OTB policy change eliminates paid cell phones for employees

Sep. 29—Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. will no longer acquire or issue cellular telephones to employees for business purposes.

Instead, under a revised policy approved last week by members of the public benefit corporation's Board of Directors, OTB will reimburse employees whose jobs require use of cell phones at a rate of $40 per month or "such other amount that may be adjusted from time to time."

Under the policy, the determination of which employees require cell phones to do their work will be left to the president of OTB, which is currently former Niagara County Republican Party Chairman Henry Wojtaszek. The policy lists as factors in the decision include positions that require out-of-office work that involve a need to be in contact with OTB headquarters, including maintenance positions or other administrative employees conducting normal daily business activities.

Employees meeting the criteria for cell phone reimbursement will be placed on a list which will require the employees to use their personal cell phones for business purposes, according to the policy. The list will be updated annually by OTB's president, the policy states.

OTB spokesperson Ryan Hasenauer said the policy was changed because almost all of the public benefit corporation's employees have their own cell phones now and the move reduces costs for the operation.

In April 2019, Wojtaszek surrendered a car and cell phone he used on the job at OTB's expense after the Niagara Gazette and the Buffalo-based investigative news outlet Investigative Post requested records related to both items under the state's Freedom of Information Law.

A review of the documents obtained by both media outlets showed Wojtaszek failed to follow OTB policy requiring employees assigned cars to "diligently record and maintain accurate records of all personal use miles." It also showed that Wojtaszek failed to reimburse OTB on a regular basis for personal use of the car and that while OTB policy required him to pay 20 percent of the cost for his agency issued cell phone, at best his payments covered 16.5 percent.

Wojtaszek received a cell phone from OTB in January 2018. Records obtained by the Gazette and Investigative Post showed his phone use cost OTB $867.08, of which he paid $142.73, or 16.5 percent, lower than the 20 percent monthly contribution required under the organization's cell phone policy at the time.

As was reported by Investigative Post, the calculations did not include the $387 cost for the purchase of the phone itself.

"Bottom line is I reimbursed WROTB for the cost of the phone and what I was billed by WROTB up to this point for my use of a cell phone," Wojtaszek said in an emailed response to the Buffalo-based media outlet in July 2019.