City Engineer Resigns Amid Possible Ethics Violations
(This series of articles about City Engineer Doug Green’s resignation and the subsequent investigation by the Ohio Ethics Commission appeared in the Upper Arlington News between June 2008 and December 2009.)
UA city engineer resigns from post
Officials won’t say what types of allegations are being investigated.
By DONAVON CAMPBELL, June 4, 2008
Upper Arlington City Engineer Doug Green has tendered his resignation as an investigation moves forward into his conduct in office.
Green signed a separation agreement last week essentially agreeing to the terms of his resignation, city officials said.
“It was agreed that it was in both parties’ best interest,” for Green to resign, said Assistant City Manager of Public Affairs Emma Speight.
Green had been with Upper Arlington since May 1990.
On Friday, May 30, City Manager Virginia Barney reportedly called City Council members to inform them that Green had tendered his resignation. His salary at the time of his departure was a little more than $79,000 a year.
“In light of a challenging work environment arising from some management issues, Mr. Green and the city have mutually agreed it was in both parties’ best interests to enter into a separation agreement,” said Barney.
The resignation took effect last week. The investigation is in-house at the moment, involving the UA Division of Police and the city’s human resources department.
“All I can tell you is that there is an investigation ongoing,” UA Police Lt. Ernie Ankrom said. He would offer no additional details.
City Councilman Wade Steen said there was no closed council session during which allegations being levied toward Green were discussed.
“We have had no meetings whatsoever go over something like that,” said Steen.
“I would expect that if there is an issue or problem related to one of our senior employees,” said Steen.
“I would expect the city manager to discuss that with us and if she didn’t, I’d be concerned.”
Councilman Frank Ciotola said he, too, learned of Green’s resignation Friday, but that he hadn’t heard anything else about the issue.
“If it turns out to be serious I want to know why we weren’t informed,” said Ciotola.
“If it is a serious issue then I have a serious problem not being informed until Friday.”
Green could not be reached for comment Tuesday morning.
While Barney confirmed that Green is facing allegations, she said she was unable to disclose the exact nature of the issues because it’s an ongoing investigation.
Barney did say, however, that it was possible that Green could face legal trouble should the allegations be found true.
“As a public entity we take very seriously our role as being stewards of the community’s investments,” said Speight.
“Anytime there is a hint or suggestion of impropriety, it is the city’s duty to investigate thoroughly.”
The role of a city engineer is described by Upper Arlington as follows:
* Oversees construction of infrastructure capital improvement projects, evaluating contract bids, making recommendations, conducting preconstruction and progress meetings with contractors;
* Conducts design and plan review, evaluating, selecting and recommending final design of projects;
* Selects and manages engineering design consultants, which includes technical writing requests for proposals, advertising for bids, evaluating and ranking engineering design proposals;
* Performs inspection, inventory and evaluation of infrastructure components;
* Administers Neighborhood Street Lighting Utility Board and storm water utility;
* Reviews plans, issues permits and oversee construction of inspection of private utility and development projects;
* Provides capital improvement planning and budgeting services; and
* Carries out supervisory responsibilities of the engineering staff.
Administration began Green investigation in April
By DONAVON CAMPBELL, June 11, 2008
UA City Engineer Doug Green’s recent resignation was the result of a nearly eight-week process.
During that time, City Manager Virginia Barney said, Green was investigated for improprieties in the way he reportedly treated staff and eventually for possible ethical transgressions in the way he was conducting city business.
The allegations leading to Green’s eventual resignation stemmed from a complaint in late March by a member of his staff who claimed Green was guilty of improper treatment of staff members in the Engineer Division, Barney said.
Barney said Green was put on paid administrative leave on April 17 so city officials could properly conduct an investigation into the charges.
After discussions with a number of other employees, Barney said, city investigators discovered that a number of them felt the same way — that Green’s management style was inappropriate.
Green officially resigned from his post May 22 after signing a separation agreement with the city.
“My decision (to ask Green to resign) was based solely on the management issues in the division,” said Barney.
Green issued a statement through his legal counsel that he did not wish to comment on the allegations, but that he harbored no animosity toward the city of Upper Arlington.
The attorney, Jeffrey Poth, confirmed that he and Green would have no comment.
Green had been with the city since May 1990 and had a salary at the time of his departure of $79,162.
During their investigations into the way Green managed his division, Barney said, allegations arose about the way Green was conducting city business.
“Out of conversations with employees, allegations were made,” said Barney.
“We felt like we needed to move forward … with an investigation by our police division.
“We notified (the Ohio Ethics Commission) of the possibility of allegations, which is what we do when there is any hint of misconduct,” said Barney.
Paul Nick, chief investigative attorney for the Ohio Ethics Commission, said he was unable to comment on any ongoing investigations.
Nick did explain, however, that the Ethics Commission has jurisdiction over cases where a conflict of interest has come into play or where a member of a government body is using their position for personal benefit. He said that many of the allegations they investigate can end up criminal in nature.
Barney said she was unable to give any further detail as to the allegations because of the ongoing investigation as well.
“I’m not in a position at this point to discuss what the allegations were because the investigation is still in progress,” said Barney.
“The results are not yet known and we must protect the due process rights of Mr. Green.”
Barney shared her appreciation for the Engineering Division for being patient and remaining productive during the process.
“I want to thank all the employees of the Engineering Division for their continued dedication to our community during the transition period,” said Barney.
“Because (the city) is a public entity, the steps you have to go through are a little more lengthy before you reach a separation agreement.”
Barney said city construction projects are expected to continue as planned throughout the summer and that the search is under way for a new city engineer.
UA reels in Komlanc to be its new city engineer
By DONAVON CAMPBELL, Sept. 10, 2008
Upper Arlington announced the hiring of new City Engineer Tom Komlanc on Monday, Sept. 8.
Komlanc fills a position left vacant by former Engineer Doug Green, who resigned from the post amid undisclosed allegations in May.
Deputy City Manager for Community Affairs Emma Speight said things have moved slowly in regard to Green’s investigation.
“There is nothing new to report on that,” said Speight. “Those investigations typically take quite a few months.”
In the meantime, Speight said the city has moved forward and made what they regard as an excellent selection to fill the post.
“I think (we’re) very, very excited about hiring (Komlanc),” said Speight.
“He was above and beyond everyone’s first choice, so we’re very excited to bring him on board.”
Komlanc graduated from Ohio State University in 1997 with a bachelor of science in Civil Engineering and later received a master’s in Business Administration from Ashland University in 2004.
Komlanc’s professional experience includes working for the city of Gahanna Engineer Department from 1996 to 2007, where he became the assistant city engineer and was involved with a variety of projects.
Komlanc then joined the staff of OSU as the senior project manager for facilities design and construction, where he remained for roughly a year and a half before coming to UA.
“I’m very excited,” said Komlanc. “As far as career growth goes, this is a great opportunity. I couldn’t ask for a better city to be working for.”
Even with his experiences, Komlanc faces a position that comes with many duties. The city engineer:
*Oversees construction of infrastructure capital improvement projects, evaluating contract bids, making recommendations, conducting preconstruction and progress meetings with contractors;
*Conducts design and plan review, evaluating, selecting and recommending final design of projects;
*Selects and manages engineering design consultants, which includes technical writing requests for proposals, advertising for bids, evaluating and ranking engineering design proposals;
*Performs inspection, inventory and evaluation of infrastructure components;
*Administers the Neighborhood Street Lighting Utility Board and storm water utility;
*Reviews plans, issues permits and oversee construction of inspection of private utility and development projects;
*Provides capital improvement planning and budgeting services; and
*Carries out supervisory responsibilities of the engineering staff.
Beyond those duties, Komlanc said, he hopes to bring new technologies to the city as well. Komlanc said he plans to work on developing a geographical information system, or GIS, for the engineering department.
A GIS is essentially a computer-based intelligent mapping that would give a user an instant breakdown of any particular site in the city including things such as the materials used at the site, the placement and types of utilities and other pertinent information.
Komlanc said he also would like to employ global positioning satellite technologies to make city functions such as snow plowing more efficient, as well as look into a fiber-optic infrastructure that would allow for quicker sharing of information between different city, public and possibly private institutions.
Komlanc said he also is interested in continuing the city’s movement toward greener alternatives.
“We have to be innovative in our approach,” said Komlanc.
“(We have to) try to utilize renewable resources in maintaining what we all ready have.”
He added that he intends to keep his eyes open for grants and other funding opportunities so as to relieve as much of the burden on tax payers as possible.
“I don’t want to just use the tax base to (fund) that,” said Komlanc.
“I want to do the due diligence to make sure we’re taking advantage of the various … state and federal (funds) that are available to us. I look forward to serving the residents.”
Police, Ethics Commission submit Green reports to prosecutor
Investigation into conduct by former city engineer is now in the hands of Franklin County prosecutor’s office.
By DONAVON CAMPBELL, June 24, 2009
The case of former Upper Arlington City Engineer Doug Green has been transferred to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office after a nearly yearlong investigation by the Ohio Ethics Commission.
Green resigned in May 2008 after an investigation into reported mismanagement of his staff turned up possible ethics violations.
Paul Nick, chief investigative attorney for the Ohio Ethics Commission, confirmed that Green’s case has been investigated and is now in the hands of County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien’s office.
“I can’t comment on the particulars, but just the next step in the process has occurred,” Nick said.
Green’s attorney, Jeffrey Poth, said he had no comment about the case at this time.
The Ethics Commission has jurisdiction over cases where a conflict of interest has come into play or where a member of a government body is using his position for personal benefit, Nick explained previously, adding that many of the allegations they investigate can end up criminal in nature.
Green officially resigned from his post with Upper Arlington on May 22 of last year — he was making an annual salary of $79,162 at the time — after signing a separation agreement with the city, City Manager Virginia Barney said in June ’08.
But he was originally put on paid administrative leave April 17 , 2008, while the city conducted an in-house investigation into improprieties in the way he reportedly treated staff, Barney said.
Barney explained that allegations arose about the way Green was conducting city business during those investigations.
UA Police Lt. Ernie Ankrom said the UA Division of Police has been investigating Green in conjunction with the Ethics Commission and has submitted its own findings as part of the grand jury summary.
“At this point all of our investigation records are in the report that was filed by the Ethics Commission to the prosecutor’s office,” Ankrom said.
Ankrom explained that he was unable to comment on the police division’s findings. But it will be up to the prosecutor’s office to determine whether to use charges from the police division’s investigation, the Ethics Commission’s, both investigations or to determine if they won’t be filing any criminal charges at all, he said.
“I can’t specify what the final report outcome was,” Ankrom said.
“Basically they’ll determine if it goes to a grand jury, or back to us, or they could could say there isn’t enough to file any charges.”
Felony charges would be handled through the county prosecutor, but misdemeanor charges would come back under the city of Upper Arlington’s purview, he said.
Ankrom said he did not know what the timeline would be on a decision by the prosecutor’s office.
Deputy City Manager for Community Affairs Emma Speight said that, because of the legal process and the fact that Green’s case still was pending, the city was unable to comment on it at this time.
“We’re respecting that process,” Speight said.
Former UA city engineer pleads guilty to ethics-related charge
Doug Green was investigated for steering city work to a firm where his wife was employed
By: DONAVON CAMPBELL, Dec. 30, 2009
Former Upper Arlington City Engineer Doug Green has plead guilty to an ethics violation that occurred while he was employed by the city.
Green plead guilty to a conflict of interest charge, a first degree misdemeanor, during a Dec. 24 arraignment in Franklin County Municipal Court.
The charge, that Green used his position with the city to contract out work for road improvements to Floyd Brown Associates, a Marion-based engineering firm, because his wife worked for the company was filed by Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien following an investigation by the Ohio Ethics Commission.
“Basically what we charged him with was using his position as city engineer to award contracts to his spouse’s firm,” said Paul Nick, chief investigative attorney for the Ohio Ethics Commission.
“Floyd Brown had not previously done any work with the city (before Green) … and hasn’t done any work since (Green’s resignation),” Nick said.
A first degree misdemeanor can carry a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail. Green was ordered to pay a $500 fine because he plead guilty and had already paid restitution to the city of Upper Arlington, Nick said.
Upper Arlington Assistant City Attorney Tom Lindsey confirmed that Green had already paid the city $9,000 in restitution.
Nick explained that Green awarded Floyd Brown Associates some $120,000 in contracts to work on five city streets, but work was only completed on two of those streets and the city was left to finished the other three projects.
Nick said Floyd Brown Associates was not found guilty of any wrong doing.
“We’re not suggesting Floyd Brown did anything wrong, it was all Doug Green,” Nick said. “Green had said that that (unfinished work) was sufficient. Basically, he acted recklessly.”
Green officially resigned from his post with Upper Arlington on May 22, 2008 — he was making an annual salary of $79,162 at the time — after signing a separation agreement with the city, City Manager Virginia Barney said in June ’08.
He was originally put on paid administrative leave April 17 , 2008, while the city conducted an in-house investigation into improprieties in the way he reportedly treated staff, Barney said.
Barney explained that allegations arose about the way Green was conducting city business during those investigations.
Lindsey said he does not expect the city will pursue the matter any further.
“The city had determined that that was the appropriate restitution amount and as far as I know has no intention to pursue this matter any further,” Lindsey said. “This action by the ethics commission concludes this matter so I don’t anticipate anything further by the city.”
Jeffrey Poth, Green’s attorney, said he had no comment about the case.
Checks are in place to avoid ethics violations, UA city officials say
By DONAVON CAMPBELL, January 6, 2010
The recent guilty plea in Franklin County Municipal Court by former Upper Arlington City Engineer Doug Green on an ethics violation has raised some questions as to the effectiveness of the city’s internal checks and balances.
Green, 54, pleaded guilty to a conflict-of-interest charge, a first degree misdemeanor, during a Dec. 24 arraignment in Franklin County Municipal Court.
The charge was related to Green using his position with the city to recommend contract work for road improvements to Floyd Brown Associates, a Marion-based engineering firm where his wife worked, in late 2003 and 2004.
The charge was filed by Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien following an investigation by the Ohio Ethics Commission.
According to Chief Investigative Attorney for the Ohio Ethics Commission Paul Nick, Floyd Brown Associates eventually was awarded some $120,000 in engineering contracts to work on five city streets.
Green called the violation one of miscommunication, stating that he felt he informed the proper individuals of the fact his wife was employed by Floyd Brown Associates.
“What I pleaded guilty to was the fact that … I should have gone one level higher,” Green said.
“I should have gone to the ethics commission and I didn’t do that.”
City Attorney Jeanine Hummer said Green neither informed the City Manager’s office or the City Attorney’s office of his wife’s position in the firm.
“Not going to the ethics commission is one part,” of the problem, Hummer said.
“But frankly if he even asked a question to the City Attorney’s office … it could have been avoided.”
Green, who was with the city for 18 years before resigning in spring 2008, said he wasn’t sure if he felt the city’s policies failed him. But he did feel the Ethics Commission treated him unfairly, he said.
“I didn’t hire my wife’s firm in secret, that was done openly and above board,” Green said.
“My unhappiness rests with the way the Ohio Ethics Commission did business. I don’t think it sought the truth and I don’t think it found the truth.”
Green was ordered by the judge to pay a $500 fine plus $82 in court costs. He also paid $9,000 in restitution to the city.
Recently re-elected City Council member Wade Steen said he would like to revisit the city’s contracting policies.
“We really need to take a look at our internal control system in terms of contracting,” Steen said.
“That’s the best way to try to stop this from happening.”
“We need to ask, are the internal controls of our contracting process adequate?” said Steen, who added that it can be a fine line between too stringent and overly costly procedures and too loose or ineffective procedures.
“It’s an art form almost in that you want controls that will diminish, to almost a negligible opportunity, for something like this to happen,” Steen said.
“They can still break it, it just means that you can identify them and catch them sooner.”
Hummer said no system of controls is perfect and all employees of the city go through ethics training.
“There was a good process in place to avoid potential issues,” Hummer said.
“If someone wants to get around something to accomplish a certain goal, they’re going to find a way.
“You can have as many written policies as you can, if someone wants to try to commit an act that is irregular or wrong nothing is going to stop them,” she said.
