Kirk Callwood
Governor Albert Bryan said Tuesday his administration would take action to ensure that a situation similar to the issue that led to Dept. of Finance Commissioner Kirk Callwood's resignation would not happen in the future.
Government House Tuesday afternoon issued a release confirming that Mr. Callwood was no longer at the Dept. of Finance, after the commissioner, without consent from the administration, "issued payment stipends to his rank and file staff without proper authorization."
Government House said while the amounts were within Mr. Callwood's allotted budget, "the action was not previously approved."
Mr. Bryan vowed to take action to prevent similar occurrences in the future. “While all of our employees deserve to be recognized, we must do so in accordance with our established policies and procedures,” said the governor, according to a release from Government House. “We will examine all of our established policies as they relate to this type of employee compensation and make the improvements where necessary to ensure this does not happen again.”
The governor added, “I am grateful for Commissioner Callwood’s service during his tenure. He was a valued member of our financial team and an integral part of the success in fiscal management that we have had to this point. I wish him well in his future endeavors."
Mr. Bryan accepted Mr. Callwood’s resignation effective immediately and named Assistant Commissioner Clarina Modeste as acting D.O.F. commissioner, according to Government House.
The Consortium first reported on the matter, after two sources told the publication that Mr. Callwood had provided bonuses to employees without authorization from the governor or the Office of Management and Budget.
