An investigation into alleged misuse of vacation time has been closed and will not result in restitution being paid back by city employees in Wright City, according to city attorney Leslie Tolliver-Rogers. Following last Thursday's board of aldermen meeting, she declined to discuss her findings in detail after reviewing time cards presented to her by Mayor Roy White. Earlier this year, White claimed city employees were wrongfully being paid for working on a scheduled vacation day. Two weeks ago, Tolliver-Rogers stated that no criminal charges were going to be filed against the accused employees, but added that employees may be required to pay restitution. At the time, she noted that the time card review was not complete. Last Thursday, Tolliver-Rogers refused to answer any questions regarding the investigation, other than to say "No restitution. It's closed." Alderman Jim Schuchmann, however, believed that Tolliver-Rogers may had been caught off-guard when asked by White to give an update of the investigation at the city's previous aldermanic meeting Oct. 8. While commenting on Tolliver-Rogers' conclusion, Schuchmann remarked that the right decision was made. He said the board reviewed the case in May following White's accusations and found no illegal wrongdoing then. "We weighed all the different parameters and all the sides of it and determined at that time while mistakes were made it was not mistakes made by the hourly employees," he said. "To hold them responsible would had been an injustice." White said he disagreed with Tolliver-Rogers' announcement. When he made his accusations, he said three time cards of employees eligible for 80 hours of vacation time were reviewed and found to have received extra vacation pay ranging from 104 to 134 hours. "It was totally obvious," White contended. "But what the board does, it's up to them. "It was in plain view," he added. "They received more vacation than what they were entitled for." Schuchmann remarked it was not unusual to have a city employee work on a scheduled day off due to unforeseen circumstances, such as clearing snow-covered roads in the winter or fixing water line breaks. Schuchmann also recalled an ice storm late in 2007 that forced city crews to work long hours to remove fallen tree limbs and prevent further power outages. Employees receive one week of vacation following their first year with the city and two weeks after their second year. According to city officials, employees were mistakenly given extra vacation days because the previous city clerk allowed the unused time to roll over to the following year. All vacation rollover was supposed to be approved by the board, officials said. "There was a policy in place and it shouldn't have occurred," Schuchmann said. Alderman Jamey Abercrombie blamed poor record keeping for the extra vacation time being allowed. "We can't hold (employees) at fault because of what was going on," Abercrombie said. Before approaching Tolliver-Rogers with the alleged misuse, White said he contacted the "state" regarding his concerns and was told it needed to be reviewed by the city attorney. When asked this week why the investigation was initiated, White said he was tipped off by a citizen who told him the time cards needed to be reviewed more carefully. He declined to identify the citizen or the "state" agency. Two weeks ago, aldermen voted 3-1 to reinstate the city's comp time policy, allowing employees to take time off when needed if a workday during the same pay period exceeds their regular daily hours. The lone negative vote came from Alderman Tom Black. In addition, the board will receive a payroll report notifying them as to how much comp time has been accrued by each employee. City officials believe the reports will provide a stricter watch on the use. "Steps have been taken to ensure this doesn't happen again," Schuchmann said. Last Thursday's board meeting, pushed up a half hour earlier than normal, was called to order by Abercrombie at 6:05 and followed by a vote into closed session. White and Alderman Tom Black were five and 10 minutes late to the meeting. The board reconvened in open session at 6:30 p.m.