The California Natural Resources Agency recently released more than 1,000 pages of interviews, adverse action notices and reports that detail a covert employee leave buyback program at the Department of Parks and Recreation during the summer of 2011.
The Bee broke the story of the leave cash-out program, which spurred a subsequent revelation that parks squirreled away millions of dollars while also threatening to close facilities due to extreme budget pressure.
This post is the next in a series intended to make all of the parks documents readily accessible to the public.
Person interviewed: Helen Carriker
Job classification: Deputy director, Department of Fish and Game
Interviewed by: Corrine Murphy, Justice Department deputy attorney general, and Angela Nowicki, Superintendent II, State Parks Law Enforcement Emergency Services
Date of interview:Mar. 29, 2012
Notable quote: "I said you can't do that without getting approval to do it. That's something you just cannot do. It's, you know, a big deal. It's union issues and all sorts of stuff. You can't just pay it." - Carriker's recollection, transcribed on page 6, of what she told Manuel Lopez and another parks official when they asked about the propriety of buying back staff leave time.
Carriker Interview 2012-3-29
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