Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Layoffs Coming

A commentor on my last post asked me when I was going to comment about the impending layoffs that the District Attorney's Office is going to go through in light of county-wide budget cuts (as detailed in yesterday's Chronicle).

The bottom line is that I don't know that much about what's happening any more than the rest of you guys. The budget cuts are across the county board, so I don't think that we can directly place the blame on Lykos and the Gang for the necessity of doing the layoffs.

But, I do think it is probably safe to assume that none of the people that Lykos brought with her when she took over will be on the chopping block. Although I'm sure the funding for things like the hardwood floors in her office and Hannah Chow's water coolers were all funded from asset forfeiture and not from the county budget, it still becomes a bitter pill to swallow when good, hard-working employees are being terminated.

I think it would be really interesting to examine how Lykos is spending the money that she does actually have in the budget. She's running off good investigators right and left over there (so that about the only one's left are Nick Lykos' fishing buddies), but they aren't replacing them.

Where is that money going, exactly?

I'll keep you up-to-date as the information becomes available right now, but my guess is that there will be no rhyme nor reason to who Lykos keeps and who she lets go.

Unless, of course, you are one of her buddies, and then you'll be safe.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Chronicle summarized it well:

1) Vince Ryan PERSONALLY addressed his employees
2) Leo Vazquez informed his employees in an ALL-STAFF memo
3) Pat Lykos doesn't know what the hell she is going to do...

Anonymous said...

Some of you lawyers need to look at the books over at Commissioners Court.
Lay-offs, budget cuts, and the sky is falling budget propaganda campaign.....
meanwhile, it's business as usual for new projects like $20 million stadiums and soapbox derby tracks.
This don't pass the smell test!

Anonymous said...

The Chronicle printed an article on Friday about the DA layoffs while the "upper staff" was at a management seminar in the Galleria. Rumor had it that they were laying off some administrative assistants by having one secretary for two courts instead of one per court. Most spent the weekend worrying about their jobs, while the "upper staff" were having a good time and not letting them know everything was OK or who being let go. No communication in that office. Only the "inner circle" knows and no one else knows. Great leadership...lol, low morale, etc. Need to get the "blue hairs" to change their vote next time. The people "running" the DA's Office have no idea what's going on in the office or the real world. They only care about their selves and not the criminal justice system. The employees of the DA's office are good people, but the "inner circle" sucks.Lykos and the rest of her bureau chiefs need to go....

Anonymous said...

It appears as though the one's running the D.A.'s office have the same management skills as those running the Sheriff's Office.

Anonymous said...

The impending layoffs will be a blessing in the long run. There is nothing healthy about the work environment and it will physically impact some.

The recent investigator layoff is just more of the same. Does anyone know what actually happened and why Boucher resigned?

Anonymous said...

Who is the single employee mentioned in the article who is supposed to be laid off at the end of the month?

Anonymous said...

9 lawyers and 6 investigators are going to be gone. These individuals do not know this yet. There will be some surprises. NOT THERE ANYMORE

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