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SEABHS employee-loan policy nixed
Thelma Grimes/San Pedro Valley News-Sun
Southeastern Arizona Behavioral Health Services Inc. (SEABHS) will no longer be giving employees pay advances, since the board approved a policy amendment during its monthly meeting in Benson on Wednesday.
The change comes after former company CEO Dana Johnson was fired last month, and records show she never repaid a $150,000 loan approved by an executive committee in 2004. Third party auditors later found that she did not repay the loan, and tax forms show an extension required her to pay 6 percent interest with a final balloon payment in Dec. 2010.
SEABHS is still investigating whether Johnson has been making the required payments.
Johnson, who served as CEO of the non-profit for 14 years, is also a suspect in an investigation being conducted by the Arizona Attorney General. Rose Weston, the SEABHS legal director, said there is no update regarding the state's investigation initiated in September.
The Attorney General's office on Wednesday announced embezzlement charges would be filed against former SEABHS employee Sylvia Nerey. Authorities claim Nerey, 43, embezzled $30,665 between October 2006 and October 2008 while employed in the SEABHS accounts payable division.
In asking the board for a policy amendment, Weston said in 1999 SEABHS approved a policy allowing employees to receive personal pay advances.
"This is basically loaning employees money against their future paychecks," Weston said. "Maybe it's not appropriate for us to be in the lending business."
With the board's approval, Weston will be rewriting the policy to stop loaning employees money, but will keep intact the ability for employees to be reimbursed for travel.
Later in the three-hour meeting, Marcelino Varona Jr. of Nogales moved to make sure SEABHS takes every step possible to make Johnson repay the loan with interest.
Varona said if by Dec. 2010 Johnson has not followed the terms of the extension agreement, SEABHS should be ready to go to court the next day.
Acting CEO Jim Rubio brought up other policy changes that may be coming in the near future.
Rubio started investigating the SEABHS vehicle fleet after Varona last month expressed concern about spending more than $650,000 a year on fuel and maintenance for 119 vehicles.
SEABHS serves mental health patients in Santa Cruz, Greenlee, Graham and Cochise counties. With eight separate health care facilities in Benson, Willcox, Nogales, Clifton, Douglas, and Safford, Rubio said there are many factors to consider, especially since employees are expected to travel a lot.
"We are asking a host of physicians in the SEABHS labor force to take their abilities, their license, their credentials and work at multiple sites," he said. "We are not just asking them to work at site A, we are asking them to work at sites, B, C, and D as well."
Rubio said of the 119 cars, 79 are for client transportation, five for medical staff, 12 for employees who work at multiple sites, 13 commuter cars, six maintenance vehicles and two trailers.
"The bottom line is to sustain and maintain the existing outcome that SEABHS has always been able to provide to families," Rubio said. "This organization has done an unbelievably good job to provide these services across four counties. But, we want to do an analysis of the data and we want to fix something right the first time. Everything is going to change, everything has to change and everything will change. There's what I call concrete costs, but there are some that are not concrete. The most important thing right now is looking at increasing the fiscal agility and maneuverability of this organization."
Rubio said he plans to review the vehicle procedures and policy, and for tax purposes, have a new policy in place before Jan. 1. The new policy will be titled "Personal use of SEABHS Company Vehicles."
Varona, a new board member, agreed that a vehicle fleet is needed, and applauded Rubio for making the needed policy changes, but he still asked the board to consider another change in company procedure.
Still upset at learning that Johnson had been driving a 2007 Cadillac SRX, and other administrators were given Dodge Rams and other vehicles that were purchased with SEABHS funds, Varona suggested creating a policy that would require the board approve all vehicle purchases first.
Varona's efforts to change how the SEABHS board conducts business have not been met with open arms. Besides a 50-minute closed-door session at the beginning of the meeting where the board could be heard arguing, there were several heated exchanges between Varona and veteran board members.
"I agree with having enough vehicles for transportation, but I think the number of vehicles has escalated," Varona said. "If you want four vans at each site, I don't have a problem with that. The problem that I have is that we as a board have to look at reducing the overall number. I don't mind a person driving from Tucson to the main office here, or to the Nogales office, but they can drive in their own vehicle. I would rather give a $5,000 transportation allowance and cut out that car."
Long-time board member Dick Hamilton objected to Varona's suggestion, calling it micromanaging.
"I don't think this is micro-managing, I think it's managing," Varona argued. "If you consider this micromanaging, then I don't understand how we got to 119 cars. Putting the policy in place is not micromanaging; that's how we govern. You can vote the way you want to."
Hamilton said a policy could be introduced and debated, but he and board member Bill Inman of Clifton suggested they would likely vote against it.
Inman serves on the board along with wife Ann Morrison.
Weston was directed to research Varona's proposal and report on it to the board at a later date for debate.
Varona also pushed for procedural changes at the monthly board meetings. After being appointed to the board several months ago, the former mayor of Nogales said he was alarmed at the simplicity of the agenda.
The agendas for both the November meeting and for last week's meeting were one-page, documents vague on when exactly the board is expected to take action.
Varona expressed concern when Rubio asked the board to approve a $97,000 contract renewal with TextSmart Technologies.
Varona said while he is inclined to trust Rubio's recommendation for approval, the board should be provided information before the meeting, and the agenda should clearly state that action will be expected.
The expenditure request was voted on under the agenda item "CEO Report."
"I am leaning toward approval, but we cannot continue to do business like this," Varona said. "I want to come to these meetings prepared. We should change how we do our business here."
The board also approved spending a total of $4,000 for each SEABHS site to host a Christmas party. The item was also listed on the agenda under "CEO Report."
Rubio said the cost averages out to be about $10 per employee.
At first Verona said he was "adamantly" against such an expenditure, but agreed with Inman's argument that it's needed this season because employees did not receive salary increases.
To end the three-hour meeting, bickering among board members continued as they worked to set a date for January's board meeting. Varona moved to hold the meeting on Jan. 27 in Clifton, Bisbee or Nogales, but other board members disagreed, wanting it to be held at the regular time at the regular meeting place in Benson.
Board meetings are usually held on the last Thursday of each month, but Varona said he would not be able to make it if it remained on Jan. 28 as planned.
Inman pointed out that if a board member misses three meetings in a 12-month period, they can be removed, which Hamilton said was "good."
"One thing was brought up at a (Community Partnership of Southern Arizona) meeting was that if you couldn't make the scheduled meetings, maybe you shouldn't be on the board," Inman said.
After discussion, Varona, obviously frustrated, moved to hold the meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 5 p.m., with a second from Santa Cruz County representative Dan Doyle.
The measure did not pass, and the meeting will be held at the regular time and location on Jan. 28, at 5 p.m.
Southeastern Arizona Behavioral Health Services Inc. (SEABHS) will no longer be giving employees pay advances, since the board approved a policy amendment during its monthly meeting in Benson on Wednesday.
The change comes after former company CEO Dana Johnson was fired last month, and records show she never repaid a $150,000 loan approved by an executive committee in 2004. Third party auditors later found that she did not repay the loan, and tax forms show an extension required her to pay 6 percent interest with a final balloon payment in Dec. 2010.
SEABHS is still investigating whether Johnson has been making the required payments.
Johnson, who served as CEO of the non-profit for 14 years, is also a suspect in an investigation being conducted by the Arizona Attorney General. Rose Weston, the SEABHS legal director, said there is no update regarding the state's investigation initiated in September.
The Attorney General's office on Wednesday announced embezzlement charges would be filed against former SEABHS employee Sylvia Nerey. Authorities claim Nerey, 43, embezzled $30,665 between October 2006 and October 2008 while employed in the SEABHS accounts payable division.
In asking the board for a policy amendment, Weston said in 1999 SEABHS approved a policy allowing employees to receive personal pay advances.
"This is basically loaning employees money against their future paychecks," Weston said. "Maybe it's not appropriate for us to be in the lending business."
With the board's approval, Weston will be rewriting the policy to stop loaning employees money, but will keep intact the ability for employees to be reimbursed for travel.
Later in the three-hour meeting, Marcelino Varona Jr. of Nogales moved to make sure SEABHS takes every step possible to make Johnson repay the loan with interest.
Varona said if by Dec. 2010 Johnson has not followed the terms of the extension agreement, SEABHS should be ready to go to court the next day.
Acting CEO Jim Rubio brought up other policy changes that may be coming in the near future.
Rubio started investigating the SEABHS vehicle fleet after Varona last month expressed concern about spending more than $650,000 a year on fuel and maintenance for 119 vehicles.
SEABHS serves mental health patients in Santa Cruz, Greenlee, Graham and Cochise counties. With eight separate health care facilities in Benson, Willcox, Nogales, Clifton, Douglas, and Safford, Rubio said there are many factors to consider, especially since employees are expected to travel a lot.
"We are asking a host of physicians in the SEABHS labor force to take their abilities, their license, their credentials and work at multiple sites," he said. "We are not just asking them to work at site A, we are asking them to work at sites, B, C, and D as well."
Rubio said of the 119 cars, 79 are for client transportation, five for medical staff, 12 for employees who work at multiple sites, 13 commuter cars, six maintenance vehicles and two trailers.
"The bottom line is to sustain and maintain the existing outcome that SEABHS has always been able to provide to families," Rubio said. "This organization has done an unbelievably good job to provide these services across four counties. But, we want to do an analysis of the data and we want to fix something right the first time. Everything is going to change, everything has to change and everything will change. There's what I call concrete costs, but there are some that are not concrete. The most important thing right now is looking at increasing the fiscal agility and maneuverability of this organization."
Rubio said he plans to review the vehicle procedures and policy, and for tax purposes, have a new policy in place before Jan. 1. The new policy will be titled "Personal use of SEABHS Company Vehicles."
Varona, a new board member, agreed that a vehicle fleet is needed, and applauded Rubio for making the needed policy changes, but he still asked the board to consider another change in company procedure.
Still upset at learning that Johnson had been driving a 2007 Cadillac SRX, and other administrators were given Dodge Rams and other vehicles that were purchased with SEABHS funds, Varona suggested creating a policy that would require the board approve all vehicle purchases first.
Varona's efforts to change how the SEABHS board conducts business have not been met with open arms. Besides a 50-minute closed-door session at the beginning of the meeting where the board could be heard arguing, there were several heated exchanges between Varona and veteran board members.
"I agree with having enough vehicles for transportation, but I think the number of vehicles has escalated," Varona said. "If you want four vans at each site, I don't have a problem with that. The problem that I have is that we as a board have to look at reducing the overall number. I don't mind a person driving from Tucson to the main office here, or to the Nogales office, but they can drive in their own vehicle. I would rather give a $5,000 transportation allowance and cut out that car."
Long-time board member Dick Hamilton objected to Varona's suggestion, calling it micromanaging.
"I don't think this is micro-managing, I think it's managing," Varona argued. "If you consider this micromanaging, then I don't understand how we got to 119 cars. Putting the policy in place is not micromanaging; that's how we govern. You can vote the way you want to."
Hamilton said a policy could be introduced and debated, but he and board member Bill Inman of Clifton suggested they would likely vote against it.
Inman serves on the board along with wife Ann Morrison.
Weston was directed to research Varona's proposal and report on it to the board at a later date for debate.
Varona also pushed for procedural changes at the monthly board meetings. After being appointed to the board several months ago, the former mayor of Nogales said he was alarmed at the simplicity of the agenda.
The agendas for both the November meeting and for last week's meeting were one-page, documents vague on when exactly the board is expected to take action.
Varona expressed concern when Rubio asked the board to approve a $97,000 contract renewal with TextSmart Technologies.
Varona said while he is inclined to trust Rubio's recommendation for approval, the board should be provided information before the meeting, and the agenda should clearly state that action will be expected.
The expenditure request was voted on under the agenda item "CEO Report."
"I am leaning toward approval, but we cannot continue to do business like this," Varona said. "I want to come to these meetings prepared. We should change how we do our business here."
The board also approved spending a total of $4,000 for each SEABHS site to host a Christmas party. The item was also listed on the agenda under "CEO Report."
Rubio said the cost averages out to be about $10 per employee.
At first Verona said he was "adamantly" against such an expenditure, but agreed with Inman's argument that it's needed this season because employees did not receive salary increases.
To end the three-hour meeting, bickering among board members continued as they worked to set a date for January's board meeting. Varona moved to hold the meeting on Jan. 27 in Clifton, Bisbee or Nogales, but other board members disagreed, wanting it to be held at the regular time at the regular meeting place in Benson.
Board meetings are usually held on the last Thursday of each month, but Varona said he would not be able to make it if it remained on Jan. 28 as planned.
Inman pointed out that if a board member misses three meetings in a 12-month period, they can be removed, which Hamilton said was "good."
"One thing was brought up at a (Community Partnership of Southern Arizona) meeting was that if you couldn't make the scheduled meetings, maybe you shouldn't be on the board," Inman said.
After discussion, Varona, obviously frustrated, moved to hold the meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 5 p.m., with a second from Santa Cruz County representative Dan Doyle.
The measure did not pass, and the meeting will be held at the regular time and location on Jan. 28, at 5 p.m.
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| Former SEABHS worker charged with embezzlement | CHRISTMAS ON MAIN STREET |
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Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of bensonnews-sun.com.
Jay wrote on Dec 16, 2009 3:53 PM:
" It is time that the entire community understand the need for quality mental health services that can only be provided by a staff that is entirely focused on best practice. This includes the board. Best practice cannot be defined by how long you have been in local politics or by whom you know. Those individuals who have been in politics for a very long time may consider that it is time to redefine their responsibilities to include what percentage of available funding should go to patient care, staff training, and staff salaries. Driving late model cars that are not economical does deserve very close attention by the board. Maybe SEABHS should take a look at the generic white economy cars used by the U of A. "
Ron wrote on Dec 21, 2009 2:11 PM:
" One should question the wisdom of naming Jim Rubio as interim CEO. Mr. Rubio changes his SEABHS vehicle every year and he usually pre-orders an expensive 4X4. For Mr. Rubio to investigate the fleet policy is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house. Mr. Rubio should be investigated as well. "
Yosemite wrote on Dec 11, 2009 1:21 PM: