Portland officials announce internal investigation into delayed payroll system

PORTLAND, Oregon (COIN) – An internal investigation is underway after Portland officials discovered “unexpected internal delays” in the city’s payroll system.

On Thursday afternoon City of Portland announced its plans to evaluate the delayed tax payments and system updates that are affecting the program.

According to officials, the Bureau of Human Resources identified the problem in recent months and launched an investigation to resolve it as quickly as possible.

“As a steward of public funds, the City of Portland takes its fiscal responsibilities very seriously,” City Manager Michael Jordan said in a statement. “By shedding light on this pay situation, we can ensure we are meeting all requirements and quickly identify any issues.”

Portland officials reported that the city is in talks with unions to discuss the impact of the delays on employees. They also claimed that the errors have had no impact on cost of living or merit-based pay increases.

Officials said they were alerted to a similar system problem in early May when the city fell behind on repaying state and local payroll taxes withheld from its employees.

The city learned it had failed to pay $7 million over two quarters to TriMet, Paid Leave Oregon, the Workers Benefit Fund and the state transit tax. Officials said they “promptly” paid out the money, which was initially withheld from employees.

In addition to the internal evaluation, the Human Resources Office plans to audit and evaluate the payroll system.

“We are working quickly to fully understand and resolve this situation,” said Tracy Warren, interim director of human services, in a statement. “We are committed to operating workforce programs that our employees, labor partners and community can trust.”

Portland’s payroll system investigation follows similar challenges within the Oregon Employment Departmentwhich received several complaints from residents who experienced delays in the paid leave program.

The problem began when the OED launched a new platform to help users apply for unemployment insurance benefits.