Earlier this week, Morning Fizz reported this:

1. Last week, state Attorney General Rob McKenna editorialized on the Seattle Times op-ed page against planned state employee raises, co-writing (along with three other state GOP leaders): “Taxpayers should … be spared from funding $83 million in planned pay raises for 21,000 state workers.”

He was referring to a state employee incentive program known as “step increases.”

But last year, according to a recent report from the state’s Department of Personnel, McKenna himself gave nearly $600,000 in performance-based incentives (part of the step increase program) to 901 of his 1321 employees. That’s 68 percent of his staff.

Correction: The $83 million is the amount of all pending state raises, not just the "step increase" program.  Additionally, the incentive program is separate from the "step increase" program. The raises McKenna gave to his staff were incentive raises that were unrelated to the "step increase" program.

So, while we still see a contradiction between McKenna's editorial pronouncement and what he did last year (he's against all government raises this year, yet he gave out $600,000 in raises last year), we had our facts wrong when we said the raises were part of the "step increase" program. We regret the error.

This is worth noting because Republicans are particularly critical of longevity "step increases," which they believe are not merit driven.

McKenna's communications director Janelle Guthrie responded to our item:

Monday’s Morning Fizz was correct that AG McKenna has suggested state employees forgo raises this year to save taxpayers $83 million. It was also correct that the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) paid roughly $600,000 in performance pay in February 2009.

Thank you for allowing me to share the rest of the story:

1) Performance pay is not part of the longevity-based step increase program but rather a one-time award earned by meeting and exceeding rigorous goals.

2) Eligible AGO staff received performance pay in early 2009 for the 2007-08 review cycle.

3) The $600,000 came from the roughly $20 million the AGO had saved by holding staff vacancies and reducing other expenses.

4) Due to the budget crisis, the AGO has suspended performance pay for at least the 2008-09 and 2009-2010 cycles—though AGO staff will still be accountable for meeting and exceeding their performance goals.