Mayor Megan Barry's chief of staff began approving bodyguard travel expenses after affair began

Months after Mayor Megan Barry began an extramarital affair with her bodyguard, one of the mayor’s top aides, Rich Riebeling, made an "unusual" change to security protocol.

Instead of following a longstanding policy that the police department pay for the travel expenses incurred by officers on Barry's security detail, the mayor's office began approving and paying for those expenses out of its own budget. The move was made to minimize the impact of the travel on the police budget, according to the mayor's office.

Riebeling initiated the change in travel expense approval "after Sgt. (Rob) Forrest raised concerns about the possible impact of travel expenses on the MNPD budget," Barry spokesman Sean Braisted said.

► More: Vice mayor names members to committee investigating Barry

The mayor's chief of staff Debby Dale Mason assumed the authority to approve travel expenses on Oct. 11, 2016, for all of the mayor's bodyguards, including Forrest. Barry and Forrest last month admitted to having a nearly two-year long affair while he served as her bodyguard.

Before Mason began approving travel expenses, Barry and Forrest took only one trip alone, in June 2016.

After the mayor's office began approving and paying for travel expenses, Barry and Forrest took eight additional trips without any other staff present.

Travel arrangement was 'unusual'

Asked if the mayor was aware of the decision, Braisted wrote in an email: "Not that she or other members of the mayor's office staff can recall."

"In consultation with the MNPD in 2016, it was determined it would be more appropriate for travel expenses to come from the mayor’s office budget instead of the police department budget," Braisted said.

As head of the mayor's security detail, Forrest was responsible for scheduling all members of the mayor's security detail, Braisted said.

After the mayor's office took over both approval for travel and paying for Forrest and other officers' travel expenses, Mason was set up as their supervisor in the city's computerized "travel authorization system."

The travel and expense approval protocol was “unusual,” according to a memo sent to Metro Nashville Police Department Chief Steve Anderson late Friday by the head of the city’s information technology department Keith Durbin, who also is a former city councilman.

Police chief never received travel requests

Because Mason was listed as a supervisor in the computerized system, a "system flaw" failed to notify Anderson of travel requests.

That meant that Anderson was neither aware of travel expenses incurred by Forrest or other police officers who were part of the mayor's security detail, nor involved in approving their travel at all.

"Chief Anderson learned during the week of Jan. 29, 2018, that his name appeared on travel authorization forms 'approving' travel for members of the mayoral security detail," police spokesman Don Aaron said.

"He had no recollection of those and, in fact, determined that he had never received, seen them. While he receives and approves all other travel requests from MNPD employees, he had not seen those."

Aaron said he was not aware of any efforts by prior mayoral administrations to assume expenses over bodyguard travel.

While the mayor's office took over paying travel expenses, Anderson should have been the supervisor approving all out-of-town requests for travel for Forrest and other members of the mayor's security detail, who are all police officers, Durbin said.

“Debbie Dale Mason is set up as Rob Forrest’s supervisor as of October 11, 2016, as were other members of the MNPD Mayor’s police detail,” Durbin said in his memo.

"Note that this situation is unusual, in that the employee's supervisor is a department head (or delegate) in a department different from the employee's home business unit department," the memo said.

"Chief Anderson should have been the ultimate approver of Sgt. Forrest’s travel requests since Sgt. Forrest technically works for MNPD," the memo said.

Because of a computer error, Anderson's name was automatically generated on an approval list for travel.

"Travel authorization started with Chief of Staff Debby Dale Mason because the funds for security detail were being paid out of the mayor's office account," Braisted said. "Chief Steve Anderson was then supposed to approve as it relates to police personnel travel, which appeared on our end to have happened."

More: Timeline: A look at Nashville Mayor Megan Barry's trips with her staff

Memo outlines flaws in computer system

Durbin's memo details computer system flaws that errantly eliminated alerts to Anderson for approval of travel requests involving members of the mayor’s security detail after the mayor's office took over paying for expenses.

That’s because Mason’s name was set up as Forrest’s supervisor in the system in 2016 and, according to Durbin, the computer system automatically listed Anderson as approving the requests.

A "long undiscovered computer flaw" caused Anderson’s approval to appear on the travel documents, even though he never reviewed the out-of-town trip requests, according to Durbin’s memo.

Anderson’s approval shows up in detailed travel records for Forrest in 2016 and 2017, according to documents released Friday by Barry’s office.

“The system flaw did not record Ms. Mason’s approval appropriately, but instead incorrectly recorded an approval by Chief Anderson, when he in fact received no notice to review or approve Sgt. Forrest’s travel,” the memo states.

According to travel records obtained by the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee, the bill for Forrest’s trips between January 2017 and October 2017 cost $21,712 in tax dollars. Barry’s travel expenses between Jan. 1, 2017, and this year totaled $11,382.

Anderson told the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee last week that he was aware of the travel, but that it was approved by the mayor’s office. Anderson said his recommendation has always been for the Nashville mayor to have security when they travel.

But for approximately the first year of her time as mayor, Barry frequently did not travel with security. As late as November 12-15, 2016, Barry traveled alone. Forrest accompanied her as security, with no other mayoral staff, on 10 trips in 2016 and 2017, according to travel records.

Forrest retired on Jan. 31, the same day Barry publicly admitted to their affair.

Investigations into potential criminal misconduct are currently underway by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, while an investigative committee created by the Metro Council conducts its own review into potential misuse of taxpayer funds.

A separate complaint filed with the Board of Ethical Conduct by members of Community Oversight Now, a community group advocating for greater police accountability, alleges that Barry's affair with a police officer unduly influenced her stance on criminal justice policy.

The IT department plans to “engage a Metro-contracted software development agency to remediate the issue with the system,” Durbin said in his memo.

"This is nothing more than a coincidental computer system error," Braisted said.

Reach Anita Wadhwani at 615-259-8092, awadhwani@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter @AnitaWadhwani. Reach Nate Rau at 615-259-8094 and nrau@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tnnaterau.