Lonnie Roberts awards $35,000 bonus to aide

It seems that Multnomah County's elected officials have the power to grant bonuses - of any size - to their employees. And Commissioner Lonnie Roberts has done just that, to the tune of $35,000 for his outgoing chief-of-staff Gary Walker. From the O:

The bonus is, by far, the largest given to a county employee in memory, and doubles Walker's annual earnings of $34,000. It also highlights the county's lack of a clear bonus policy, particularly for elected officials who enjoy complete discretion over how they spend their budgets. ...

Walker tried to keep the bonus secret, asking human resources to "keep this matter confidential, except for those who need to know," according to an e-mail exchange between two human resources directors.

Of course, the biggest bombshell in the Oregonian is in its final paragraph - where it's suggested that the bonus was an attempt to conduct an end-run around rules that limit earnings while simultaneously picking up a County pension. (Walker is a retired sheriff's deputy.)

But Walker boasts that he easily works a full-time schedule, and Roberts cited those extra hours in justifying the bonus -- even though working more than 1,039 hours or being paid for more than 1,039 hours could jeopardize his pension payments. County officials say Walker's pension will not be affected.

County Chair Ted Wheeler and County Auditor Lavonne Griffin-Valade - both newly elected - expressed some concerns:

Multnomah County Auditor LaVonne Griffin-Valade questioned whether public employees should get bonuses at all. "My concern is that it takes away from the transparency," she said. "If this is what they feel people should be paid, it should be in the budget and receive some scrutiny from the board."

County Chairman Ted Wheeler said he did not favor bonuses for public employees. "I would not want to see it become a widespread practice," he said. "We should be paying people adequate salaries for the work they do."

Discuss.