BUFFALO, N.Y. — The comptroller’s office has launched an investigation to determine how many city employees are on paid leave, why and for how long, and how much it costs taxpayers, according to the city’s chief auditor, who testified Tuesday before the Common Council’s Civil Service Committee.
The comptroller’s inquiry is a response to Investigative Post’s report on Jill Repman, formerly Jill Parisi, an administrative assistant for the Buffalo Fire Department who was on paid leave for seven and half years. The city has paid Repman nearly $600,000 since suspending her in 2016, when she was accused of tampering with the department’s payroll to pad her check.
For at least six of those years, she worked a private-sector job, managing payroll for a home healthcare company. She was ordered back to work earlier this month, after Investigative Post began to inquire about her employment status. You can read the full story on Investigative Post's website.