Alvarado to council: Sorry for the problems!

City Councilwoman and Mayor Pro Tem Carol Alvarado apologized to her fellow councilmembers today for disruptions the investigation into illegal bonuses in the mayor pro tem's office might have caused. During today's City Council meeting, Alvarado denied again that she knew anything about the four employees who took $130,000 in unauthorized pay bonuses:

"I would never do anything to jeopardize the integrity of the position or to compromise the essential services the office provides," she said. "I was shocked to learn of payroll irregularities."

Alvarado maintained that the documents authorizing the bonuses were fake and that someone forged her initials on them:

"I have been astonished and disappointed to discover how easy it was for someone to forge my initials and steal both taxpayer dollars and my personal reputation at the same time," she said.

No one's publicly called for Alvarado's resignation from the largely ceremonial mayor pro tem position, and Alvarado said she isn't planning to step down.