The head of the Department of Public Safety's parking operations, a man who has held the position for 21 years, has been removed from the DPS office after a December audit revealed poor accounting practices and an unaccounted for decrease of about $96,000 in parking money.
Former Parking and Transportation Manager Rand Stamm is still drawing from his $47,646-yearly salary, but his office has been moved from the DPS headquarters in Straub Hall to an office in a mostly empty hallway in Susan Campbell Hall. He's still employed at DPS, but his job title has been changed to Alternative Transportation and he works with transportation issues, according to the DPS Web site.
Stamm is the second person to leave the department's parking operations since the Oregon University System opened its investigation into the finances of DPS in the fall. Former Parking and Key clerk Shannon McKinley transferred on Dec. 1 to Environmental Health & Safety in the University Facilities Services department.
University spokeswoman Mary Stanik wrote in an e-mail Thursday that "we do not comment on individual personnel matters," and Parking and Transportation Interim Manager Joan Saylor did not return an afte noon Emerald voicemail seeking comment on Thursday.
Stamm could not be reached at his new office, and a woman who works at Canine Assistance Partners, a nonprofit where Stamm is a board member, said Thursday he was out of town because of a family emergency and she didn't know when he'd return. An Emerald e-mail Thursday to Stamm wasn't returned.
Stamm's annual contract expires on June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
McKinley, who is now an office specialist, had been employed by DPS since Nov. 1, 2000.
When asked by the Emerald why she switched departments, McKinley said "I don't think it's anyone's business. It's personnel business."
The staff changes come after an OUS audit revealed DPS suffered from poor accounting practices, some of which opened up the department to the risk of theft. The audit also found that over the past three year, the department's cash receipts - cash, checks and credit cards - decreased by a total of $95,569.12, while the total revenue from parking permit sales, meters and tickets increased to a total $1,586,612 in 2005. OUS couldn't explain the decrease because accounting records were so poor, according to the audit.
DPS Director Tom Hicks previously told the Emerald he believes the decrease was simply a result of more OUS employees electronically deducting from their paychecks and fewer paying over the counter for services.
University Vice President for Finance and Administration Frances Dyke called for the audit because the Business Affairs Office contacted her and stated that DPS had missed a regular bank deposit.
Hicks previously told the Emerald that the department and the committee created to revamp parts of it would like to shift toward doing more business online as a way to reduce over-the-counter payments. Online payments for parking tickets wouldn't be available by the end of the school year, but it's an idea the committee is hoping to implement in the future, he said.
Contact the news editor at jpaben@dailyemerald.com
Be the first to comment on this article!