Bullet proof: Cashing in when they get fired

With pending government budgets in the red from coast to coast, taxpayers and lawmakers are paying close attention to the generous salaries and benefits given to public employees. But fiscal watchdogs should be equally concerned with the payouts provided to public servants fortunate enough to be fired.

News this month from Henderson and Washington, D.C., serves as a reminder of how little flexibility government administrators have in managing their operations, and how out of whack public-sector personnel practices are with the private sector.

On Tuesday, the Henderson City Council gave final approval to a $1.3 million settlement with Mark Kay Peck, who was fired as city manager two years ago. The figure covers the wages and benefits she would have received over the duration of her contract and her attorney fees.

Ms. Peck’s federal lawsuit against the city was dismissed, so she filed a grievance against Henderson, triggering arbitration. The arbitrator ruled the City Council did not prove it had sufficient cause to fire her.

Who’s on the hook for the botched termination? Henderson taxpayers.

Meanwhile, in the nation’s capital, another arbitrator ruled that former D.C. Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Rhee improperly terminated 75 teachers in 2008, and that the deficit-plagued district must reinstate the employees — and provide $7.5 million in back pay.

This because the teachers weren’t told why they were fired. Among the teachers fired: One who was tardy 24 times and absent 20 times, mostly on Mondays and Fridays — after taking two months of sick leave. Another played movies during class time and used inappropriate language with students. Another had no lesson plans.

“It’s a mind-boggling decision that essentially affords probationary teachers some of the rights that protect tenured teachers,” a recent Washington Post editorial offered.

If governments are ever going to get a grip on their expenses, change their operating cultures and demonstrate improved results and accountability, administrators must be able to move and remove employees as needed. The web of union contracts and regulations that allows public employees, once hired, to keep their jobs until retirement regardless of performance must be swept away.