City needs to ground its high-flying Sunport chief
Albuquerque Aviation Police Chief Marshall Katz is appealing a city personnel decision that already is sweeter than an after-Christmas sale: He got just 45 days of unpaid leave — instead of the official 90 days imposed — for using employees of the Sunport police department as his personal minions.
The city is correct in calling Katz’s time off a suspension, but 45 days off seems a small price to pay considering a city-commissioned private investigation found Katz:
Sent his officers to handle police issues for his friends in other parts of the city — including a pizza place, a car dealership and a South Valley site — raising concerns about police presence at the Sunport falling below the mandated five officers. One aviation police sergeant said “officers are constantly being sent off site by Chief Katz to take reports,” and that “puts the airport and other officers in danger.”
Sent his officers to Southwest Airlines offices to beg for cases of soda and snacks for meeting and party refreshments. Katz has justified it by saying the items were “donated” and “are used for retirement parties, promotions, pregnancies and stranded passengers.”
Sent his officers to open the gates to a secured airport employee parking lot for family and friends.
Sent his personal laptop, as well as those of his family and friends, to an information technology employee to be worked on.
Sent personal letters and his jazz band’s playlist to his administrative assistant for typing during the workday. Because the band had a contract to perform at the Sunport — also questionable — Katz “did not see a problem with it.”
Sent his uniform pants to that same administrative assistant so she could sew a button on them. Again, in Katz’s world, since they were his work pants, that’s “official work.”
What happens if he spills something at lunch? Are aviation police, who are sworn law enforcement officers, supposed to leave their assigned areas and run his shirt to the dry cleaners as “official work?”
Katz’s attorney has instructed him not to comment pending his appeal of the suspension, a smart move considering that when he is quoted in the report his remarks seem peppered with arrogance and a sense of entitlement.
When Katz — a classified employee, not a political appointee — was placed on leave in November, city officials said he had violated policies including “duty to the public, report of abuse, bribery, gifts and donations, and supervision of employees.”
Those are disturbing findings, more so when they’re in reference to a 35-year veteran of city law enforcement. To give him the slap on the wrist of a 90-day suspension, then put 45 of those in abeyance for six months, simply codifies that if you work for the city of Albuquerque and have a little bit of power, you can get subordinates to do your personal stuff, really freeing up your free time. Everyone who has to go to work today and will have a to-do list waiting for them when they clock out must be thinking, where do I get such a deal?
This is a post-9/11 world, where airports are important assets and should be protected as such. And as an enterprise fund, the Sunport is by design a lean machine, operating on the money it generates from airline, vendor and runway fees. It’s hard to imagine in an era of declining air travel there’s cash to spare so one man can play big cheese.
The whole affair would be ridiculous if it didn’t present the issue of a threat to public safety, which is hardly offset by having plenty of free soft drinks in case of a pregnancy party. It’s enough to make you choke on your Diet Coke.
The city administration needs to re-evaluate whether this poster boy for flying high on the public’s time should have half his punishment set aside, or for that matter even be its aviation police chief.