Kirk Callwood By. VI LEGISLATURE
Governor Albert Bryan is said to have accepted the resignation of Finance Commissioner Kirk Callwood this week, two sources with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Consortium Tuesday. Gov't House Communications Director Richard Motta confirmed that Mr. Callwood was let go, but did not say why.
Governor Bryan also confirmed to the Consortium that Mr. Callwood was no longer commissioner of D.O.F. The administration confirmed that a release on the matter was forthcoming.
One of the two sources said Mr. Callwood was let go because he provided bonuses to Dept. of Finance employees without the consent of the governor. Roughly 40 employees in St. Thomas received the payments along with 12 on St. Croix, according to one source. The disparity between the two islands were said to be as a result of more Dept. of Finance employees being based in St. Thomas.
Attempts to reach Mr. Callwood at time of writing were unsuccessful.
It would be most likely illegal for a commissioner to singlehandedly provide bonuses or raises to the employees of a department without approval from the Office of Management and Budget and the administration. Furthermore, with the government running on a tight budget, funds would have to be allocated to fund such bonuses. One source told this publication that the total in bonuses topped $100,000.
