Norfolk's McDonald again puts daughter on payroll

NORFOLK

When it became known in August that Commissioner of Revenue Sharon McDonald hired her two daughters to work at taxpayer expense, the practice was condemned across the political spectrum.

Mayor Paul Fraim, other constitutional officers and City Council members criticized McDonald. “It looks bad,” Councilman Paul R. Riddick said at the time.

That criticism did not stop McDonald from hiring her oldest daughter over the holidays.

Payroll records obtained from the city on Friday under the Freedom of Information Act show Marlee McDonald began working for her mom on Dec. 23 and continued through this week.

Previously, McDonald’s daughters had been paid about $6,000 over five years for part-time summer work.

Marlee McDonald will be paid $831.49 next week, minus deductions for taxes, for 67.50 hours of work, or about $12.32 per hour, according to Nancy Olivo, the city’s director of human resources. The job was not advertised or otherwise made available to the public, Olivo said.

McDonald said, as she did in August, that she has done nothing wrong. Charles Hartig, a spokesperson for McDonald, issued a statement from her indicating her daughter is working and will continue to do so until she returns to Boston University in mid-January.

“This is the busiest time of the year for my office and hiring Marlee, because of her experience, eliminates the costly process of trying to train a part-time employee,” McDonald is quoted as saying.

“Marlee is also bilingual and specializes in assisting our Hispanic customers. This is especially useful at this time of year because Marlee can fill the void left by full time employees who are on vacation and still allow the office to meet the needs of all of our customers.”

Sharon McDonald’s office assesses personal property, such as cars and boats, and issues business licenses. Marlee McDonald was photographed by WAVY-TV taking photographs of boats and planes for the commissioner’s office on New Year’s Day.

If Sharon McDonald were a city employee, nepotism policies would prohibit hiring her daughters. However, she is an elected constitutional officer and thus her hiring policies are not subject to city oversight.

Olivo issued a statement saying the city does not “condone immediate family working under the direct or indirect supervision of one another. This is very different than a relative of a city official working for the City in another department.”

A city audit released in October criticized Sharon McDonald for spending thousands of dollars with a city credit card in violation of city policy while lobbying in Richmond. Any travel she does with city funds must now be approved by the city manager’s office.

Although McDonald is a state employee, her salary and the salary of her staff are supplemented by city funds.

Some who criticized McDonald in August for hiring her daughters – including Riddick, Sheriff Robert McCabe and Treasurer Thomas W. Moss Jr. – declined or could not be reached for comment.

Circuit Court Clerk George Schaefer – who, like McDonald, is a Democrat – repeated virtually the same criticism he made in August, saying “my comments haven’t changed, and apparently neither have her actions.”

“It’s not something I would do,” he added. “She has her own reasons for doing it, but it’s a perception thing. It gives the wrong kind of perception to the public.” Fraim said simply: “This is another example of poor judgment.”

Councilman Andy Protogyrou said McDonald will be judged by voters. She is currently in her fourth term .

“Constitutional officers live and die by the ballot,” he said. “If there are issues the electorate finds they can’t support, the electorate will vote them out.”

Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com