A West Virginia Water Development Authority board member hadn't attended a board meeting since 2011, but the state paid him $58,300 for doing nothing during his nearly five-year absence.
Robert F. Hatfield, who, like other board members, received a $12,000 annual salary, last took part in a board meeting in August 2011, according to meeting minutes.
Hatfield's term on the board officially expired in June 2012, but he stayed on the agency payroll until Wednesday, the same week the Charleston Gazette-Mail inquired about Hatfield receiving payments for missed meetings.
Chris Jarrett, the water authority's executive director, said state law required that Hatfield be paid until the governor appointed a replacement last week.
"We attempted to reach Mr. Hatfield every way we knew how," Jarrett said. "We made hundreds of attempts to reach him. We couldn't reach him by phone - letters also were sent."
Asked why Hatfield wasn't replaced sooner, Jarrett said, "That's above my pay grade."
Jarrett and other administrative staff members at the water authority said they believe Hatfield has ongoing health problems that kept him from taking part in board meetings, either in person or over the phone.
Hatfield, who has a home in Hurricane, could not be reached for comment. He owns Hatfield Enterprises, a Dunbar-based company that manages convenience stores.
Last week, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin appointed former acting administration secretary Jason Pizatella to replace Hatfield on the water board. Pizatella ran unsuccessfully for state auditor in last month's Democratic primary.
The Water Development Authority finances water and sewer projects throughout West Virginia.
Then-Gov. Bob Wise appointed Hatfield to the seven-member water board in 2001. In 2006, Gov. Joe Manchin, now a U.S. senator, reappointed Hatfield. That term ended in 2012, but Hatfield stayed on the board.
"He was serving an expired term since then," said Tomblin spokesman Chris Stadelman.
Under state law, a governor's designee serves as chairman of the Water Development Authority. Until three weeks ago, that designee was Mark Imbrogno, a lawyer in the Governor's Office.
Imbrogno resigned last month to take a job at West Virginia University, in Morgantown. Tomblin hasn't appointed a new chairman.
Hatfield, who represented Putnam County in the state Senate and House of Delegates in the 1970s, donated to Tomblin's and Manchin's gubernatorial campaigns.
Some water agency board members have insurance through the state Public Employees Insurance Agency, but Hatfield declined the coverage, Jarrett said.
Earlier this year, Jarrett ordered a wiretapping sweep of the Water Development Authority office amid allegations of ethics violations and secret recordings. Charleston police conducted the search for hidden listening devices at the agency's building on Bullitt Street near Fazio's Italian Restaurant. No wiretaps were found, according to agency employees.
The sweep followed a contentious yearlong feud between Jarrett and the agency's Geographic Information Systems manager, Michael Duminiak, who has filed complaints against Jarrett and Jarrett's executive assistant with the state Ethics Commission.
On Sunday, the Gazette-Mail reported on a lawsuit that alleges Jarrett enlisted his nephew, who is a West Virginia State Police officer, to direct troopers to search an Elkview home as part of a custody battle over his granddaughter. The lawsuit names state troopers - but not Jarrett - as defendants.
Reach Eric Eyre at ericeyre@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4869 or follow @ericeyre on Twitter.