Beshear wants to cut job contracts for two public officials to one year. One agreed.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration has reached an agreement to extend the job contract of State Fair Board President and CEO David Beck for one year but not with Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Rich Storm.
The two contracts, which initially offered two-year extensions, were unanimously approved by the agencies’ boards months ago and were to take effect Wednesday. Some members of the boards and Attorney General Daniel Cameron maintain the boards have exclusive authority over the decision, but Gov. Andy Beshear disagrees.
Danielle Jones, a spokeswoman for Beshear’s Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, said Wednesday the contracts needed changes.
She said Kentucky faces a possible $1.1 billion budget shortfall this fiscal year, which may require “devastating” cuts of 16 percent to 20 percent across state government, and the state legislature decided to approve a one-year state budget instead of the traditional two-year budget because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“As the state’s budgetary outlook worsens, the executive branch now has a greater responsibility to thoroughly examine personal service contracts and expenditures that exceed that one-year period,” she said.
Jones said the tourism cabinet “has entered into one-year personal service contract agreement with the State Fair Board President/CEO. “
She added, “Due to the significant salary amount and the proposed contract exceeding the one-year budgetary period, the contract required additional negotiation.”
Jones said under the agreed contract with Beck, he will receive $300,000 but it does not include a performance incentive.
Beck did not return a request for comment. Beck, who had worked for Kentucky Farm Bureau before joining the State Fair Board, was hired in April 2018 by the board at an annual base salary of $300,000. The board’s contract extension, approved in April, did not make a salary change.
Concerning the job contract for Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Storm, Jones said, “at this time, the cabinet has not been able to enter into a personal service contract for the commissioner of the Department of Fish and Wildlife.”
“The cabinet will continue to work with the commission to make an appointment to this important leadership position,” she said.
Asked if Storm is out as the commissioner, Storm said, “There is no additional update.”
Storm, of Nicholas County, started on the job Jan. 14, 2019, at a salary of $140,000 a year. The board approved a two-year job extension for him Jan. 31 of this year with no increase in salary.
Both Storm and Beck were hired during the administration of former Gov. Matt Bevin.
Karl Clinard, a retired orthodontist in Somerset who is chairman of the Fish and Wildlife panel, said Wednesday that the board and he “still consider Rich Storm as our commissioner.”
“We don’t think the state can offer him a one-year contract when the board has said he’s there for two years,” Clinard said. “They would be offering him a null and void contract.”
Clinard also said no state tax dollars are used to pay the fish and wildlife commissioner. He said the money comes from fees collected by the agency.
“Problems with the state General Fund budget have nothing to do with our budget,” he said.
Asked if a lawsuit is possible, Clinard said, “I’m certainly not prepared to say that but we may have to call on legal experts on this.”
Storm has not returned phone calls seeking comment about the controversy.
There are 19 members on the State Fair Board. Sixteen of them are appointed by the governor and three of them serve by virtue of their public office. The Fish and Wildlife Commission is made up of nine members who serve four-year terms after licensed hunters and anglers in each of nine districts send names of five nominees to the governor, who selects one from each district. They then have to be confirmed by the Kentucky Senate.
Clinard said three of the nine positions on the fish and wildlife board expire this summer.
The State Fair Board in Louisville operates two of the largest facilities in the state — the Kentucky Exposition Center and the Kentucky International Convention Center — in addition to producing three signature events annually — the Kentucky State Fair, National Farm Machinery Show and North American International Livestock Exposition.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is responsible for the conservation of wildlife resources and for boating projects in the state. It is based in Frankfort.
This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 4:43 PM.
