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Ethics commission staff dwindled to two
Thursday, February 20, 2003 | No comments posted.
SALEM (AP) - The last two part-time investigators on the state's ethics commission will be laid off by the end of the month to save money, reducing the watchdog agency to a two-person office that files complaints, registers lobbyists and writes advisory opinions.
The Oregon Government Standards and Practices Commission once had two full-time investigators to look into allegations of ethics violations by public officials.
Besides laying off the investigators, the commission's executive director, Pat Hearn, will cut his $66,000 annual salary by 20 percent and work four days a week starting March 1. His assistant will take a similar pay cut. The move will avoid a $12,000 deficit for the current budget cycle.
It's uncertain whether the commission's investigators will return July 1, when the next two-year budget cycle starts, given the state's dismal economic outlook.
The governor's recommended 2003-05 budget allots the agency enough money for two part-time investigators, but lawmakers are considering slashing or eliminating such smaller commissions to help resolve an anticipated $2 billion shortfall for the next budget cycle.
The ethics commission is also on shaky ground with some key lawmakers, mostly Republicans, who have been unhappy with the agency since the 2001 legislative session. They say the ethics commissioners have bungled their budget and amassed high legal costs chasing weak cases.
"They overran their budget by not quite 50 percent last time," said Rep. Tom Butler, R-Ontario, chairman of a Joint Ways and Means subcommittee that will make a legislative recommendation on the agency's budget.
Hearn said legal costs were unusually high last year, largely because of a case against Stan Bunn, the former state schools superintendent charged with improper use of state cell phones and car.
"As far as the choice on what to take to court, it needs to be extremely, clearly understood that those decisions are made jointly by the attorney general and the commission," he said.
The seven-member citizen commission was formed by voters in 1974 and receives about 150 complaints each year.
"Potentially, they save more money than they cost by causing public officials to behave in a responsible manner and with public money," said Randy Leonard, city commissioner and former legislator.
The Oregon Government Standards and Practices Commission once had two full-time investigators to look into allegations of ethics violations by public officials.
Besides laying off the investigators, the commission's executive director, Pat Hearn, will cut his $66,000 annual salary by 20 percent and work four days a week starting March 1. His assistant will take a similar pay cut. The move will avoid a $12,000 deficit for the current budget cycle.
It's uncertain whether the commission's investigators will return July 1, when the next two-year budget cycle starts, given the state's dismal economic outlook.
The governor's recommended 2003-05 budget allots the agency enough money for two part-time investigators, but lawmakers are considering slashing or eliminating such smaller commissions to help resolve an anticipated $2 billion shortfall for the next budget cycle.
The ethics commission is also on shaky ground with some key lawmakers, mostly Republicans, who have been unhappy with the agency since the 2001 legislative session. They say the ethics commissioners have bungled their budget and amassed high legal costs chasing weak cases.
"They overran their budget by not quite 50 percent last time," said Rep. Tom Butler, R-Ontario, chairman of a Joint Ways and Means subcommittee that will make a legislative recommendation on the agency's budget.
Hearn said legal costs were unusually high last year, largely because of a case against Stan Bunn, the former state schools superintendent charged with improper use of state cell phones and car.
"As far as the choice on what to take to court, it needs to be extremely, clearly understood that those decisions are made jointly by the attorney general and the commission," he said.
The seven-member citizen commission was formed by voters in 1974 and receives about 150 complaints each year.
"Potentially, they save more money than they cost by causing public officials to behave in a responsible manner and with public money," said Randy Leonard, city commissioner and former legislator.
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