TWO WESTMORELAND COUNTY EMPLOYEES SUSPENDED WITHOUT PAY

The purchasing director and deputy purchasing director in Westmoreland County are now suspended without pay over salary increases that officials say were never approved.  The Trib reports that the county’s Salary Board says Director Kristopher Cardiff, Deputy Director Kristen Coyne, and four clerks have been collecting an extra 30 minutes of pay each day since last August.  Cardiff tells TribLive that he believed the additional wages were authorized based on what he was told by the county’s fiscal director and human resources officer.  The Greensburg Courthouse is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day, meaning many employees get paid for a six-and-a-half-hour workday.  Controller Jeffrey Balzer says compensation increases were authorized for some county workers over the last year, but not for anyone in the Purchasing Department.