#MTGov Daily Rundown: DPHHS Auditor accuses Bullock Admin of More Wrongdoing

Yesterday, news broke that former DPHHS Audit Bureau Chief filed a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination, because she refused to violate the law and make improper payments.

"The state has been hit with a wrongful termination lawsuit from a former employee of the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services.

Carol Bondy, the the former Audit Bureau Chief of DPHHS, claims she was fired after refusing to violate several public policies, despite being directed to do so by DPHHS." -MTN News, 10/25/2016


The article notes that Bondy cried foul over a payment that was being made to a contractor with strong ties to the Democratic Party.

Bondy was concerned about the Montana PEAKS (Performers in Education and Acquisition Knowledge Systems) contract. She says this group was given a contract even though the Audit Bureau had advised management the contractor was not entitled to payment.

The lawsuit states: “Bondy expressed her concerns that the payment was improperly being made because this particular contractor had strong political ties to the Democratic Party.” -MTN News, 10/25/2016


DeAnne Cooney, wife of Lieutenant Governor Mike Cooney, has now recused herself from the lawsuit due to a potential conflict of interest.

"District Judge DeeAnn Cooney has recused herself from presiding over a wrongful discharge lawsuit filed by a former state auditor against the State of Montana, her clerk confirmed in a Wednesday email.

Cooney was appointed to the job by Gov. Steve Bullock in December upon the retirement of Judge Jeffrey Sherlock, and is running for election to hold that seat. She also is the wife of Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney, whom Bullock appointed a couple of months later.

The case in question involves allegations leveled broadly at the governor and his staff." -Helena IR, 10/26/2016

Other DPHHS auditors who are tasked with holding state agencies accountable have accused administration officials of retaliating against them for doing their job.

"Former Montana auditors have accused state officials of discouraging Department of Health and Human Services staffers from investigating a variety of questioned payments dating back to 2005." -Helena IR, 9/11/2016

"Emails from current and former DPHHS staffers, along with court filings and whistleblower complaints obtained by the Independent Record, identified at least seven long-tenured state employees who raised red flags before they were demoted or fired. At least three staffers who raised questions were accused of insubordination before being fired. 

Two of those staffers claim high-level administrators, acting on orders from Bullock, pushed through “questionable” welfare payments to important Democratic voting blocs on Indian reservations and ignored DPHHS auditors’ questions about hefty checks cut to major welfare program contractors. Bullock, through a spokeswoman, flatly denied those claims." -Helena IR, 9/11/2016

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported earlier this month that the Bullock Administration has paid more than $900,000  to settle employee claims. The administration refuses to say why in most cases, and at least one legal expert says that the administration is violating the law.

"Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock’s administration has paid more than $900,000 in settlements to state employees over the last three years, according to public records. On most, state agencies won’t say why.

The state has paid 42 employees settlements totaling more than $745,000. Each is listed as 'confidential' in the state’s checkbook, which has been published online since 2013, the year Bullock first took office. The payments range in amounts from $120 to $122,000." -Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 10/13/2016


One former employee said that the settlements were, at times used to cover up misdeeds and prevent whistle blowing.

"One former employee who received a large settlement payment said, in some cases, state agencies use the confidential payments to cover up misdeeds." -Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 10/13/2016

"A former state employee, speaking to the Chronicle on the condition of anonymity for fear of being sued by the state, said they were fired in 2015 after nearly 10 years on the job. The state agency cited mandatory staff reductions in the termination. The former employee filed a complaint with the Human Rights Bureau that alleged discrimination.

'Less than 24 hours later (the agency) called and offered a settlement,' the former state employee said. The settlement amount, more than $50,000, was contingent in part upon a contract to never disclose the settlement. And the former state employee believes that the firing was in retaliation for whistleblower activities." -Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 10/13/2016


The Chronicle requested details of the settlements under Freedom of Information, but their requests were denied.

"In September, the Chronicle filed public records requests seeking details of the payments with six state agencies that had issued them: the departments of Justice, Revenue, Natural Resources and Conservation, Transportation, Public Health and Human Services, and Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Each request was rejected." -Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 10/13/2016

An expert in Montana's FOIA law says that denying access to these records likely violates state law.

"Mike Meloy, a Helena lawyer who represents the Montana Freedom of Information Hotline, said the state agencies are likely in violation of the state’s open records laws.

Montana’s Constitution reads: 'No person shall be deprived of the right to examine documents or to observe the deliberations of all public bodies or agencies of state government and its subdivisions, except in cases in which the demand of individual privacy clearly exceeds the public’s right to know.'" -Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 10/13/2016