Stiles: HPD modifies bonus program, neglects to brief press
Over the weekend, Matt Stiles reported that HPD has quietly modified a bonus program after questions were raised by Chronicle reporting on the subject:
Houston police have quietly removed supervisors from a bonus program intended to reward top fleet mechanics, according to a month-old department memo released Friday.
Assistant Chief Norman Wong said Friday that he issued the directive April 12 because he couldn't find documentation that the supervisors and certain other employees were eligible for the program, which had been started by a previous fleet manager.
Fleet supervisors were paid $300,000 from January 2004 to March, the Houston Chronicle reported last month based on an analysis of payroll records.
[snip]
The memo was issued on the same day a Chronicle reporter interviewed Mayor Bill White about the supervisors' bonuses and two days after an interview with Wong's immediate boss about the same topic.
Executive Assistant Chief Martha Montalvo said during an April 10 interview that the program was "obviously meant for mechanics, parts people, service writers." She and the mayor said at the time they would look into the matter, and the date of Wong's memo suggests the department took quick action.
But Wong said Friday that the timing was coincidental and that when he issued the memo he was unaware of the Chronicle's inquiries about bonuses for supervisors.
It was unclear why police officials didn't mention the policy change when interviewed in April, or for more than a month after the story was published.
Actually, it seems fairly clear that someone at HPD probably hoped Stiles would drop the ball after the initial watchdog reporting, and that the program could quietly be changed without anyone at HPD ever having to explain it to the public more fully. Somebody at HPD is most certainly underestimating Stiles.
Back in April when Stiles and Steve McVicker reported on another HPD bonus program, our intrepid police chief had this reaction:
Hurtt, who learned about the high overtime pay after Chronicle inquiries, said he doesn't worry about the public's perception of the spending.
Apparently somebody at HPD must be worried about the public's perception about the first program, if they tried to sneak this change in the program by the local press.
UPDATE: Post edited for clarity, since it is referencing two different bonus programs.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/22/06 07:48 PM | Print | Comments (7)
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