I don't, but neither do I follow the conspirator theorists.

Nicholas Urfe

Tue, Feb 19, 2013 : 3:49 a.m.

Meanwhile, there are hard working, loyal employees getting terminated because the city needs to save a few bucks. While Mr. Police integrity moonlights in what I would consider blatant criminal fraud. And his boss in Detroit, also a former ann arbor government all star, is just fine with it. That stench isn't from the sewage plant.

GoNavy

Tue, Feb 19, 2013 : 3:48 a.m.

One can only wonder if any of this behavior was learned on the job while Mr. Jones was Chief of the Ann Arbor police department. "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," or so I've heard.

anotherannarborite

Tue, Feb 19, 2013 : 3:18 a.m.

hmm ... And we worry about the mom with three kids on food stamps not reporting some babysitting income.

Slideveezy Okarter

Tue, Feb 19, 2013 : 12:50 a.m.

I mean who cares.

Angry Moderate

Tue, Feb 19, 2013 : 12:45 a.m.

So this went on for months, and nobody noticed that the work wasn't getting done at either of the two jobs? Sounds like they're overstaffed.

hotpotato

Tue, Feb 19, 2013 : 12:24 a.m.

Take the pictue above and imagine that mug in prision orange. Much more fitting than white.

tommy_t

Tue, Feb 19, 2013 : 12:17 a.m.

At least it looks like he lowered Ann Arbor's crime rate when he left.

hotpotato

Tue, Feb 19, 2013 : 12:23 a.m.

@tommy_t, that's a GOOD one! Thanks for the laugh.

cindy1

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 9:54 p.m.

Now that this article has been published, I strongly hope that "raising questions" about former city of Ann Arbor employees doesn't stop with Barnett Jones. And, very serious questions might be raised about current employees. Some of these questions are being raised on a2politico.com. (the last time I mentioned that news source in a comment here, it was quickly deleted)

A2comments

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 9:17 p.m.

I hope both cities go after him, and the City of Ann Arbor needs to investigate what might have gone on while he was chief here. Hopefully he'll end up in jail and be required to pay lots of ill gotten gains back.

Solitude

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 9 p.m.

The Honorable Sean Cox, with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, has jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to the Detroit Water and Sewer Dept. Perhaps those taxpayers concerned by the obvious fraud, mismanagement and misappropriation of funds going on need to contact the good judge and urge him to get to the bottom of this mess. His biography (http://www.mied.uscourts.gov/judges/guidelines/topic.cfm?topic_id=98) indicates that he is, after all, a UofM alum. http://www.mied.uscourts.gov/judges/guidelines/index.cfm?judgeID=22

Angry Moderate

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 8:37 p.m.

Hmm. I wonder how such a horrible person got chosen for all of these prestigious jobs. Did we overlook qualified candidates to hire this corrupt criminal, by any chance?

dave

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 9:03 p.m.

He was approved by the Party Chairman and his cabal. No need for you little people to be concerned with such trivialities. Now go back to complaining about the skating rink and dog park we won't let you have like good little sheep.

Macabre Sunset

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 7:12 p.m.

Can someone still collect two pensions while serving a prison sentence?

Zhuk

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 7:55 p.m.

I think you can have pension payments deposited into your commissary account so the benefit payments can be converted into ho-hos and little debbies or possibly enough fruit cups to make a fruit bowl.

Cash

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 7:10 p.m.

Well, the facts as uncovered say that he lied on his government payroll record. If it's not a crime, it should at a minimum be grounds for termination. Enough!!

jcj

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 6:59 p.m.

So much for all the glowing comments we saw when he retired!

Ken

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 6:50 p.m.

During the tenure of Barnett Jones as Ann Arbor police chief, the city developed a national reputation for its speed traps.

Zhuk

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 7:54 p.m.

Did it? Link please

WalkingJoe

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 6:56 p.m.

Ok, and this is relevant to this story because...?

John of Saline

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 6:48 p.m.

Oops.

average joe

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 6:30 p.m.

From MLive- In a May compliance report to the federal court judge who was overseeing the DWSD, McCormick said Jones "will be instrumental in helping us not only strengthen our existing security operation but also to establish an internal affairs function within DWSD to investigate allegations of wrongdoing and make recommendations for corrective actions." ...to investigate allegations of wrongdoing? This Judge needs to show both of them the door...

Solitude

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 5:54 p.m.

The MLIVE story says McCormick has not made herself available for comment and has not responded to a list of emailed questions about this matter. Seeing as how most of SE lower Michigan is paying outrageous and ever-escalating rates for water from the embarrassment that is the Detroit Water Dept.,her lack of leadership in this matter is infuriating and inexcusable. She needs to stand up and account for where our money is going, and she needs to do it now. She also needs to explain why the accounting procedures she has in place did not detect this fraud. We have to stand up and refuse to allow those responsible for this never-ending fraud and mismanagement to slither under their rocks and continue to collect taxpayer funds.

An Arborigine

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 5:48 p.m.

Upholding the fine tradition of corruption in Detroit. I hope someone enforces some laws on this "law enforcement professional" Any evidence of multiple full-time positions during his tenure in AA?

Jack

Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 7:01 a.m.

@hotpotato - What annarbor.com should investigate is Sue McCormick and her time with the city of ann arbor. I think it would be an interesting story. My guess would be she had a lot to do with it.

hotpotato

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 6:08 p.m.

A2 news should investigate the people Jones appointed to Dept heads before he left.

Solitude

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 6 p.m.

His boss in Detroit is an Ann Arbor product, and he is previously from Ann Arbor and other suburban communities. I guess it's possible that they suddenly lost previously high levels of integrity and character upon crossing the Detroit city limit, but I'm more inclined to believe neither one of them had any of either to being with. Maybe they just just didn't get the same scrutiny in their previous jobs.

Solitude

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 5:41 p.m.

Hmmmm....The Wayne County prosecutor's office has filed criminal charges against more than one city of Detroit employee in the last year for falsifying work time records in order to get paid when not on the job or to improperly collect overtime. If what MLIVE reports is true, it will be interesting to see if this Jones person is afforded equal consideration. We can only hope. Of course, the city of Detroit workers were hourly employees, and I doubt Jones is an hourly employee of the Water Department; however, recording eight hours on a time card in Detroit when you are in northern Michigan can not be considered anything other than what it is, low-rent fraud and cheating. I sincerely hope he gets what he deserves.

SonnyDog09

Mon, Feb 18, 2013 : 7:38 p.m.

Those laws and rules are for "the little people", not for a big shooter like him.