Press Release: 7/31/2025

IG Shapiro Urges Barre Town Officials to Improve Timekeeping Controls

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

7/30/2025

 

MEDIA CONTACT

Carrie Kimball, Communications Officer

 Phone

Call Carrie Kimball, Communications Officer at 617-722-8894

 Online

Email Carrie Kimball, Communications Officer at carrie.c.kimball@mass.gov

BARRE, MA — Inspector General Jeffrey S. Shapiro sent a public letter today calling on the town of Barre to follow specific recommendations after an investigation found that the town’s former Department of Public Works (DPW) Superintendent worked for two state agencies while he was supposed to be at his municipal job.

The investigation was prompted by a complaint made to the OIG’s Fraud Hotline concerning the timekeeping practices at the town’s DPW.  The investigation found that Jason Pimental, the town’s former DPW Superintendent, worked hundreds of hours for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Fire Services and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority during periods that he was scheduled to work for the town, without taking corresponding leave time. Furthermore, the OIG found that neither the town nor the town’s DPW Commission maintained adequate records of the former DPW administrative assistant’s out-of-office work hours. The OIG’s investigation also established that the town’s DPW Commission failed to adequately supervise Pimental and the DPW’s former administrative assistant.

“As stewards of public resources, town leaders have a duty to properly supervise the operations and employees of the town.  And town employees have a duty to perform the work that they are paid to do,” IG Shapiro said. “In this instance, both the DPW Commission and the former DPW Superintendent failed to fulfill their responsibilities to the community they serve.”

Based on its investigative findings, the OIG outlined specific steps the town and the DPW Commission must take to properly oversee and administer the DPW’s payroll and protect public funds, including enacting legislation to eliminate the DPW Commission and placing the DPW under the authority of the town administrator or the Select Board. Within 30 days, the town and the DPW Commission must notify the OIG of plans to implement the letter’s recommendations.

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is an independent agency that prevents and detects fraud, waste, and abuse of public funds and public property on the state and municipal levels.  If you suspect fraud, waste, or abuse of public resources, you are encouraged to contact the OIG’s confidential fraud hotline at 1-800-322-1323 or IGO-FightFraud@mass.gov