AFD officials fired a captain for alleged overtime cheating

Austin Fire Chief Joel Baker fired the third highest-ranking woman in the department after an investigation found she overstated overtime hours in a case that uncovered broader issues in how firefighters accounted for extra work.

The attorney for Capt. Chelsea Caloia calls her a “scapegoat” in a greater lack of timekeeping oversight by department management.

A 36-page disciplinary memo, made public Friday, said a lengthy investigation found “a culture of impropriety and unethical conduct” in the department’s fire prevention division, which conducts about 25,000 building and fire hydrant inspections annually.

Employees, including Caloia, routinely logged time for inspections that look less longer than they recorded, the Jan. 30 memo said.

The crux of the issue is that fire prevention inspections for new construction are billed by the city at fixed, standard rates determined by factors such as building size — not by actual time spent on site, said Doug O’Connell, Caloia’s attorney.

Caloia told investigators she believed the number of overtime hours she logged on her timesheet needed to match the hours billed for the inspection, even though they may not. She also believed her practice was proper and was shared by her colleagues.

The memo does not tabulate the amount of unworked overtime hours Caloia is accused of logging on her timesheet.

“As the fire chief, I bear responsibility for this,” Baker said in the memo. “Each of the leaders for fire prevention bears responsibility. Had I known about this behavior sooner, I would have acted to stop it.”

He added that “our failure as leaders does not mitigate the responsibility of each AFD member to accurately report their time.”

Baker said the City Auditor’s Office has an ongoing investigation into the matter.

Caloia’s attorney, Doug O’Connell, said in a statement: “If Captain Caloia has engaged in any impropriety, the same could be said of numerous other firefighters and AFD leaders who have operated under the same policies and practices. Captain Caloia deserves fair treatment, transparency and accountability that addresses the broader issues rather than targeting one dedicated public servant.”

Baker wrote in the memo he likely would not have fired Caloia solely for lapses in how she recorded her work hours. However, he said the investigation found Caloia used a city car for her personal benefit, including for personal errands and for doctors appointments unrelated to her work.

He said that since the issue arose, he directed supervisors across multiple divisions to closely monitor overtime, telework time and flexible time.

“I am more than disappointed by all of this,” he said. “This is not the custom or behavior of all Austin Fire Department members.”