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Updated: 11:20 AM Apr 3, 2009
VDOT Defends Bonuses and Salary Increases
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) State officials are defending bonuses and salary increases given last year to employees at the Virginia Department of Transportation amid ongoing plans to cut staff.
Posted: 11:20 AM Apr 3, 2009 |
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38 Comments
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State officials are defending bonuses and salary increases given last year to employees at the Virginia Department of Transportation amid ongoing plans to cut staff.
Documents obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch show VDOT paid more than $200,000 in one-time bonuses and more than $300,000 in salary increases last year.
The state agency plans to reduce overall staffing levels by 1,000 employees and to cut 450 hourly and temporary workers during the next 18 months.
Some legislators questioned the payments, given efforts to cut spending.
But Virginia Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer said the bonuses help preserve public safety on the state's bridges and roads. Other salary increases were to compensate employees for expanded responsibilities.
Latest Comments
Posted by: Pam
Location: Salem
on Jan 20, 2012 at 11:19 AM
My husband has worked for VDOT for 20 years, during his career at VDOT he has devoted his life to them. He hasn't had a raise in NINE YEARS, in fact he got a promotion to supervisor, took on massive amounts of new responsibility and a much more demanding workload, which takes him away from home at all hours of the day and night, holidays, weekends... It makes it virually impossible for me to get a job trying to work around his hours because he has no set hours. Our children won't stay by themselves in the house since we had a total loss fire two years ago, I don't blame them really,{they watched their entire lives disappear in fifteen minutes}. So the next time you gripe about VDOT workers getting a raise, try to think of me, we don't even have heat right now because we can't afford to buy oil.
Posted by: Reality Check
Location: Fredericksburg
on Apr 6, 2009 at 06:24 PM
Amazing that so many assumptions and misinformation is continually coming from this area of the state. Raises and bonuses were provided across all districts and multiple job roles. The VDOT employees who are spreading misinformation should be ashamed of themselves. My job is on the line just like everyone else's and I have 10 yrs at VDOT as well as two seperate county localities. Hands down VDOT is the most efficient and hardworking group of folks I have every had the pleasure to work with. I have seen a lot of cost reductions measures implemented in the past 10 yrs. You can continue to audit us but my experience with the audit results are that the recommendations that come from it require us to spend even more money. During these economic times I say allow the commissioner to work through the Blue Print and hold your elected officials to supporting a consistent revenue plan as our current one is failing. Those we have elected are failing to act yet they are the first to point fingers.
Posted by: Connie
on Apr 6, 2009 at 01:57 PM
I'm a 21-year VDOT employee and I've been reading all of the comments that have been written about this article. First, the bonuses and raises that were mentioned were given in the past, not the present. Second, these types of bonuses and salary increases are the only way to reward state employees for the work they perform. There are no performance increases as in the private sector. Third, despite public opinion, a lot of VDOT employees do work hard and strive to do a great job of keeping Virginia moving. Doesn't anyone think that those employees deserve a raise once in a while? I don't want to see anyone, including myself laid off, but I do want the General Assembly to wake up and fund the performance management system once every 10 years! If that happened, bonuses wouldn't be necessary.
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