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Thomas Shifts Blame For Dead Workers' Premiums

By:  Brian Meyer
News Staff Reporter

The city commissioner being fired for failing to fix problems that caused Buffalo to pay for health insurance for dead employees is trying to pin the blame on her former benefits director, some Common Council members said Tuesday.

While Human Resources Commissioner Karla L. Thomas wrote at the end of a six-page document that she takes "full responsibility" for her department, lawmakers said a letter she hand-delivered to Council offices attempts to shift culpability for an embarrassing and potentially costly blunder.

"She's clearly blaming Tracy Healy for the problem," Delaware Council Member Michael J. LoCurto said after reviewing Thomas' letter.

Healy is a 12-year City Hall veteran who is widely respected in some circles. She resigned as director of compensation and benefits in April, taking a lower-paying benefits specialist position.

"It seems to me like [Thomas is] trying to deflect the blame solely on one individual," Niagara Council Member David A. Rivera said. "This was a problem that was brought to [Thomas'] attention in January, and the buck stops with her."

The Human Resources Department has been under fire since City Comptroller Andrew A. SanFilippo released a scathing audit nearly eight months ago.

The report highlighted numerous problems in the department, including disclosures that the city was paying insurance premiums for a then-unknown number of deceased employees. Auditors performed a follow-up review last month and found that the city had paid more than $2 million in premiums for 170 deceased individuals.

Mayor Byron W. Brown announced last week that he was firing Thomas. By law, the mayor must preside over a hearing to give her a chance to present her case. The hearing will be held Sept. 16.

Thomas delivered her letter to the Council on Friday, shortly before the holiday weekend was about to begin.

While Thomas ends her letter stating that she takes "full responsibility" for her department, some lawmakers who read the document said there is little doubt that Thomas is attempting to cast blame for the most serious problem.

Thomas spends nearly a page giving a chronology of how she directed Healy multiple times to take steps to fix problems that led to unwarranted insurance premium payments. The easiest solution in the opinion of auditors and the mayor was to purchase death data from the Social Security Administration.

Thomas said she was briefed by Healy three times in February and March.

"After the third request, [Healy] advised me that there was more to it than just buying [the Social Security] data and shared her concerns," Thomas wrote.

In March, Thomas said, she directed Healy "for the final time to get it done" and was informed that the purchase of the data was being processed.

The death data was never obtained by the city until August, only days after a follow-up report issued by the comptroller discovered that no corrective action had been taken.

"In hindsight, I recognize that upon Director Healy's resignation, an exit memo should have been submitted to assess the division's progress," Thomas wrote.

Healy is on medical leave for the next several weeks and was not availble to comment.

The Council voted unanimously Tuesday to shelve a resolution that called on Brown to terminate Thomas. Sponsor Joseph Golombek Jr. of the North District said the bill, which was filed hours before Brown announced Thomas' termination Thursday, was now "moot."

But couldn't it be argued that Council passage of the bill might have sent a loud message to Brown that he should stick with his plan to fire Thomas regardless of what she says at next week's hearing?

"I don't think [the mayor] is going to change his mind," Golombek said.

Thomas' letter also focuses on various actions that her department has taken to address deficiencies, some of which preceded her appointment as commissioner in September 2008.

Brown disclosed last week that the city has secured agreements to recoup about $750,000 of the premiums that were paid to insurers. In addition, the city has received refunds for about $240,000 of a $526,339 overpayment that occurred when the city made double payments for health policies that covered some employees.

Thomas ended her letter by stressing that she recognizes her obligations to oversee her department.

"As commissioner of Human Resources, I am responsible for the oversight of each division under my purview, and my leadership takes ownership of their successes as well as their failures. Their correction is nonetheless mine, and in accepting my role as leader, I take full responsibility," she wrote.

Mayoral spokesman Peter K. Cutler said the mayor has no comment on Thomas' letter.