NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office faces scrutiny and responds with some delay report The New Orleans Office of Inspector General says deputies were overpaid for Mardi Gras details in 2023.

OIG reportThe report, released Tuesday, Nov. 12, found that OPSO’s handling of additional payments for deputies working Mardi Gras and documentation of off-duty details led to potential overpayments of nearly $260,000 in taxpayer funds.

Responding to the latest findings, Sheriff Susan Hutson defended her office’s policies and accused the Inspector General of advancing a “misogynistic” and “biased” agenda against her and other female leaders.

To enable parades to follow traditionally long routes, officers were brought in from various outside agencies for up to $75 an hour. The city council approved a base pay raise for OPSO deputies to work extra parade shifts. Hutson’s office also booked a dozen rooms at a hotel in the French Quarter for lawmakers serving in the parade. Superintendent Ed Michel previously described rooms that remained unused for 53 nights as “wasteful and unnecessary”.

The most recent OIG audit found that OPSO included bonus pay rates in its payroll calculation of overtime, resulting in an estimated $259,758 in overtime costs.

Additionally, Michel said OPSO did not provide the required authorization forms for all the details and some authorization forms lacked the necessary approvals.

The report also notes that some lawmakers worked shifts longer than 15 hours or logged leave hours while logging overtime without the written approval required by policy.

In a scathing response to the OIG report, Hutson raised concerns about Michel’s alleged biases and questioned the integrity and professionalism of his audit. Hutson’s statement includes allegations that Michel’s behavior reflected a “personal and unprofessional agenda” that may have compromised the objectivity of his findings.

According to Hutson, a confidential source documented Michel making “vile, vulgar and offensive comments” about herself and other female leaders in New Orleans in front of her staff and other institutions. He called the comments “misogynistic” and said he was trying to obtain records related to an investigation by the New Orleans Ethics Review Board. But he claimed the information was “hidden from the public and from me.”

Hutson called on New Orleans residents to critically examine the report’s language and question whether it represented an unbiased assessment or “a motivated attempt to belittle a woman in leadership.”

He emphasized the importance of examining not only his own administration but also other institutions led by people whose actions may reflect “misogynistic, offensive and reprehensible statements about women, and especially women in leadership.”

Michel said the Ethics Review Board fully investigated the allegations and dismissed them “with no adverse findings against the OIG or the Inspector General.”

“OIG has great respect for women and has appointed women to five of the seven leadership roles in the office. In a statement made by Michel’s office, it was stated that any claims to the contrary are false and not supported by facts. “OIG will continue to be relentless in detecting and reducing fraud, waste and abuse and will not be deterred by false claims.”

Huston’s statement also acknowledged the need for improvement but took issue with some comments, particularly regarding Mardi Gras bonus pay. He argued that his office calculated pay rates under legal guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor and insisted that the OIG mischaracterized OPSO’s pay practices.

OIG recommended that OPSO implement enhanced procedures and staffing for off-duty detail operations, adopt industry best practices, and ensure compliance with federal labor standards regarding overtime pay. OPSO agreed to address many of these recommendations while continuing to challenge OIG’s stance on certain payment calculations.

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