Unsuck DC Metro: Metro Execs Take Home Bonus Pay

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Metro Execs Take Home Bonus Pay

Poor performance and generous salaries don't preclude Metro's leadership from being awarded bonus pay.

According to information provided to this blog in a freedom of information request, Metro's number two, Dave Kubicek, got $5,000 in bonuses over the past two years. Kubicek makes a salary in excess of $240,000, plus a $30,000 housing allowance.

Metro's chief safety officer James Dougherty, took home over $185,000 in annual salary and was awarded a tidy $9,000 in bonuses.

Metro's chief propagandist, Assistant General Manager for Customer Service, Communications and Marketing, Lynn Bowersox, a newer member of the so-called executive leadership team took in $10,000 in bonuses. I couldn't find her salary, but one would assume it's in line with the other assistant general managers at around $190,000 per year.

Shiva Pant, Metro's chief of staff, made over $172,000 in salary and also walked away with $3,000 in bonuses, as did Metro's chief information officer, Kevin Borek, who makes $185,000 per annum. Yet another assistant general manager--Metro has five--Arthur Troup, made $5,000 in bonuses. Troup makes $190,000 a year.

The biggest beneficiary of Metro's taxpayer funded largesse was police chief Michael Taborn, who got $15,000 in bonuses on top of a salary of over $181,000.

The board wanted to give Metro GM Richard Sarles a bonus on top of his $350,000 salary, a $60,000 housing allowance and $3,200 per month pension from NJ Transit, where he used to work. Sarles at least had the sense to turn down the bonus offer. Not like he really needed it.

Other items:
Four years later and they're just getting around to the hotline (Examiner)
VRE riders offered discount for switching to Amtrak (Examiner)

Comments (22)

Logging you in...

Dashboard | Edit profile | Logout

Logged in as

+11 Vote up Vote down

anon · 631 weeks ago

What planet do these people live on?

The amounts aren't much, but that they'd take an extra several grand after fare hikes and crap service.....UGH!

4 replies · active 630 weeks ago

+17 Vote up Vote down

Heather · 631 weeks ago

Alot of places do this, where I work, it is common. If our department heads come in under budget, department heads get a bonus. So what that translates to, is making sure employees don't get raises, being cheap with office supplies or overtime, etc. By doing that, the folks who do the least and cause the most amount of trouble, get extra pay.

Not surprised at all.

+6 Vote up Vote down

bet · 631 weeks ago

The red phone at the division don't even work. Metro does NOT want a employee to report anything this was a joke!
I think the GM should turn down any bonus and his cronies too. This is wrong and the public should complain and Congress should react. In fact they should have salaries cut by 20%.

0 Vote up Vote down

MetroScum · 630 weeks ago

The amounts aren't much but a BONUS is supposed to be a reward and incentive for doing something good, going above and beyond your job duties.

Too bad at Metro it's about going below and falling short.

Filthy crooks!

-1 Vote up Vote down

anon · 630 weeks ago

And the employees in Local 2 have been without a Union contract for 3 years and NO salary increases. Wonder why?

+3 Vote up Vote down

@davinpet · 631 weeks ago

ABC7 did a story last week that found Metro employees make allot more money working overtime

1 reply · active 631 weeks ago

+3 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 631 weeks ago

Working the over-time metro says saves the company money because hiring more employees costs more money--- is this so? How so unsuck, can you find out what metro means by this?

+6 Vote up Vote down

Rae · 631 weeks ago

I wonder the reaction that riders would get if someone were bold enough to print fliers with this story and figures? This is preposterous.

+4 Vote up Vote down

UltraLiberal · 631 weeks ago

Normally I am not one to complain about public official salaries (they're pithy compared to private sector moneygrubbing robber barons). However, these are pretty high. Compare it to the civil servant GS scale, for Washington DC: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leav....

Of course, managers/executives get paid over that scale (like your head of a Federal Agency, or Congressman/woman). It seems like all of these metro nerds are over GS 15, step ten.

+25 Vote up Vote down

Stan Dessel · 631 weeks ago

Welcome to Salaries+, reinventing the pay scale!

You're welcome!

+19 Vote up Vote down

Jin · 631 weeks ago

I know this area is expensive, but why do they need a housing allowance? I (kinda) get a relocation allowance, but if they are making that much, they should be able to afford a place to live. I really want to know their justification for a housing allowance. Is that standard?

2 replies · active 630 weeks ago

+16 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 631 weeks ago

It's for their pet raccoons.

+2 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 630 weeks ago

...and gofers.

+7 Vote up Vote down

Bitter Brew · 631 weeks ago

Unsuck - what 2 years are these for, and is it the same for all of them: 2011-2012?, it could be 2008-2009, given Metro's glacial pace of responding to information requests!

Some of these are more outrageous than others:

Dougherty (safety) - despite all the ridiculous "safety" policies, we've had a couple of years rife with stranded passengers exiting trains, continued communications failures, door openings in tunnels and on the wrong side of railcars, etc., etc. An absolute embarrassment.

Bowersox (propaganda): Stessel's boss, right? Consider her lack of leadership when Stessel made his sexual-harassment remarks. And she must have signed off on the ludicrous "Rush-Plus" campaign.

Taborn (police): Uh, let's see those crime stats again. We're moving from theft to murder. Heckuvajob, chief.

The others (except for Kubicek, who obviously bears responsibility for the whole d*** system), who can tell -- although there should be a strong presumption against any leadership bonuses in a system badly strained for management competence and funding.

3 replies · active 630 weeks ago

+6 Vote up Vote down

unsuckdcmetro 92p · 631 weeks ago

Oct. 2010-Oct. 2012

+4 Vote up Vote down

Bitter Brew · 631 weeks ago

Thanks. It would be great to have a little chart of "highlights" for each of these individuals during their bonus period!

+4 Vote up Vote down

Anon · 630 weeks ago

Did you say Kubicek started as a mechanic and moved up in the 'network' of cronies? How much experience can a bus mechanic have overseeing the metro rail?

+19 Vote up Vote down

One take · 631 weeks ago

Metro’s big wigs are taking home some serious bonus dough while station managers catch some snores in the kiosks while criminals run rampant, commuters fall through escalators, bus drivers simply drive their buses into things; and my brand new shiny Smartrip stopped working after two and a half swipes. (I didn't get much help from the Station Manager, but at least she wasn't asleep. She was awake enough to tell me that it wasn't her problem.)
Woweeee!

+14 Vote up Vote down

F'n JD · 631 weeks ago

Give us our F'n money back!

+3 Vote up Vote down

nanou · 631 weeks ago

... blank .... I am just speechless ...

+3 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 630 weeks ago

WHEN you have no real oversight...... this will continue as it has for years and years. When people who ride metro that live and work in this area get enough/fed up with this they will stop riding, carpool, ride a bicycle, walk to get Congresses attention and all rider write their Congressmen and other Congressional Committees concerning Budget and Transportation and complain. Otherwise, "SHUT UP"!!

Just like the Rules Metro makes. They go by them for a week and then go back to the old way.

0 Vote up Vote down

MetroScum · 630 weeks ago

I'd love to have all these metro "leaders" locked in a crowded Metro car with passengers. They'd never see the light of day! They'd be torn apart!
JUSTICE!