Nepotism or not? Does it really matter?

by Patrick Gannon, The Insider, May 18, 2015.

It's fairly rare that news out of state government surprises the seasoned and cynical reporters that cover the statehouse.

But an investigative audit released recently by State Auditor Beth Wood had the press room at the Legislative Building buzzing.

Not only did the audit of the state Department of Health and Human Services reveal startling details about alleged wasteful spending and nepotism in the department, but the agency's defensive response to some findings was equally intriguing.

Among the main findings was that a former DHHS manager who retired earlier this year hired many people with personal connections to her. While not named in the audit, Angie Sligh was director of the Office of Medicaid Management Information Systems Services, which was responsible for the computer systems that managed the claims processing for Medicaid providers. The system has undergone a major overhaul the past couple of years.

According to the audit, at least 15 employees working for the office were personally connected to Sligh. They included Sligh's daughter and Sligh's ex-husband and his wife, as well as at least six members of Sligh's church. At least seven of the 15 employees either weren't qualified for their duties or received unjustified pay rates. The audit reported that Sligh directly hired four executive assistants who attended the church and that their starting pay rates exceeded their qualifications.

Other employees learned about jobs at the agency through connections to Sligh, including her hairdresser's sister and her neighbor's daughter, the audit found.

"The OMMISS Director abused her authority by hiring individuals connected to her," it states.

By traditional definition, it's clear this is nepotism – the practice by those with power of favoring friends or relatives, especially by giving them jobs. The audit pointed out that nepotism may conflict with hiring the most qualified candidate for a job, create an appearance of impropriety or lead to inferior service in an organization.

You know what they say about walking and quacking like a duck, right?

But in a rambling, 17-page response, DHHS Secretary Aldona Wos repeatedly nitpicked at the audit, disputing on several occasions whether Sligh actually engaged in nepotism, as defined under state law. Wos pointed out that the state's nepotism policy addresses only individuals who report directly to immediate family members – Sligh's daughter didn't report to Sligh. She also asserted that Sligh's ex-husband and his wife wouldn't qualify as "immediate family members" under the state policy.

But each time she disputed whether Sligh's actions constituted nepotism, Wos acknowledged that such hiring practices aren't proper and could lead to problems. So why argue semantics?

Instead of criticizing the audit, Wos could have pointed out how ridiculous it is that situations like this aren't considered nepotism under state law. That way she wouldn't risk public perception that she was somehow trying to protect Sligh and make the auditor's office look bad, when clearly the agency she leads, even if some of it was before her time at the helm, messed up.

Read the audit at the auditor's website, www.ncauditor.net. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Patrick Gannon can be reached at pgannon@ncinsider.com.