GALVESTON — Among the things Hurricane Ike washed away was about $3 million in bonuses — ranging from $750 to $122,233 — the University of Texas Medical Branch had planned to pay high-ranking staff.

The medical branch, which cut 3,000 jobs last month, informed department heads Dec. 5 that the institution’s financial crisis, brought about by the Sept. 13 storm, would not allow payouts in its “Staff Incentive Plans.” About 900 employees had been in line for bonuses for work done in fiscal 2008, which ended Aug. 31.

The decision to withhold all the bonuses was a first for the program, which was launched about nine years ago, said Kathy Shingleton, vice president for human resources and employee services at the medical branch.

Surge from Hurricane Ike swamped about 750,000 square feet of medical branch facilities, including John Sealy Hospital. The island institution incurred about $422 million in building, infrastructure and equipment damage, along with cleanup costs. The storm also inflicted about $276.4 million in business interruption expenses, officials said.

The University of Texas System had only about $100 million in insurance coverage, with a $50 million deductible provision, funded by contributions from all its campus.

Officials have said they were lucky to get that much after Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 caused $166 million in damage at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.

The medical branch, which includes research facilities and the state’s oldest medical school, was facing a $35 million deficit before the storm. The institution was known for treating the state’s poorest. But in recent years, citing weak state funding among other problems, had been forced to turn away an increasing number of indigent patients.

Bonuses are never guaranteed, Shingleton said.

“It was hard, but it was the right thing to do,” Shingleton said. “People know they can’t count on that, but you always hope.”

At the beginning of each fiscal year, departments eligible to participate in the staff incentive plan map out goals and financial targets. If participants meet the goals, the medical branch pays out the bonuses, Shingleton said.

Shingleton on Monday denied the medical branch rescinded the bonuses only after the plan to pay them came under the scrutiny of the Texas Faculty Association, a nonprofit organization that advocates for higher education faculty and support staff.

On Nov. 17, George Reamy, an association member advocate, sought information through the Texas Open Records Act about the incentives. On Dec. 5, Shingleton sent out the letter informing staff the payouts were scrapped.

“I’m glad they killed the staff incentive payments simply because any outfit who’s claiming to be broke and has to lay off people...

“How many jobs could be covered by that $3 million, especially at the lower end of the pay scale?” asked Reamy, who often offers scathing reviews of the medical branch and the University of Texas System via blogs.

“The decision had nothing to do with George Reamy,” Shingleton said.

In a normal year, payouts begin around Halloween and end Dec. 1. But Hurricane Ike delayed a review that determined who was eligible for bonuses and how much, she said.

When it was time to pay out, the medical branch decided to withhold bonuses, Shingleton said.

The idea that jobs could have been saved had the medical branch scrapped the $3 million earlier isn’t realistic, Shingleton said.

“I understand what he’s getting at and could see how he might think that, but he’s oversimplifying,” she said. “It’s a lot more complex than that. The decisions are made based on finances and accomplishments of those goals.”

Had the medical branch gone ahead with the incentive plan, some employees stood to earn large bonuses.

The highest, $122, 233, would have gone to Dr. Garland Anderson, dean of the School of Medicine. The second highest — $107,500 – would have gone to Karen Sexton, vice president and CEO of the hospital. The incentives were based work that occurred before Hurricane Ike.

Dr. David L. Callender, who was hired in May 2007 with $925,000 in yearly pay and benefits as president of the University of Texas Medical Branch, was not scheduled to receive any bonuses from the staff incentive plan, according to documents provided by Reamy.

The University of Texas System offered Callender a compensation package that includes $609,325 in base salary; $165,675 in practice plan funds, which compensates Callender, a head and neck surgeon specializing in cancer, for money he’s not making practicing medicine; and $150,000 in deferred compensation.

The staff incentive plan won’t be in effect for 2009, Shingleton said.