Metro paid its second-in-command $30,000 extra last year, the latest monetary perk that agency has acknowledged giving to its top workers. Deputy General Manager Dave Kubicek earned more than $260,000 in 2010 though his annual salary was $231,000, according to data in a public records request.
The extra money covered a $2,500 monthly housing allowance, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said. Kubicek takes home even more now because his annual salary was increased in May to $240,000 when he became the permanent deputy general manager after filling in as interim deputy.
Metro initially denied that it paid out any extra perks, awards or bonuses to its highest-paid workers in 2010.
The transit agency submitted written testimony to a D.C. Council oversight hearing in the spring saying it had not awarded any “bonuses” or “special award pay” in 2010. In the same testimony, it said it had given out awards up to $2,000 per worker for extraordinary performance and accident avoidance but did not consider those bonuses.
The Washington Examiner was also told no employees had received bonuses, cash or other awards in 2010. The agency then acknowledged that two employees had been given $2,000 cash awards for work on a finance project. Six others received iPads.
Then in April, The Examiner reported that seven highly paid workers had received cash bonuses for as much as $20,000 after receiving information from a public records request.
Metro police chief Michael Taborn was among those receiving a $20,000 bonus on top of his $181,280 salary even as crime hit a six-year high in the system and his officers gave him a no-confidence vote. The agency had said he received the money as part of his contract and for serving as interim chief safety officer for about four months.
Others top workers were given “one-time retention bonuses” as new hires because the agency said the bonuses were needed to attract qualified candidates.
The awards came in the same year that the cash-strapped agency raised fares for riders.
