Assemblyman had to pay back thousands of dollars in 1997

Sito Negron

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2003 | 11:19 a.m.

This year's $6,700 repayment plan marks the second time in six years that Assemblyman Wendell Williams has had to reimburse Las Vegas after claiming pay for hours he did not work.

Williams was overpaid almost $4,000 in 1997 and had to pay that money back.

For the two-week periods ending April 19, May 17 and June 14, 1997, Williams' time cards included his claims for 72 hours of work that should have been logged as unpaid leave. The hours were listed in the wrong columns of his time cards. A payroll staff member caught the error, according to an October 1997 article in the Sun.

Williams said in that article that he didn't notice the undeserved, extra money on his paychecks because he signed them over to his wife when he returned from Carson City in the summer.

The 1997 time sheets indicate that he was paid $220.26 every two weeks, at eight hours per pay period, between Feb. 8 and June 28. In almost every case, he lists 72 hours of unpaid leave and eight hours of vacation time, an arrangement that allowed him to maintain his health coverage, according to a memo dated Jan. 29, 1997.

However, there were three pay periods where the 72 hours of leave are written into the wrong column, and he was paid $1,984.15 each time. Those were the periods for which he was to have repaid the city, according to the records, which show that he returned one uncashed check. However, the records do not indicate exactly when he repaid the rest.

Williams was not available for comment Monday, his first day back at work after a two-week suspension. He has not talked to the Sun since September, although he did appear on the show "Face to Face With Jon Ralston" on Las Vegas ONE, Cox Cable channels 1 and 39, last week, and gave interviews to several other media outlets.

City officials were not available to comment on the 1997 time cards. However, a city spokesman did say that those are not part of an investigation into Williams' 2003 time cards.

Williams alleges that he was told to alter his 2003 time cards to defuse media attention. He said he worked the hours noted on the cards but agreed to amend them and pay back the city $6,700.

In his interview with Ralston on Thursday, Williams said he was being a "team player" in acquiescing to the request, because he wanted to stay tied to programs that are important to him, specifically a child-care initiative and a program that helps nonviolent ex-convicts get jobs.

Sharon Segerblom, Williams' supervisor, was not available for comment Monday. She is director of the Neighborhood Services Department, for which Williams works as a senior management analyst for almost $90,000 a year and she was supervisor who signed off on Williams' 2003 time cards.

In addition to the time card issue, Williams also agreed to pay back $1,844 for calls made from his city cell phone in 2003.

Among other issues surrounding Williams recently: