APD still owed $400K in past-due bills

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Austin Police Department has collected more than $350,000 after a KXAN investigation highlighted accounting problems within the Special Events Department.

In February, KXAN uncovered more than $800,000 in unpaid bills owed to APD dating back to 2000 for security and traffic control provided by  officers for some of the city's most high-profile events.

"I think a big problem was a lack of proper notes, proper record-keeping by us," said APD Cmdr. William Manno, who oversees Special Events.

Manno has been correcting accounting errors that happened before he took over the unit in 2010.

"A lot of events prior to '09, that paperwork just doesn't exist. We can't find it," Manno said.

But the department has sorted out some of the old debts.

RunTex owed the city $102,117, which was paid by CEO Paul Carrozza -- who said he was not aware he owed any money to APD. Meanwhile, Freescale took care of a debt for $80,518.31 for security provided for 5K runs in 2004 and 2006. Junior Achievement settled a $26,072 debt.

"It wasn't so much a case of them wanting to get out of paying what was owed; it's just they weren't aware, and a lot of times there's many people involved in these events. And the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing," said Manno.

Accounting practices are much different at APD now, but there is still more than $400,000 owed to the department that is more than 90 days past due. First on that list is a company called JAG Traffic, which owes $79,007.50.

"That is a highway construction project that I believe that company has gone bankrupt -- pretty much left town. They owe quite a bit," said Manno. "I'm not sure we'll ever be able to see that since their company's financial status is very much in question."

State law will not allow APD to wipe the debts off their books because the money they are owed belongs to the taxpayers.

"We have a budget that is called reimbursed overtime," said Manno. "And when we have an event and we bill those parties that are responsible for the event, we expect the payment back because, I would imagine -- and they should -- the citizens expect that payment back. Because it's their tax dollars that provide for our budget."

Manno said that when the department doesn't get that money back and it's not reimbursed when it should be, they tend to go over budget.

"Then we tend to need more tax dollars," he said. "So by looking at this more closely and being more accountable and holding the people more accountable for the events that they put on, then we're being more responsible for the citizens."

The department is also changing the way they document and collect bills for these events.

"We have a list of people who haven't paid. And like I said, if we get new applications, we don't even start staffing it or looking at it or reviewing it until the past bills have been paid," said Manno.

APD is also refusing to grant permits for events who have past-due bills.

"We have not denied any permits because of that. However, my staff, when we get a new special event application in, the first thing they do is look at the past-due bills and see if any of those are there," said Manno.

For 2012, Manno said the department has billed more than $900,000 and collected all but $348, which he said illustrates how APD is getting better at documenting, billing and collecting.

Meanwhile, old unpaid debts are now being forwarded to the city legal department.