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Beebe: Hardin wrong to conceal bonus Wednesday, Jul 16, 2008 By Jason Wiest Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Gov. Mike Beebe rebuked good friend Lu Hardin, the president of the University of Central Arkansas, on Tuesday for initially concealing a $300,000 bonus from the school. "Lu Hardin made a mistake," Beebe said. "Lu Hardin is somebody, I think, that's acknowledged he made a mistake. What he did wasn't right." In May, the UCA Board of Trustees apparently decided in executive session to award the bonus two years earlier than the five-year time frame it set three years ago. Later, in open session, the board voted to approve unspecified personnel decisions and made no specific mention of a bonus for Hardin. After the meeting, Hardin told reporters he did not receive a raise but failed to mention the bonus. After the bonus was disclosed, he initially said the money was from private funds when it actually came from a UCA auxiliary fund comprised of excess profits from food vendors and the campus bookstore. Hardin has since said he made an "error in judgment." Beebe agreed Tuesday. The two have spoken about the situation, the governor said. "I think the (lack of) candor is the biggest mistake," Beebe said. "From what I read about what he said he's acknowledged to the extent that he wasn't real candid and forthcoming at the outset about how much it was, about how they did it, about whether it was public or private." Beebe called for more openness in such decisions. "The FOI is there for a reason," he said. "Complying with both the letter and the spirit of the FOI is something we all ought to do." The state Freedom of Information Act requires the governing board of a public entity to reconvene in public after an executive session to formally vote on matters approved in the closed session. Questions have been raised about the legality of making the decision regarding Hardin's bonus in secret and the legality of the bonus itself. The UCA board chairman has asked Attorney General Dustin McDaniel to issue an opinion on whether the fund should be considered public or private money and whether a bonus from that fund could violate a state statue limiting the pay of university employees. Under state law, an institution of higher education may not pay an employee more than the salary level set by the state Legislature, plus 25 percent. Hardin's salary is set by the Legislature at $161,728. He receives the allowed 125 percent of that amount, or $202,160, plus $51,614 in private funds for a total of $253,744. Hardin has said the board planned to replace the $300,000 will donations from private sources. He has also said he may ask the board to vote again on the bonus in open session. |
