Senators scold administrators about $2M overpayment to employees

Senate lawmakers today scolded state Cabinet members and other department officials for a lack of accountability and a perceived disregard for taxpayers’ money stemming from the overpayment of more than $2 million to employees who were mistakenly paid too much.

Hundreds of thousands more in state tax dollars were written off as uncollectable and as of the end of 2011, more than $1.5 million is owed to the state by current and former employees, with some of the overpayments dating to 1994, the Senate charges.

“We don’t have accountability,” Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, chairwoman of the special Senate Committee on Accountability said after a hearing on the matter Tuesday. “I think they just haven’t put it as a priority and didn’t think it was important.