A backlog of complaints filed with the state Ethics Commission has been reduced by more than half, Executive Director Rebecca Stepto told commissioners Thursday.
Commission staff have about 50 complaints of ethics violations on the docket, less than half the number pending at the same point last year, she said. A few of the complaints are on hold, she said, under a 60-day moratorium prior to elections for complaints filed against candidates for public office.
Stepto said the commission has received 39 new complaints so far this year, down slightly from 44 complaints filed at the same point in 2015.
Commission Chairman Robert Wolfe noted that the commission set a goal two years ago to reduce the backlog of pending complaints.
"We're all very pleased with what's happening with complaints," Stepto said.
Also Thursday, the commission:
| Approved a conciliation agreement with former Rainelle Town Recorder Danny Milam for using his public office for private gain for having his private construction company work on town projects.
According to the agreement, Milam admitted serving as a subcontractor on a project to make repairs to the town hall, and that he convinced town council to hire his company to build a new pump house for the town.
Milam was given a $2,000 fine, a public reprimand, and was ordered to complete ethics training.
| Approved a contract exemption to allow the city of Cameron, in Marshall County, to purchase materials from Cameron Hardware, owned by Mayor Scott Chaplin.
Chaplin was appointed mayor in February when Mayor Julie Beresford resigned for health reasons.
According to the request, the hardware store is one of two businesses in town that sell hardware and supplies used by the city's two-person maintenance department. The other, Cameron Lumber Co., has a much more limited selection of hardware and supplies.
In the request, city officials said not being able to purchase items from the mayor's hardware store would be a hardship, since the next closest hardware store is a 30-minute drive away.
Commissioners authorized the city to spend up to $2,500 a year at the mayor's hardware store, for items costing no more than $100 apiece. The exemption also requires that city employees first check to see if needed items are available at the lumber store before purchasing them from the mayor's business.
| Granted employment exemptions to Karen Villanueva-Matkovich, general counsel for the Department of Health and Human Resources; Andrew Pauley, general counsel for the Insurance Commission; Ronald Smith, deputy state highway engineer; and Chuck Joseph, environmental inspector for the Department of Environmental Protection.
Employment exemptions allow public employees to seek employment with persons or businesses regulated by their department or agency.
| Approved a memorial resolution for longtime Commissioner Jack Buckalew, who died March 3.
The resolution recognized Buckalew's "many years of dedicated service to the state of West Virginia and the West Virginia Ethics Commission." Before his appointment to the commission in 2005, Buckalew had served as State Police superintendent, secretary of the Department of Administration, and as a state senator, among other public offices.
Wolfe noted that Buckalew continued to serve on the commission to the end, despite failing health. He participated in January and February meetings by telephone, and as recently as last October, chaired the commission meeting in Wolfe's absence.
Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazettemail.com, 304 348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.