FREMONT, Neb. — A member of the Dodge County Board was fined by the state of Nebraska for charging the Three Rivers Health Department, on whose board he served, a $10,000 commission for brokering the sale of a building.
The County Board member, Rob George, is a Fremont real estate agent and a partner in Don Peterson and Associates. The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission notified him last month of the $250 fine and the requirement that his company relinquish its claim to the $10,000 commission.
George didn't immediately return a phone message Monday seeking comment.
Ron Hineline of Blair, a Washington County Board member who served with George on the health department board, brought the matter to the attention of state officials.
Washington, Saunders and Dodge Counties each appoints a supervisor or commissioner to the health department board, which also includes citizens from those counties. George's term on the health department board ended Jan. 12. He has been on the Dodge County Board since 2002.
There was no mention of paying a sales commission to George until after the health department purchased a building at 2400 N. Lincoln St. in Fremont last July for $495,000, Hineline said.
Hineline said the board voted to pay $10,000 to George, over Hineline's objection. Hineline argued that a contract with George had not been approved before the sale.
"It was just absolutely ridiculous," Hineline said. "People on the board with outside expertise are invaluable, but normally they don't nick you for $10,000."
Frank Daley, chairman of the State Accountability and Disclosure Commission, said the fee was unlawful because "public officials are not allowed to have interest in a contract with their governing body" unless there has been an open and public process. The health department board didn't have a contract with George before paying the commission, Daley said.
Daley said Don Peterson and Associates refunded the $10,000 sales commission and renounced all future claims to the money.
"The essence of it is that Mr. George performed services for Three Rivers Health Department, and state law prohibits him from having an interest in a contract unless there has been a public notice of the board's agenda and a public hearing of the contract," Daley said.
Brandi Tumbleson, who took over as director of the health department on Aug. 1, said she was aware of "the conflict of interest" and has worked with the board to ensure that future contracts are properly approved.
"It was really unfortunate that everything went forward like that," Tumbleson said. "We're now at a point of resolution, and we just want to move forward in a positive manner for the community."
Contact the writer: 402-444-1272, kevin.cole@owh.com
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