INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Five months after a special counsel began investigating how overtime was spent at the Independence, Missouri Police Department, the results are public.

Independence special counsel Dan Nelson used words like “unacceptable inappropriate failures” but in the end from his findings that he revealed today he chalked it up as a miscommunication

He says there was a verbal yes from city staff to police but city staff according to the special counsel did not know the extent of the work that would be done.

Not only did the excessive overtime put the police department over budget but it cost the taxpayers just with the project and the renovations nearly $400,000.

The special counsel couldn’t determine whether the police officers actually worked the hours they clocked because the overtime system in independence is an honor system.

Bottom line, Nelson said there simply weren’t enough questions asked for this project to have ever been approved.

Nelson would not comment on who should be held accountable for this as he described it failure and wouldn’t acknowledge who knew want or when.

In February whistleblower reported at least one Independence police officer racking up 2,800 hours in overtime. The whistleblower said the overtime was connected to renovations at the police department and jail, not for his work as a police officer.

That officer received more than $200,000 in gross pay and benefits and is now on leave.