Postmaster General William J. Henderson, criticized for not knowing just how much the U.S. Postal Service would spend to move its two top financial officers into new homes, has ordered strict compliance to its relocation policy.
Under the existing policy, the USPS pays to relocated promoted and reassigned employees if they live more than 50 miles from their new jobs. The cost of those moves generally runs between $80,000 and $95,000.
Henderson issued the order after he and Fred Koerber, secretary to the postal service's Board of Governors, were criticized by USPS Inspector General Karla Corcoran in the first of a series of reports examining the relocation and benefits programs for postal executives.
The report, sparked by the controversy over the relocation of CFO M. Richard Porras and Controller John Ward, said that neither Henderson nor Koerber, who jointly authorized the USPS to spend nearly $250,000 to move the two men into new homes, were "aware of how much the relocations would cost or whether the individuals would, in fact, be moving closer to work."
Acknowledging that Henderson and Koerber cleared the expenditure through the postal service's legal department, the report stated that they should have at the very least notified postal governors of their decision.
The report recommended that Henderson establish a hard and fast policy requiring any future relocations within the same commuting area and have them justified in writing and approved by postal governors, along with all components of incentive plans, which may include relocation costs.
There was no immediate comment from Henderson or Koerber, both of whom were said to be reviewing the report.
