LAUDERDALE LAKES --

Sunday, January 20, 2013

John W. Scott, Inspector General
Office of the Inspector General
One North University Drive, Suite 111
Plantation, FL 33324

RE: Former BSO Col. Timothy Gillette $340,653 payout

Dear Sir:

Can you imagine never being sick in the past 35 years? In case you are wondering, 35 years equates to:

• 12,784 days
• 1,104,537,600 seconds
• 18,408,960 minutes
• 306,816 hours
• 1826 weeks (rounded down)

From reports published by WPLG,

Let’s take the most egregious case, that of Col. Timothy Gillette, who received a whopping $340,000 check on the way out the door, most of it in accrued sick and vacation leave pay. Understand this is above and beyond his pension for life, which is mostly likely in the six figures (he was making $150,000 a year).

Gillette had served at the agency for more than 30 years and had somehow accrued about 422 sick days and 120 vacation days, according to BSO figures. Deputies get about 12 sick days a year and if they don’t use them, they roll over to the next year. Gillette has obviously been a very healthy fellow; 422 sick days is equivalent to 35 years worth of sick time never taken.

Deputies can accumulate unlimited sick time on the rationale that a serious illness could befall them at any time and they deserve the days they’ve saved up. That makes sense, but the normal policy, under union agreements, is that when a deputy leaves the agency, he or she receives about 25 percent of the value of those sick days.

And while former Sheriff Al Lamberti authorized “100% of the payout”, I seriously question the arithmetic behind Gillette’s $340,653 payout.

Therefore, I respectfully request the Broward Office of Inspector General investigates this matter.

Happy hunting;

Enclosure (1)

Complaint againt Col. Gillette’s $300K payout by