Coast CEO hiring private investigator to figure out how newspaper obtained his contract proposal

Coast RTA General Manager Myers Rollins plans to hire a private investigator to find out who gave the Herald a copy of his written request for a raise.

Two weeks ago, the newspaper reported that Rollins was seeking a new five-year contract and a salary increase of nearly 11 percent, despite the fact that the bus service was in danger of losing state and local funding.

The story cited several documents, including Rollins’ proposed contract.

After the story appeared, a Coast official called one of the reporters who wrote it and asked him how the Herald had obtained the documents.

The reporter declined to reveal that information.

That led to Rollins emailing Coast board members last week and decrying the leak as a “despicable act.”

The CEO noted that Coast’s staff attorney would be hiring a firm to investigate the situation and find out who released the document.

“The leak of the proposal, or any confidential document [,] not only compromises our ability to negotiate a new agreement, it also violates an important requirement of trust,” Rollins wrote. “As board members, and employees, each of us has a specific legal, moral and ethical obligation to protect information such as a contract proposal. I have no doubt that the Leaker[’]s motivation was to prevent us from reaching agreement on a new employment contract. However, even the SC Freedom of Information Act supports the proposition that ongoing contract negotiations need to be exempt from FOIA and public scrutiny.”

Despite Rollins’ assertions, public bodies are not required to shield these records from disclosure. The state’s FOIA says public bodies “may” but are not obligated to withhold “documents incidental to proposed contractual arrangements.”

“The public certainly has a right to know what’s on the table, I think, especially if it includes an 11 percent raise,” said Bill Rogers, executive director of the S.C. Press Association. “In this economy, nobody’s getting an 11 percent raise.”

Rollins noted in his email that releasing the documents would be a “breach of trust” and a “terminable offense” for any Coast employee.

“Every Coast RTA employees signs a ‘Code of Conduct’ that makes leaking information a breach of their fiduciary duty to the organization,” Rollins wrote. “By comparison, our own bylaws are silent on information sharing and disclosure. However, board members are expected to adhere to and to promote the organization and their oath of office.”

The press association’s Rogers took issue with this statement as well, saying Rollins’ approach stifles workers’ speech.

“They can’t be muzzled by these codes of conduct,” he said. “They have a First Amendment right to say what they want to say and a duty, I think, to speak up if they think something’s wrong. And to be bound by some code of conduct is ridiculous.”

So who will pay for this investigation?

Coast board member Gary Loftus said Rollins has a $2,500 spending account that he can use without board approval.

Both Loftus and board chairman Bernard Silverman said the board has not set aside any money for an investigation and doesn’t plan to.

“I’m hoping that goes away and nobody bothers with it,” Silverman said. “It’s going to be fruitless. I think it’s going to be another waste of time.”

But Rollins insists he’s moving forward with the inquiry.

Michelle Cantey, a public relations consultant hired to represent Coast, said the general manager plans to pay for the investigation out of his own pocket.

She said Rollins’ position is that his contract shouldn’t be released until it’s finalized. Cantey also noted that the CEO has refused a raise in recent years and requested a higher-than-usual amount this year as a starting point for negotiations, which he believes have been disrupted by the Herald’s report.

Cantey added that the leak has hurt morale at the agency by raising concerns about who can be trusted.

Other issues

Rollins has been rated as “excellent” by the Coast board for eight years, but his request for a raise comes at a time when the agency is under fire for its handling of a botched bus shelter program.

State officials canceled the program late last year after years of little progress and last week they informed Coast that the bus service would have to pay back more than $320,000 or see its state funding reduced by that amount.

Horry County officials, who budget more than $1 million for Coast each year, have also grown concerned about the management of the agency and created a committee to examine the recent problems.

That committee is scheduled to meet Monday at 5:30 p.m. at the Government and Justice Center in Conway.

Charles D. Perry • 488-7258