Bonus May Be A Bust
Legality Called Into QuestionBy CASEY JUNKINS Staff Writer
Article Photos
WHEELING - A proposed $400 bonus for 407 city of Wheeling employees may be illegal, according to West Virginia Managing Deputy Attorney General Silas Taylor.
City leaders, however, are now referring to the proposed one-time cash payments as "wage adjustments" rather than bonuses.
Last month, members of the city's finance committee - Eugene Fahey, Vernon Seals and James Tiu - voted unanimously to have taxpayers spend $162,800 to fund the bonuses. The funds will not be distributed unless the full City Council approves a budget revision resolution at its 7 p.m. Tuesday meeting.
City Manager Robert Herron said during that meeting that the $162,800 will be drawn from funds that had been budgeted for employee positions that are currently vacant. The city allocated salaries for 423 employee positions in its fiscal 2009 budget.
Because 16 of these positions have not been filled, Herron calculated that Wheeling could give each of its 407 employees $400 bonuses by using the money that had been allotted for the open positions.
But Taylor - stressing that he is unfamiliar with the specifics of Wheeling's proposal- said the finance committee's plan to distribute previously budgeted funds as a bonus to municipal employees seems to be "not lawful."
"You cannot just say, 'Hey, we have a little bit of extra money - let's give it to the employees,'" he said.
Taylor cited Article 6-38 of the West Virginia Constitution that states: "No extra compensation shall be granted or allowed to any public officer, agent, servant or contractor, after the services shall have been rendered or the contract made." Taylor said city employees would be considered servants in this instance.
Though he said the attorney general's office has never crafted an official opinion on public employee bonuses, Taylor did issue a letter advising the Roane County Commission on such a matter in 1999.
In Taylor's letter to Roane County officials he wrote: "Extra compensation may not be given to an employee to compensate him or her for work done during pay-periods for which that employee has already received the compensation to which he or she was entitled pursuant to the contract or understanding existing at the time the work was performed."
The Ohio County Commission also used to give annual $500 bonuses to county employees. That practice was halted over similar constitutional concerns with giving bonuses.
Taylor noted he does not see any reason why the law would be different for a city than it is for a county. He also said the idea of a bonus is that someone gets more money for services that have already been performed.
"That is not lawful unless it is built into the employees' contracts," Taylor said, noting employees could be eligible for bonuses if they were to meet certain production quotas as provided in their contracts.
But Fahey claims the proposed $400 pay increases are not bonuses at all. "It is a one-time wage adjustment. ... It is not based on rank - it is across-the-board," the vice mayor said.
Fahey said that, in his view, a bonus is based upon employee performance, while a "wage adjustment" is not.
"This wage adjustment is based upon having money for personnel expenses left in the budget that has not been spent," he said, referring to the 16 funded but unfilled employee positions.
"The employees are going to receive $400 more in wages than what their original salary was going to be," Fahey continued.
Herron said that he was unsure whether the proposed $400 payments would be for work already completed or work that employees would complete in the future.
Taylor said the ruling in a 1970 West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals case - Cooke v. Jarrell - is "sometimes cited for the proposition that bonuses in the form of one-time temporary salary increases are legal if within the budget of the officer giving the increase."
"I have read that opinion. ... The facts in that 3-2 opinion are not well explained, and the parties involved in the case did not bring the provisions of Article 6-38 to the attention of the court at that time," Taylor said.
Meanwhile, Fahey said Wheeling employees "do not make very much money."
"These times are tough on everybody, and I think we should do whatever we can to help make things easier for our employees," he said, acknowledging the current downturn in the national economy. "The money was set to be used for personnel purposes, so I think it should be used for personnel purposes."
And though Fahey is now referring to the proposed payments as "wage adjustments," Seals noted during the Dec. 16 council meeting that members of council would not receive the $400 "bonuses."
"Council members do not receive any bonuses," Seals said during the meeting.
Herron and Fahey referred further questions regarding the $400 payments to City Solicitor Rosemary Humway-Warmuth, who could not be reached for comment.
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GETACLUE
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01-05-09 12:27 AM
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justoutside2..... Looking back over your history of posts you have never once brought a single INTELLIGENT comment to any topic. CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING MORON OF THE YEAR!!!!! I see you are off to an outstanding defense of your title in 2009.
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GETACLUE
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01-05-09 12:21 AM
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justoutside2.... You couldn't do Tenentes job, he could work rings around you. Some advice for you, "It is better to remain silent and have everyone think you are a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."
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Tenente61
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01-04-09 7:35 PM
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I would expect nothing less than a comment like that from such a childish cop.
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Wondering
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01-04-09 6:13 PM
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Save that money, Wheeling! Tough financial times are coming for the city's budget.
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SphinxRising58
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01-04-09 3:26 PM
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Anyone notice how the people that run Wheeling circumvent the law by playing with words ? Example: The was not allowed to pass a new order that would impose a new tax upon the population of Wheeling for the fire departments so instead they issued a " fee " for the same reason mentioned above, & now this fiasco. Mind you, I am not saying the people who do the work do not desereve a bonus, but just not an unlawful one.
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SKWheeling
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01-04-09 1:25 PM
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No, Vern, the play on words is being done by your fine employer, the city administration. For me, this is not about whether this money is deserved -- it's about whether or not it's legal. And in this case, it appears it's not legal.
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ConservativeKaty
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01-04-09 12:11 PM
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I can't wait for crafty conservative editorial writers to have a field day massacre with these liberal-crazy bogus boondoggle bonuses. They absolutely must. Fortunately, In Our Editors We Trust.
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TheRealityPolice
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01-04-09 11:05 AM
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So how was it called a "bonus" back in the original article but suddenly "Um, er....it is NOT a bonus!" Possibly the AG office's opinion changed all that. "Whoops, now what do we do? The state has wind of it - crap!" "I know - let's call it something else!" If this is the level of intelligence and competence of our city govt, then this is pathetic and scary. They sound like baffoons!
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VERN33
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01-04-09 10:52 AM
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This is nothing more than a play on words created by our so called editor in chief.
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acousticportal
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01-04-09 10:42 AM
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Nothing is perfect or constant...everything changes...even Constitutions. :)
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Melvin
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01-04-09 10:32 AM
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If the city management and council proceed with what they have called a bonus, and is believed by the deputy AG of the state to be illegal, it will be interesting to see if the management and council members can be liable for fraud at a later date, either through the city or personally. They have gone on record that it is a bonus. To pay it now and ignore the questions from the attorney general means they could be intentionally misrepresenting and misappropriating funds.
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VERN33
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01-04-09 10:28 AM
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Why was there no bashing of Ohio County when they issued their employees supplemental checks back in Nov.?
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GETACLUE
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01-04-09 9:41 AM
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Eight dollars a pay isn't going to break the bank!!!!
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SKWheeling
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01-04-09 9:04 AM
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As to Fahey's comments, are city workers underpaid? Yes, I'm sure they are. So are most professional and service personnel throughout this entire Ohio Valley. But you know what? City workers likely have better health benefits than most of us. Some of them, the city manager included, drive home a city car each day.
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SKWheeling
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01-04-09 9:01 AM
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On a serious note, as a person who deals with payroll, when I give someone a "wage adjustment," that means their wage is being adjusted, a pay increase. That will follow through into the coming years, and continue to cost the company additional money. A bonus, on the other hand, is a one-time payment such as what the city is proposing. They are trying to weasel around this through word play. What concerns me is this: cities all across this country are facing budgetary concerns. Cuts are taking place; police officers, firefighters, etc. are losing their jobs. Wheeling, while having a robust budget in recent years, is going to hit a tipping point soon, if it hasn't already. B&O revenues will flatten. Revenue from the track likely will decline. Times will become hard. Why do this now? To me, this seems like nothing more than a public relations campaign by a new council that, quite frankly, has been a major disappointment. An easy way to score some points.
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SKWheeling
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01-04-09 8:55 AM
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Mayor: That darn newspaper never gets anything right. All they do is pick on us. Now they want to take away the second thing we've done as a council (the first, if you don't remember, involved changing the meeting time from 7:30 to 7:00 p.m.) City Manager: ........ Mayor: We've got to do something about it. Let me think. (smoke fills the room) I know, lets call the folks at the tv station. They're always looking for news. City Manager: ....... Mayor: Yeah, we could do a preemptive (big word) strike, get our message out their to sway public opinion. Several minutes later ... TV station "news director": Hello? Mayor: The mayor here. We need some PR help. Are you up for the job? TV station "news director": Sure. Isn't it our civic duty to do a story on whatever you tell us to? And not to question anything? You're the government, after all. Mayor: Of course, that's what any good PR ... I mean, legitimate news source would say. The story is about our bonus
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SKWheeling
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01-04-09 8:53 AM
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Mayor: That darn newspaper never gets anything right. All they do is pick on us. Now they want to take away the second thing we've done as a council (the first, if you don't remember, involved changing the meeting time from 7:30 to 7:00 p.m.) City Manager: ........ Mayor: We've got to do something about it. Let me think. (smoke fills the room) I know, lets call the folks at the tv station. They're always looking for news. City Manager: ....... Mayor: Yeah, we could do a preemptive (big word) strike, get our message out their to sway public opinion. Several minutes later ... TV station "news director": Hello? Mayor: The mayor here. We need some public relations help. Are you up for the job? TV station "news director": Sure. Isn't it our civic duty to do a story on whatever you tell us to? And not to question anything? You're the government, after all. Mayor: Of course, that's what any good PR ... I mean, legitimate news source would say. The story is about our bonus
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SKWheeling
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01-04-09 8:46 AM
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Just thought of something rather interesting. Over the past two days, WTRF (you know, that thing on channel 212 on Wheeling's digital cable HD lineup that used to pose as a legitimate news source) has ran a story, if you want to call it that, about how council was going to vote on this bonus/wage adjustment on Tuesday. The city must have caught wind of this story because Bob Herron, who was interviewed for the story, must have said four times that this was a "wage adjustment, not a bonus. It's not a bonus. Again, not a bonus." So, that's what we get from one of our local television stations now? Here'a how I figure the scenario went: Our esteemeed mayor and city manager, sitting around late last week, knowing this story is coming out ...
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GETACLUE
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01-04-09 8:36 AM
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tmoore..... What taxes do you pay to the City???
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tmoore
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01-04-09 8:32 AM
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Millions in unfunded pensions and the city calls it extra surplus money,not over taxation of the citizens.If it talks and walks like a goofball,well
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boxerboy
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01-04-09 6:15 AM
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Fringe benefits are usually calculated at 23% of salary.
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ifnotnowwhen
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01-04-09 2:43 AM
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The "Bonus/Wage Adjustment" amounts to about $8 a week. Please cease from further spin and deception. Have the courage to call it what it is or should be and pay up.
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ifnotnowwhen
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01-04-09 2:42 AM
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The "Bonus/Wage Adjustment" amounts to about $8 a week. Please cease from further spin and deception. Have the courage to call it what is is or should be and pay up.
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GETACLUE
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01-04-09 12:43 AM
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The city of Wheeling, in 2006, paid its' 734 employees..... Now Wheeling has only 407 employees just 2 short years later.
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GETACLUE
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01-04-09 12:33 AM
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Funny but you have failed to include any overtime in your figures, Overtime may be caused by working short on personnel, or by many different emergency situations that happen in the city. WOW you make up numbers and state them as facts. You really do have a CREDIBILITY PROBLEM.
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