Tourism board awaits county board's decision on background checks

[December 19, 2009]  The Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County had their December board meeting on Thursday.

Board members present were Paul Gleason, chairman; Stacie Wachtel, vice chairman; Gail Apel-Sasse, secretary; Shirley Bartelmay, treasurer; along with Ron Keller, Lucille Pech, Thressia Usherwood, Alberta Hellman, Rebecca Drake, Peggy Lee and Gillette Ransom.

The meeting was to go over normal board responsibilities and to hear from Terry Carlton, Logan County Board chairman. Carlton came to discus with the tourism board the recent requirements that all county board appointees have a background check before being approved by the board.

At the meeting Carlton explained to the tourism board that times have changed. He said the background checks were to mitigate county liability and that the county should no longer simply "rubber-stamp" all appointees to boards. Background checks would insulate the county from liability in the event of a problem.

Carlton also said that he wanted to see a uniform standard for all county board appointees and that the background checks were not directed singularly toward the tourism board.

Several board members spoke up, saying they wanted to know the parameters or guidelines as to what will be checked, what will be considered significant, and who will do the checks.

Several tourism board members took exception to Carlton's comments that the Logan County Department of Public Health staff had no problems with background checks. The issue to tourism board members is that they are unpaid volunteers. Gleason said that tourism board members not only don't receive pay, but often spend money out of their own pockets.

Lincoln attorney Doug Muck, who represents the tourism bureau, said that although he was speaking as an attorney and not for the board or any board member, that without any legislation passed -- i.e., a policy and procedure approved by the board -- he did not believe Carlton had the authority to require the checks.

Although Carlton did not specifically reply to whether he thought there was a legal issue or not, he did agree that a set standard for county appointments should be in place and said that issue would be coming up at future county board meetings "soon." 

Carlton said the decision to begin the background checks wasn't done unilaterally by him. The board chairman said the issue was discussed and agreed upon by himself and other county board members during a policies and procedures committee meeting.

After the meeting Carlton told reporters that the minutes of the policy and procedures meeting discussing the idea and agreeing it should be implemented are on tape for anyone to listen to.

Besides questioning Carlton's authority to do background checks, tourism director Geoff Ladd said he did not appreciate not finding out until just before the November county board meeting began that the four nominees for retention on the tourism board would not be approved at that meeting.

Paul Gleason said that tourism board bylaws allow board members to continue in place from their previous term until reappointed or replaced and that gave the tourism board the ability to maintain all current members while the issue is hammered out.

After Carlton made his presentation, Gleason called the meeting into executive session "to discus potential litigation and personnel."

Friday morning Ladd said that the board had tabled the matter until further notice.

Referring to the county board, Ladd said "the ball is in their court."

[LDN]