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Part of the reason Department of Employment Services Acting Director Rochelle Webb was fired today was allegedly for approving inappropriate moving expenses for some of her aides who came with her to the District from Arizona, according to a Wilson Building source who has been briefed on Webb’s dismissal. The items Webb’s aides bought included a TV, furniture and towels, according to the source, who says Webb allegedly signed off on the purchases.
The source adds that some of Webb’s aides may have received large salary increases to go with their new District gigs, compared to their previous positions in Arizona, where Webb was the administrator of the Arizona Department of Economic Security.
Couple of things to note: LL put in Freedom of Information Act requests last week for documents related to Webb and some (but possibly not all) of her Arizona aides’ moving expenses. LL filed with both DOES and the CFO’s office. LL hasn’t heard back from DOES. The CFO’s office provided LL with receipts for Webb’s stay at the W Hotel downtown, but said there were no records of moving expenses for the aides.
LL is sure there will be more details coming out shortly. (One might assume that the Gray communications shop might try and get all the bad info out at once on a Friday afternoon. Not so.) In the meantime, LL will ponder a few open questions: 1) What does Webb’s dismissal mean for the troubled summer youth employment program? Mayor Vince Gray tasked Webb with making the program run smoothly. Her successor will only have a few months to get things right, and Gray can probably ill-afford to have the summer jobs program go off the rails.
2) Who is going to take the fall for Webb’s hiring? Former Chief of Staff Gerri Mason Hall has already been thrown under the bus.
3) What is for dinner? LL is famished.
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