Mayor White finally admits what I’ve been saying for some time now: one of the reasons Bonusgate happened was the special treatment given to the city council members and their staffs:
Employees in other city departments, for example, must follow established rules and use specific forms for pay adjustments. Bonuses require “a whole bunch of hoops,” he said.
“Some of those procedures have not been applied to council in deference to the individual elected officials who oversee their own budgets,” he said. “I think a lot of council members would like to see that changed.”
Then he turns right around and tries to obscure the issue.
Asked whether deference to the council members and their budgets contributed to the failure of his administration’s payroll officials to notice the extraordinary monthly bonuses sooner, White said, “I have no idea why somebody didn’t catch some stuff. Even if there was some deference, obviously something like that was out of line.”
I have a very good idea why: the atmosphere of “what the council wants, the council gets” combined with a total lack of oversight from an unqualified elected official.
Like many commentators on the issue, Councilmember Holm wants to see the money returned, and questions why it hasn’t happened yet.
She also questioned why the employees were still being paid based on raises they approved themselves — and why the $143,000 hadn’t yet been recovered.
“Immediately, we ought to do that,” she said.
But here’s the kicker. Now they’re pushing the report back even further:
Answers about how the raises and bonuses got through the system might be forthcoming, with the police investigation expected to end soon, perhaps early next week. Findings will be forwarded to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office for review and possible criminal charges.
Originally, they were saying it would be done by last Friday. Then they said this week. Now they’re saying next week! Is the administration waiting for this to fade from the public’s mind before the report is released? Is the report taking longer because they are finding more and more information? Or because it’s taking longer to cover it up?
One thing is for sure: the delay means something, and their reluctance to answer (or even acknowledge) TPIA requests doesn’t look good. As Royko said in the comments over at BlogHouston:
Not a peep from the city on my TXPIA request submitted ten days ago, and sent again by CM Wiseman to the City Attorney. The City bent over backwards for the Komicle, to get them what may appear an exculpatory document, in order to assist the editors in depicting the East Side Polecat as a victim.
Related news: Channel 13’s exclusive interview with Christopher Mays wasn’t so exclusive.
Update:Rorschach writes at LST.