A refuse worker has been on paid administrative leave for more than a year — collecting a $46,000-$51,000 annual salary — after an ethics complaint was filed alleging he used city time and vehicles to collect and recycle metals scavenged during bulky item pickups.

The city now is reviewing an Ethics Commission recommendation that the employee be terminated. The commission also wants to know if the city can recover $10,923.11, proceeds the employee allegedly received from metal that was recovered while he was on the clock for his city job.

According to an Ethics Commission report, refuse collection supervisor Fred A. Burgess found time to scavenge metals five to 10 times per week. Between January 2003 and July 29, 2006, he received a total of $21,908.91 in cash for his efforts. The commission's review of receipts concluded that $10,923.11 was received during work hours.

In all, the commission found 106 ethics violations — 87 instances of misused city time, and 19 counts of misuse of city trucks. Its recommendation is that Burgess be fired and that the city seek restitution for the loss of time and the use of city vehicles, as well as looking into collecting the $10,923.11 he earned through his alleged misconduct.

Attempts to reach Burgess were unsuccessful yesterday.

STILL GETTING A SALARY

Eric Takamura, director of the city's Department of Environmental Services, said he expects a decision to be made in about two weeks. The city is conducting its own investigation, he said.

Meanwhile, Burgess is still collecting a salary the city Web site's recruitment page lists between $46,680 and $51,552.

Burgess' job was to supervise the automated garbage trucks, so he spent a significant amount of time driving the routes where his crews collected rubbish. He also apparently used this time to collect bulky-item waste for recyclable metals, such as barbecue grills, screen doors and tire rims, which he took back to the refuse yard in his work truck, according to the Ethics Commission report.

The report also said rules of the refuse division allowed employees to scavenge discarded rubbish, but "specifically prohibited an employee's use of city work time or city trucks to redeem recyclables."

The Ethics Commission began its investigation after Carroll Cox of Enviro Watch Inc. videotaped the employee collecting recyclable materials, putting them into a city-assigned pickup truck, transferring them to his own city pickup truck, then taking the metals to CM Recycling during overtime work hours.

Once a story about Cox's complaint was broadcast on a local television channel more than 14 months ago, Burgess was put on paid administrative leave.

City Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi said she understands the practice of paying people until they are proven guilty, "but they have a video of him taking things," she said.

She also questions how long the investigation is taking.

"You'd think 14 months is a very long time to pay someone while their case is being investigated. It shouldn't take that long."

CAUGHT ON VIDEOTAPE

Cox said the issue came to his attention when other refuse workers called to complain that Burgess was having them call and let him know whenever they saw discarded air conditioners, refrigerators or other appliances with recyclable metals.

"He would take it home in a city truck, then cut out the aluminum and copper, then sell it," said Cox, who spent four months videotaping Burgess.

Takamura, who oversees the refuse division, said the problem wasn't so much that Burgess was scavenging, but that he was using city vehicles and city time.

Usually, refuse workers who scavenge do things like take a lamp or a table home to fix and reuse.

"That practice has been going on for a long time," he said.

But according to the commission's conclusions, Burgess was doing much more than that, at the city's expense.

"Mr. Burgess' misconduct resulted in the public losing his services and that of the city vehicles while he was conducting his recycling business instead of performing his city duties," the report said. "Because Mr. Burgess set his own overtime, it is a reasonable inference that he extended his work day to make up for any work time used to redeem recyclables."

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.