Monday, Feb. 20, 2012
Broadband politics or employee misconduct?
Fired deputy auditor: ‘I thought what I as doing was what was right’
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By John Beaudoin, The Democrat Missourian
When Ryan Wescoat was fired in December as Cass County’s deputy auditor, one of the official explanations was his misuse of an office computer.
But that was not the real reason, Wescoat now says, speaking out publicly for the first time since that day two months ago.
Wescoat says he was fired after being caught in the middle of a dispute between a county commissioner and his boss.
And the dispute involved one of the biggest issues facing the county: The massive broadband project that would provide higher-speed internet services to residents and businesses.
Basically, Wescoat says, County Commissioner Brian Baker was on one side, asking him for paperwork so the county could be reimbursed for money it spent on the broadband project. But on the other side was Wescoat’s boss, County Auditor Ron Johnson, who didn’t want the paperwork handed over.
Wescoat turned over the documents and was fired.
“I have had a lot of headaches and heartburn over this,” Wescoat said. “I thought what I was doing was what was right.”
Johnson doesn’t dispute much of Wescoat’s story, except to say that’s not the main reason why Wescoat was dismissed. Wescoat used county computers for his own purposes, and that remains the true reason for the firing, Johnson said.
Johnson also said he had a good reason for not wanting Wescoat to turn over the paperwork.
“I was trying to make sure we didn’t act imprudently,” he said.
Johnson and Baker have been battling for much of 2011 over the broadband project, which is primarily funded by the USDA.
Johnson has worried that the documentation of the project wasn’t sufficiently vetted and that the county was providing incomplete reimbursement paperwork, while Baker thought forms were ready to turn in.
Many of the costs associated with the project, $1.1 million to date, have been fronted by the county out of the general and 9-1-1 funds. The expectation, county officials have said, is that reimbursements will come back to Cass County to offset those costs.
Wescoat said as deputy auditor, following the money – particularly on the broadband initiative – was one of his many responsibilities.
During the week of Dec. 5, Wescoat said, he was approached by county broadband supervisor Melissa Freeman and Baker requesting documents that would have triggered a reimbursement of more than a half million dollars for work by broadband engineering firm Universal Asset Management. UAM is no longer the engineering firm for this project.
Wescoat said he had previously had a conversation with Baker to inform him that the reimbursement order was ready and that Baker planned to use the state’s Sunshine Law to retrieve it if he didn’t see it soon.
“I called him and asked him for it and he emailed it to me. I didn’t put the (Sunshine request) in writing, but I asked for it,” Baker said. “He gave them to me. I thought he was doing a good thing. I didn’t know it would be a problem.”
Johnson said he had warned Wescoat about sending such paperwork on to county commissioners for authorization.
In this case, Johnson said, the documents should have never been given to Baker because the requisite vetting had not been done. Johnson wanted to be sure the hours billed by the engineering firm from the time sheets matched the reimbursement request.
Wescoat “didn’t have the authority to approve that,” Johnson said.
But Wescoat said he got the impression Johnson was purposely trying to block the reimbursements.
“He said, ‘You know I didn’t want that to happen,’ ” Wescoat said. “When I asked him earlier why he tried to block the reimbursement…he wouldn’t say why he didn’t want the county to get this money.”
Johnson flatly denied ever saying he didn’t want the reimbursements to happen. “I would never make that statement,” Johnson said.
Wescoat also thinks Johnson found out about the reimbursement form by searching his computer and email account.
During the week of Dec. 5 he was called into Johnson’s office and told his computer was going to taken, along with others’ in the office, for an “annual security update.” Wescoat said that was the first he had ever heard of such a precaution.
Johnson, who was elected county auditor in 2010, said the computer checks had been routine through his entire career. “That is not what brought about this event,” he said.
Wescoat said Johnson was fixated on the broadband project and even emailed the FBI regarding county affairs and requesting an examination.
Johnson confirmed he has spoken with members of the Department of Justice regarding “county inconsistencies.”
Neither Johnson nor Wescoat would say what issues the FBI may be investigating, though.
Wescoat was terminated on Dec. 9 after six months in the auditor’s office.
He acknowledged that Johnson outlined several different reasons for his firing, including insubordination, using his county computer and email for personal business and conducting work outside of county business while on county time. He also said Johnson referred to his involvement as a city councilman for Raymore, which had been going through its own political turmoil.
Wescoat was appointed to the Raymore Council in January 2011, five months before he was hired by Johnson. He was elected to retain his Ward 2 seat in April 2011.
Wescoat acknowledged he used his email and computer for purposes outside of county work, including continuing education classes and also posting his daughter’s car for sale online from his county computer.
According to the county employee handbook, “Non-business use of e-mail should be very limited,” and County Human Resources Director Michele Phillips said misuse of company equipment can reach termination levels.
Wescoat said he was never informed of that. He said he knows he used his computer for functions outside of county business, but that was a common practice.
After he was fired, county officials were at odds about the pending unemployment claim from Wescoat. Johnson wanted the claim fought, an opinion he communicated to Phillips, but Baker made the opposite decision. Phillips also opposed fighting the claim.
“I didn’t see any illegal activity being presented to me,” Baker said. “We didn’t see a reason to fight it.”
Today, Wescoat says he believes he did what was right for Cass County. “You stand up and do what’s right and you get fired for it,” he said.
