LITTLE ROCK — A former Game and Fish Commission chairman said Monday the agency is circumventing state law to give contracts to friends of commissioners.
A current member of the commission said the accusations were irresponsible.
Sheffield Nelson of Little Rock said the commission awarded contracts to an ad agency and an accountant that commissioners had either worked with before or had close personal relationships with. He also said the commission did not solicit other bids when one of the contracts was modified.
Nelson has sued the commission, asking a judge to declare that the commission must submit to the Freedom of Information Act and the Administrative Procedures Act. The case is pending in Pulaski County Circuit Court.
Nelson said Monday that he wants commission legal counsel Jim Goodhart and the other commission attorneys to be removed as legal counsel and be compelled to testify about whether as a commission member, he participated in actions he now attacks in the lawsuit.
The commission released a statement Friday that said Nelson, as a commissioner, encouraged the commission’s legal staff to prepare agency procedures in a process apart from the requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act.
Nelson was on the commission from 2000-2007 and was chairman from 2006-2007.
For months, accusations have flown between Nelson on one side and three members of the commission - Craig Campbell of Little Rock, Emon Mahony of El Dorado and Rick Watkins of Little Rock - on the other.
Nelson, a lawyer and twice a candidate for governor, said his attorney is looking at whether to add new issues to the current lawsuit, file a separate lawsuit or whether it could be addressed within state government.
“We’re looking into it and we’ll challenge it,” Nelson said. “We’ll just have to see where it’ll fit.”
Nelson had issue with a contract to develop a communications plan.
The original contract states that Little Rock based company Martin-Wilbourn Partners, LLC will develop the plan and train communications staff for $5,000 to $7,500. One other company submitted a bid, which did not have a specific cost estimate.
The commission originally approved $10,000 for the contract. At its Nov. 18 meeting the commission voted 5-2 to increase that budget by $40,000.
Nelson said the commission should have solicited new bids when it expanded the project.
Communication committee Chairman Rick Watkins said the commission is just expanding a contract.
“We’re pleased with the work of the vendor and this is simply a budget increase,” Watkins said. Nelson’s “allegations again are unfounded and irresponsible.”
He said the commission’s communications staff needed more training and didn’t have enough people or time to develop the plan on their own.
The original contract states there is no intent to expand or amend the contract in the future unless there is “any change.” Commission spokesman Nancy Ledbetter said the media plan was expanded.
Two of seven commissioners voted against increasing the funds, saying they were not told specifically what the additional money was for.
Commissioner Ron Duncan of Springdale said he did not think it was necessary to pay an outside company $50,000 to develop a communications plan.
The commission has more than a dozen people on its communications staff.
“I have confidence in our communications plan. I have no problems with giving them additional media training. ... I don't feel that we need to spend $50,000 on a media plan,” Duncan said.
Commissioner George Dunklin Jr. of DeWitt also voted no. “We just hadn’t seen it. ... I did not know what it wasgoing to entail,” he said.
The plan was not considered by the communications committee - which Duncan and Dunklin are members of - before it was considered by the full commission.
“We didn’t have a committee meeting before it went to the full commission,” Duncan said. “I wish it had gone before the communications committee.”
According to the commission’s committee procedures, “no matter shall be considered by the commission unless it receives a “do pass” vote from the responsible committee. This rule may be suspended upon a two-thirds vote of the commission.”
Watkins said the committee ran out of time and the increased media budget needed to be decided quickly so training could be completed before the legislative session starts Jan. 10.
He said he did not know what the other commissioners felt about the increase.
Nelson said the commissioners were trying to help their “buddies.”
Watkins said he served on a Boy Scouts board with Randy Welbourn, a partner in the firm, but did not have a close relationship.
He said that did not have an influence on the bidding process.
“We follow state purchasing guidelines in their entirety,” Watkins said. “We have followed all the appropriate procedures and met all the appropriate measures.”
Nelson also questioned the relationship between several commissioners and the accounting firm used as a consultant for a national director search.
The commission had instructed that applications be submitted to and held by Erwin & Co. of Little Rock until the end of the application period.
The applications have since been made public.
Four of the commissioners have used Erwin as an accountant.
Dunklin, who has had his taxes done by Erwin for a number of years, said he did not see a conflict of interest with using the accounting firm because “there’s been no money I know of that’s changed hands” but he did disclose the relationship to the commission and no one expressed any problem with that.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 11/23/2010