INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. — An update to a story WPTV first broke last week, regarding scrutiny over a pay raise for the Indian River County administrator.
Tonight, we’ve learned law enforcement has been notified over the situation.
WATCH: Commission agrees to give Titkanich a progressive pay raise
The commission, by a 3-2 vote, agreed to give John Titkanich the progressive pay raise he had been seeking, effective Tuesday, but also told him he had to pay back any retroactive increase he had received.
“One of the most disturbing things I’ve heard, or haven’t heard, is 'I’m sorry,' said County Commissioner Deryl Lohr.
“There was no attempt to conceal this. This was done transparently,” replied Titkanich.
An animated discussion among Indian River County commissioners stemmed from an internal audit into a $15,000-plus payment to Titkanich. That payment stemmed from a May e-mail the administrator sent to the county attorney and the HR director, that he had not received a progressive pay increase he believed he was entitled to during his first two years on the job.
The audit concluded, “The manner in which the progressive pay increase was approved for the County Administrator and the County Attorney, represents a breakdown in internal control procedures.”
“When we discovered this particular problem, it threatened the status of a series of positive audits,” said County Clerk and Comptroller Ryan Butler.
Clerk and Comptroller Ryan Butler told the commissioners in the wake of the audit, that pay increase was stopped.
Butler tells me the State Attorney’s Office recommended that a law enforcement agency look into the matter out of an abundance of caution. So Butler reached out to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement since they have a unit that specializes in executive-level investigations.
I reached out to FDLE for a response, but did not hear back.
Clerk Butler clarified right now this is only in the preliminary inquiry stage, and not a full investigation, and that future FDLE actions would be based on what commissioners did.
The county attorney was also given a progressive pay raise by a 3-2 vote.
