Matt Snead, the governor-appointed director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, tendered his resignation Friday, citing improvements within the agency and his need for a break.
The resignation came two years to the day after he was appointed to lead the agency that had been plagued by controversies at its two veterans nursing homes.
Snead, 40, oversaw an agency turnaround that included the opening of seven new district service offices and of a state-of-the-art nursing home in North Little Rock. That nursing home opened last month.
His resignation follows accusations from within the agency that his personal relationship with an employee has diminished morale.
Snead, a lieutenant colonel in the Arkansas National Guard, said Saturday that he wanted to "pursue some personal goals" and take a "breather."
His resignation takes effect March 10, to help ensure a smooth transition. Bill Wussick, the agency's current assistant director of veterans cemeteries, has been appointed interim director.
"The agency is in a good position, and it's a good time for someone with new ideas and new energy to take it to the next level," Snead said in a phone interview Saturday.
During his two years at the helm, Snead refocused the agency on its three-pronged mission: To serve Arkansas' 250,000 veterans by helping them navigate the federal VA claims system; and by operating the state's two veterans nursing homes and its two veterans cemeteries.
In coming months, the district services office in Hope -- the last of the seven planned district offices -- will open, marking the early completion of the plan Snead and a group of stakeholders developed after his appointment.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who appointed Snead shortly after taking office in 2015, thanked him for his service in a Saturday morning news release, saying Snead did an "exceptional job" representing Arkansas veterans.
The veterans community has been effusive in its praise of Snead and the department's success under his leadership.
But within the agency, morale has declined in recent months.
Recently, some veterans services officers were moved from their offices at the federal VA regional benefits office in North Little Rock across the street to the community building at the new Arkansas State Veterans Home.
That move dismayed several of the service officers because it distanced them from the office where claims are handled.
However, agency leaders have defended the new direction the service office program has taken, citing metrics that they say show that the program has become more effective under the changes.
Also, last month's opening of the new veterans nursing home in North Little Rock had been delayed by several months becomes of construction and compliance problems, agency leaders said.
Meanwhile, rumors circulated within the agency about Snead's relationship with personnel director Sara Terry. That personal relationship began in October, Snead said. He said he and his wife separated over the summer, and their divorce proceedings are ongoing.
In a Feb. 7 letter to the governor, two service officers, John Dugan and Hope Summers, requested an independent investigation into Snead's relationships with "subordinate females." The letter, which was obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, said the agency had become dysfunctional, and employees were daily discussing allegations of misconduct by Snead.
"The morale of the employees is low and there is a lack of trust between key leadership members," the letter states.
"There is a climate of fear within the agency at this time as employees are afraid of retaliation if they speak out or file any type of complaint," it says.
Terry was one of two headquarters employees who received a promotion and pay raise in July when the agency restructured, according to records obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request. Terry and Snead said the promotion occurred before their relationship began.
In a Saturday phone interview, Terry said she never received any favoritism because of her relationship with the agency director, but that in light of the letter, morale could have been affected.
Snead flatly denied the allegations in the letter. He said the two employees who wrote it did so because they were upset about being moved from the North Little Rock VA regional office and angry about the direction the agency has taken under the strategic plan drafted shortly after his appointment.
Dugan, when reached Saturday, said that wasn't why he wrote the letter.
"Director Snead's behavior within the agency has been inappropriate for the past several months," Dugan said in an email. "His attempt to discard the allegations because he feels they come from disgruntled employees represents the highest level of denial and arrogance. It represents a total failure to take responsibility for his actions.
"Director Snead knows what the truth is," Dugan said. "Instead of continuing to blame other people it may be time for him to take a good long look in the mirror and begin to take some personal responsibility for his own mistakes."
J.R. Davis, Hutchinson's spokesman, said he was unaware of the letter, and he declined to comment about it or its allegations. He did say that Hutchinson did not ask Snead for his resignation.
Since the middle of January, Hutchinson's office has declined to comment about Snead and Terry's relationship, and last month Davis repeatedly denied rumors that the governor and Snead were preparing for Snead's exit.
A Section on 02/12/2017