MCHD CEO CLAIMS HARASSMENT AND VEXATIOUS REQUESTS

• MCHD Board to vote on Amendment to By laws that will restrict board members authority
• Same Amendment to centralize power in Board Chairman Harold Posey

County Citizen 9/22/2015

MCHD CEO Randy Johnson has submitted an agenda item  ( ITEM # 10 ) for consideration at today’s MCHD board meeting styled in part ~ AMENDING THE BY-LAWS OF THE GOVERNING BOARD REGARDING AUTHORITY OF BOARD MEMBERS
The measure if approved will result in centralization of investigative powers of elected board members in Chairman Harold Posey- the amendment reads ~
“Board Members shall have no authority except when functioning as a member of the Board in an official meeting. No individual member of the Board may exercise authority with respect to the operation of the Health Care Assistance Program, Public Health Department and Clinic, or the Emergency Medical Service or of services Montgomery County Hospital District employees by virtue of their status as Board Members.”

And more comprehensively as follows –
“Board Members should seek and obtain permission from the Board Chair before making any requests for information or having contact with MCHD employees other than the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer or EMS Director. While the Board Chair shall seek to ensure that other Board Members are afforded a robust opportunity to obtain such information as is necessary to perform their official functions and duties as Board Members, the Board Chair retains the authority to establish guidelines as to the extent and duration of requests for information to District employees from other Board Members so as to minimize disruption in the workplace at the District and to curtail harassment as a result of multiple or vexatious requests that are found by the Board Chair to be brought in bad faith or in furtherance of matters not within the official functions or duties of the requesting Board Member.”

Ken Fawn, Position 2 Board Member stated he was not behind the measure championed by current chairman, Harold Posey but would be voting in favor of it. “ I’m going to vote for it. I think it’s a needed thing” “board members have certain responsibilities to the Board members… and if they have an issue with something then what they need to do is to bring it before the chairman and present their case rather than running around in the woods picking up sticks and then doing something with them”.

To the notion that the public votes for individual board members with the expectation that they act independently Fawn states that “most of the board members don’t want to be interfering with the day to day operations of the organization or the responsibilities of the chief executive officer” and “ if a board member goes out .. standing on the Chief operating officers shoulder or in someone’s back pocket saying I don’t like this , I like that, I want this I want that, then he cannot exercise his ( the CEO )sole responsibility.”
According to Fawn, “it can if it’s an excessive amount. If I stand in your office every day and I give you a list of 20 things that I want and then I come back to your office tomorrow and I give you another two lists of 20 things I want or something like that that is interfering with the operation because they have the operation to run and respond to a board member, that take time and effort out of the operation of the district.
“It says, ( the amendment) during a regular meeting, which occurs once a month a board member has full authority to exercise whatever responsibility he wants and ask as many questions as he wants at that time”
Fawn described a scenario of how board members should operate in his view,
“If I think for example that a unit is spending money unnecessarily for ( an item)I can go to the board members and say, hey I don’t like this policy, I want to change it, let’s have a special board meeting and change that policy or procedure.”
“If a board member or the public has concerns about how the organization is going then the full board needs to be involved in discussion about how the organization is run.” said Fawn.
That the amendment would make the chairman the gatekeeper of all inquiry, Fawn agreed, “ all inquiries outside a regular board meeting”.. nothing in it precludes a board member in a regular meeting from voicing his concerns about what’s going on and at that time all of the board members would hear the members concerns and they, individually or as a group can decide, yes, that is an issue… we need to address it or they can say, yeah, your just picking up sticks and that’s all your doing.”

However, under the new regime with Board Chairman as information gatekeeper an individual member would be unable to discern whether or not there were any issues of concern in the first place due to the inability to perform independent inquiry. To that Ken Fawn offered no answer.
And that appears to be the way the Chairman wants it. But Why?
On the subject, MCHD CEO Randy Johnson denied that he played any role in the development of the By-law amendment or even complaining to the Board of its necessity inspite of the fact that the agenda item submitted bears his name as its sponsor.
As to the effect of centralizing power in the Chairman and restricting the investigative powers of other elected board members Johnson said : “if it does that they need to vote against it”

Other MCHD board members that could be reached by phone are not supportive.
Georgette Whatley, Position 3 who rejects the idea of limiting the investigative power of elected board members called the measure “ridiculous” and will vote against it. Meanwhile Precinct 4 board member Bob Bagley rejects the By law Amendment as an abuse of board member responsibilities.
In attempting to contact the MCHD chairman for comment CEO Randy Johnson when asked for Harold Posey’s cell phone numbers stated, “ well I don’t know if I should be giving that out,uh, you can call him on his home phone I’m guessing.” “ I don’t know it of the top of my head.”
Taking the opportunity for a follow up question, Johnson replied, “give me one more question and that’s it cause I need to do some work” but when asked if the fact that agenda item #10 was submitted in his name contradicted his previous statement that he had nothing to do with the Development of the amendment that decries harassment and multiple vexatious requests for information, Johnson state, “No it does not”
And whether he has been the victim of such requests? Johson said “uh, you’ll have to talk to Mr. Posey”

MCHD Board meeting is today at 4:PM
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
1400 S. Loop 336 West, Conroe, Texas 77304