D.C. hands out $15M in bonuses despite recession, budget gaps

[The Northerner]

Source: Washington Examiner

The economy has been in the dumps for years, but the good times keep on rolling for some favored D.C. employees.

City officials have doled out nearly $15 million in bonuses and awards since Mayor Adrian Fenty took office in January 2007, records obtained by The Examiner under the Freedom of Information Act show.

Among the big winners were Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, who was handed $41,250 in August 2007 after barely two months on the job; Department of Health Director Pierre Vigilance, who was given $15,000 in 2008; and city property manager Robin-Eve Jasper, handed $18,000 over two years.

The bonuses were ladled out even as the city was facing nine-figure budget shortfalls and officials -- including Rhee -- were firing employees by the busload, claiming they could no longer afford them.

Read more: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/D_C_-hands-out-_15M-in-bonuses-despite-recession_-budget-gaps-8651125-79169767.html