Report: Hurricane Center Director Should Lose His Job
Embattled director should not be allowed to keep his post, a team recommends.
July 19, 2007 — -- The embattled director of the National Hurricane Center should not be allowed to keep his job, according to a report made public today. The recommendation comes from a government team reviewing the short tenure of Bill Proenza at what is part of the Tropical Prediction Center.
"The current TPC director should be reassigned and not be allowed to return to his position at the center. This should be done due to his failure to demonstrate leadership within the TPC," according to the report obtained by ABC News.
Proenza, appearing today at a hearing on Capitol Hill, told lawmakers he wants to keep his job. He was placed on paid administrative leave earlier this month.
The report was compiled by a team from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration headquarters sent to investigate a festering mistrust of Proenza by many of the hurricane forecasters that work for him.
Employees at the National Hurricane Center in Miami were upset at Proenza for publicly criticizing NOAA for not working faster to replace the aging QuikScat weather satellite that is used in hurricane forecasting. Proenza said the loss of QuikScat would significantly hinder efforts to accurately track tropical storm behavior, but many employees there felt he had overplayed the importance of the satellite.
Many worried that the public would lose confidence in the National Hurricane Center during a season that is predicted to be above average, with 13 to 17 named storms, seven to 10 hurricanes, and three to five major hurricanes.
The rift appeared to become a mutiny when 23 members of his staff signed a letter calling for Proenza to be removed.
"The effective functioning of the National Hurricane Center is at stake," the letter stated.
Some lawmakers today expressed irritation that the controversy had become public.
"This is a personnel problem that should have been handled internally," said Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. "It's not our job as Congress to be dealing with personnel problems. Mr. Proenza, you've got a problem down there if half your employees say they don't have any confidence in you."
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