Bonuses

Thank God for Joan and Don. Without their lunchtime escape from the office, replete with witty, sexy banter, this episode, the worst of the season, would have been pointless. Nothing else quite worked here, in what clearly was a transitional throwaway leading up to the final few episodes this season. I, for one, do not care about Lane's financial issues (though, surely him forging Don's signature on a check to pay debts will come back to bite him). Anything involving Harry is sort of blah, even though his subplot this week brought back and old friend, Paul Kinsey, who has, ahem, gone through some changes.

This is the season when local governments finalize their budgets for the next fiscal year, and the grousing about their penurious circumstances is in full swing. Some are even complaining that the state's revised budget and tax plan - signed into law by Gov.Martin O'Malleythis week - has put a serious crimp in their finances. In particular, they blame the state's decision to shift a portion of the cost of teacher retirement contributions to Baltimore City and the counties as ruinous to their own budgets.

Oh, oh! Bonuses for nonprofit employees is making news again. The latest issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy includes a major feature by staff writer Holly Hall on the debate over whether nonprofit workers should be given bonuses.When I advocated bonuses in this column a couple of years ago, I was verbally skewered by some professionals in the nonprofit world. Since that time, the number of organizations embracing bonus systems has increased dramatically. Ms. Hall reports that five years ago a paltry 7 percent of nonprofits had a bonus system in place.

For teachers, maybe it will be Christmas in April. Flash back to the holiday season: It became clear Harford County's revenue and spending numbers were looking better than expected and County Executive David R. Craig proposed giving bonuses to county employees, including the teachers and staff of Harford County Public Schools. Raises had been written out of the budget earlier in the process when economic prospects were dim. The logic behind the bonuses was to let county staff know they are appreciated, even though no official raises had been approved earlier.

Maryland and most other states outlaw "pay for performance" for political lobbyists for a very good reason. Experience has shown, going back to an 1853 case involving a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad lobbyist and the Virginia Legislature, that rewarding business agents for achieving short-term goals induces them to break the rules. It's OK for lobbyists to earn a salary, courts have found. But paying them bonuses for legislative approval of specific bills — "success fees," they're called — creates temptations for corner-cutting and sleaze that even the pols in Annapolis found extreme.

The following is the complete text of Harford County Executive David R. Craig's statement Friday about his veto that will keep some school employees from getting bonuses approved by the Harford County Council Dec 13: "In light of recent statements issued by the Harford County Education Association (HCEA), and its intent to subvert actions of this administration and the County Council to issue a one-time bonus to Harford County Government and Board of Education employees, I will be exercising power granted to me by Section 311 of the Harford County Charter to issue a line item veto on Bill 11-54 As Amended to strike the fund appropriation to the Board of Education.

Harford's teachers have been cleared to finally get the bonuses set aside for them by County Executive David Craig, after the county council approved a $2.1 million appropriation for the bonus money Tuesday. Teachers were supposed to get the $1,250 bonus along with all other county employees by the end of 2011, but Craig vetoed that bill after the Harford County Education Association teachers' union tried to get more control over the funding distribution. The county board of education finalized a collective bargaining agreement with HCEA on Feb. 13, according to the council bill.

Top managers and employees at the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund were having a tough time financially and were in jeopardy of not qualifying for bonuses last year. So the board that oversees the independent state agency changed the bonus plan so that the employees would qualify. Bonuses to more than 400 workers totaled $1.4 million, most of which would not have been paid out without those changes. According to a critical state legislative audit released Thursday, the insurance fund bonuses were paid despite the agency's $19.6 million loss that year and the financial strain on the state that has laid off hundreds of employees and subjected the entire work force to furloughs.

Leaders of a union representing clerical and technical workers at the Maryland Port Administration lambasted the agency yesterday for granting bonuses to 22 top executives to reward them for recent increases in business and profitability.Maryland Classified Employees Association officials criticized the MPA for handing out $84,000 in bonuses to managers, while giving only a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment to the 350 other MPA employees.Port officials, however, defended the bonuses, saying managers were primarily responsible for the recent growth because they negotiated contracts with customers.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama sharply crticized Wall Street executives yesterday, calling it the "height of irresponsibility" that they gave themselves and employees huge bonuses last year even as the government was paying out billions to bail out ailing financial firms. Obama's stern lecture was inspired by a new report finding the executives gave out $18.4 billion in bonuses in 2008 - a big drop from the previous year but outrageous to the president just the same. Seated in the Oval Office after a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Obama said this is not the right time for executives to be raking in huge bonuses.

Welcome to Week 2! Given that all the dancers last week were either good dancers or good sports or both, I'm particularly happy this is a season that didn't have a week 1 elimination. I'm looking forward to seeing everybody dance again. Brooke's dress is a bright-yellow boob showcase. It's like she's framed her cleavage.  Introductions: Martina's wearing a red bikini top and fishing net. I miss Edyta. Roshon Fegan & Chelsie Hightower Roshon's hip-hop background is bumping up against the control and elegance required in ballroom as they practice their quickstep.

Harford's teachers have been cleared to finally get the bonuses set aside for them by County Executive David Craig, after the county council approved a $2.1 million appropriation for the bonus money Tuesday. Teachers were supposed to get the $1,250 bonus along with all other county employees by the end of 2011, but Craig vetoed that bill after the Harford County Education Association teachers' union tried to get more control over the funding distribution. The county board of education finalized a collective bargaining agreement with HCEA on Feb. 13, according to the council bill.

Left tackle Bryant McKinnie appeared to remove any lingering doubt when he went to his Twitter account last night to tell Ravens fans that team officials confirmed to him that he would back for this coming season. So it was no surprise that 4 p.m. today came and went, and McKinnie, who started all 18 games last season, remained on the roster. The Ravens informed McKinnie that they will pick up his $500,000 roster bonus, which was due today. With free agent right tackle Eric Winston having scheduled a visit to Baltimore, there were some questions about McKinnie's future with the Ravens. There's still plenty that could happen in free agency or the draft, but today's development solidifies McKinnie as the starting left tackle for now. Still, it wouldn't be surprising if the Ravens drafted a left tackle in April because McKinnie has only one more year remaining on his contract.

Editor: In response to Allan Vought's ETC article regarding teachers pay, published Feb. 17, I can only wholeheartedly agree with his opinion. Even though I am a working retired person, when I worked full time, my average working day was 10 to 12 hours, 50 weeks a year. I sold for a living and was salaried with potential for bonuses if I worked hard and produced. Sometimes the bonuses were there and sometimes not. I had no job protection and if I did not produce, I could be terminated quickly.

Editor: Monday night over 60 teachers took a stand to maintain high quality schools for the students of Harford County. Dressed in black, six teachers spoke about their relationship with their students and the need for adequate resources to help our children raise the ceiling on student achievement. We must do what's right for Harford County's students by investing in our schools and children's future. Research has shown that the quality of education a student receives depends on the relationship between the teacher and student in the classroom.

Members of a union for Harford County educators have accepted an agreement with the school system that will allow members to accept a one-time bonus that had been held up for months over a disagreement with County Executive David R. Craig. Nearly 2,000 Harford government employees received the first half of the $1,250 bonus in December and expect the remaining money in June. But the teachers union rejected the offer, saying Craig did should have run the offer by union and school board first.

WASHINGTON - Insurance giant American International Group Inc. will award hundreds of millions of dollars in employee bonuses and retention pay despite a confrontation Wednesday between the firm's chief executive and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. But the company agreed to revise some executive payments after what chief executive Edward M. Liddy called a "difficult" conversation. The bonuses and other payments have been exasperating government officials, who have committed $170 billion to keep the company afloat - far more than has been offered to any other financial firm.

WASHINGTON -- The Air Force gives its highly trained pilots $12,000 annual bonus to keep them flying warplanes instead of switching to better-paying jobs with the airlines.But with the Air Force shrinking rapidly after the end of the Cold War, it's now offering many of those same pilots an even bigger bonus -- approaching $300,000 -- to quit."I call it the end-of-the-Cold War windfall," an Air Force pilot said.Air Force officials concede that the bonuses are contradictory, but they insist that they are the best way for the service to get out of the bind in which it finds itself with the demise of the Soviet Union: cutting the bloated pilot ranks while preserving an adequate supply of fliers for the 21st century.

Who would have thought it would be so hard to give people money? Late last year when it became clear Harford County was in a reasonably stable financial situation, Harford County Executive David R. Craig announced plans to give county employees — including school system staff — one-time bonuses of $625 prior to Christmas, with the possibility that a second similar bonus would be forthcoming later this year. The move was certainly tinged in politics. Craig has made it clear he plans to run for governor when his second full term as county executive ends two years from now and he won't be eligible for a third.

Harford County's teachers union and school board reached a tentative deal Wednesday to amend this school year's contract to include half of the county executive's proposed bonus disbursement. The amendment allows for a one-time payment of $625 for all teachers, as long as the funding is approved by County Executive David R. Craig, a Republican and teacher in the district for 34 years, and the County Council, according to a statement Wednesday evening from Harford County's public schools.