MONTGOMERY — Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors members and staff were questioned by lawmakers on Thursday after State Rep. Matt Simpson (R-Daphne) called for a state investigation into the board’s previous administrative services company.
Smith Warren Management is a private administrative company that contracts with multiple state occupational licensing boards to provide administrative services. A state audit of one of those boards the company previously managed, the Board of Electrical Contractors, was released on Wednesday.
The audit found that "on May 2, 2022, the Board purchased a 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe at a cost of $32,500.00. The Board utilized this vehicle to run errands and pick up mail from the Central Mail Room. After the Board's purchase of the vehicle, the Board's investigator continued to travel around the state performing investigative duties in a personal vehicle and claim mileage reimbursement, rather than using the Board's vehicle. Subsequently, on January 31, 2024, the Board purchased a 2023 Ford F-150 at a cost of $56,696.00 and assigned it to the investigator."
The audit also found that the board paid for services that should have been included in the contract with Smith Warren. The contract was to provide administrative services and facilities, including an executive director, staff, investigators, legal assistant, finance and accounting, offices, equipment, conference room, and any other services to facilitate the licensing and regulation of electrical contracting at a cost of $42,500.00 per month ($510,000.00 per year).
Additional costs billed to the board were $30,868.53 for an investigator, $44,430.47 for a "policy director/state government liaison," and $6,962.96 in employee benefits for the two employees.
Jeremy Atchley, a Board of Electrical Contractors member, told lawmakers on Thursday at a Sunset Committee meeting the “policy director/state government liaison” was Alva Lambert, a retired state employee.
Atchley said the board initially approved his hiring but eventually started asking questions about who he worked for.
“When we asked this question, he immediately resigned,” Atchley said.
Keith Warren, owner of Smith Warren Management, said in a letter to lawmakers on Thursday afternoon that Lambert’s role was approved by the board on May 2023 and created to “work with the Governor’s Office, the Legislature, and to assist with consulting on legislative and policy matters. The liaison also attended Board meetings as required.”
The Board of Electrical Contractors voted to drop its administrative services contract with Smith Warren in August. In September, the board announced Tiffany Loveless as its new executive director at a meeting in Montgomery. Loveless will handle the board's administrative services. Loveless also currently serves as the executive director of the Alabama General Contractors Board.
“There was a level of trust there that we felt like we were in good hands and then when we started asking questions we realized that it was a situation that we felt like we were getting taken advantage of so we changed administrative services,” Atchley said at the meeting.
Warren said in a statement on Thursday, “Smith Warren has actively worked with the Board to address these and other concerns to ensure all financial obligations–except for administrative management fees–were met by the end of the fiscal year.”
“At the June 17, 2024, meeting, I voluntarily and temporarily withheld our remaining administrative services invoices, resulting in a $170,000 delay in expenses for the fiscal year. It was agreed that these invoices would be reconsidered at a future meeting once all financial obligations of the board have been fulfilled,” Warren said.
Simpson accused Smith Warren Management of “stealing money” from licensing boards on Wednesday and called for the Attorney General’s Office to investigate.
Simpson said on Thursday, “We have people taking advantage of other people’s money to just throw it more into their pocket, into their association.”
“The money that you receive comes from the fees, the licensure requirements that you have from electrical contractors. It’s not a question of, ‘I’m just not going to pay it.’ If someone wants to feed their family, if someone wants to be able to bring a paycheck or do a job, they have to pay these licensure fees. Money was taken from hardworking business individuals, hardworking electrical contractors to the extent of $510,000 was not enough to do their job that they needed to take a little more above and beyond. When I say a little more, $82,261.96 above and beyond the $510,000 that they contracted for, above and beyond the vehicle that they purchased that they didn’t tell you guys about,” Simpson said at the meeting.
Sunset Letter - ECB - 10-24-24 by Caleb Taylor on Scribd
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
