State officials erred and spent thousands of dollars inappropriately by making retiring higher education Chancellor Paul Hill a consultant while employing an interim chancellor at the same time, a legislative audit concluded.
The situation arose more than two years ago when Gov. Jim Justice established a Blue Ribbon Commission to examine the higher education system. The Higher Education Policy Commission agreed to place Hill in a paid position as an adviser and voted to bring on WVU Tech President Carolyn Long as an interim chancellor.
The arrangement called for Long to make the same as Hill, whose base salary was $227,119. Meanwhile, Hill also continued to make that amount during his six months as a consultant.
The Legislative Auditor reviewed the situation for an audit that was released today and found the situation puzzling.
“The Legislative Auditor is unsure of the motives behind making such a decision which seems to be in violation of several provisions of W.Va. Code and the Code of State Rules,” according to the audit.
The decision to retain Hill as a consultant occurred during a turbulent July 10, 2018, meeting of the Higher Education Policy Commission. Months earlier, Hill had announced his retirement and the search for a replacement had begun.
But the Blue Ribbon Commission was then established with a mission that looked like it could change the structure of higher education governance in West Virginia. So the search to replace Hill was called off.
At the time, Higher Education Policy Commission Chairman Mike Farrell said he would still like to have Hill’s expertise on hand. “He’s been a great leader, and I wanted to do the best I could to build in some more transition time as we bring an interim chancellor in,” Farrell said then.
The audit concluded the HEPC authorized a six-month contract to pay about $11,178 bi-weekly to Hill for what was described as a sabbatical without having the authority under state code to do so.
Moreover, HEPC paid about $47,000 in total for benefits during the contract, and for a three month period after the contract, that the former chancellor was not eligible to receive.
After the sabbatical contract the former chancellor was reimbursed about $1,700 for travel expenses without having an active employment contract.
The audit concluded that HEPC expended a total of $205,554.74 including $156,492.89 in salary, $47,214.20 in benefits, and $1,847.65 in travel.
“However, beyond having the former Chancellor on a retainer of sorts ready to share his expertise, it is unclear what, if any, benefit was received as a result of this contract, as HEPC is unable to provide any work product or results generated during the contract,” the Legislative Auditor wrote.
The Legislative Auditor recommends HEPC seek legal council to help seek reimbursement for ineligible annual and sick leave, PEIA health insurance, and HEPC-matched retirement benefits that were paid totaling $39,298.73, or if the benefits must be reported as taxable income by issuing amended W-2s.
And Legislative Auditor recommends HEPC seek reimbursement for the travel expenses paid to Hill. If reimbursement from Dr. Hill is not received, the Legislative Auditor wrote, then HEPC should issue corrected W-2s for Dr. Hill and report the $1,731.65 as taxable income.
Farrell, a Huntington lawyer who is chairman of the HEPC, wrote in response to the audit that Hill’s expertise and experience were needed at the time to deal with the Blue Ribbon Commission.
“However, and as you have outlined in the report, we recognize that the former Chancellor’s employment should have been extended through a different process. Moving forward, your recommendations are duly noted and we intend to fully comply in the future should a similar situation arise,” Farrell wrote.
There were voices urging caution at the time the HEPC made its decisions.
Delegate Paul Espinosa, who was House Education chairman at the time, was puzzled about the decision to retain Hill temporarily while also bringing aboard an interim chairman.
“First, if the HEPC is going to suspend their search for a replacement for Chancellor Hill and has asked Chancellor Hill to remain at his current salary, I’m not sure I understand the rationale for also employing an interim chancellor,” Espinosa, R-Jefferson, said at the time.
After the votes were made that day, longtime Higher Education Policy Commission counsel Bruce Walker of HEPC announced his immediate retirement and left.
Walker’s objection was to the sudden hiring of Long, which came with almost no public debate. He had not had conversations about Hill or his contract, but his reaction became an exclamation point on a chaotic situation.
Walker, who was nearing retirement but had not planned to do so abruptly, cited a rule of professional conduct saying a lawyer can withdraw representation if their client is perpetuating a crime or fraud. The rule also says a lawyer may withdraw if the client insists upon taking action that the lawyer considers repugnant or with which the lawyer has a fundamental disagreement
“Bruce out,” he said.