Fear of putting STRS in 'gray area' prompted Buser to leave its board
It was a Friday when Stephen Buser became aware of a potential conflict of interest related to his spot on the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio's board.
The following Monday he handed in his resignation.
For Buser, a retired Ohio State University professor, it was a case of better safe than sorry.
"I don't want myself or the system to be in a gray area, ever," Buser said.
Buser, appointed to the board in January 2005 by the state Treasurer's Office as an investment expert, became aware of the potential conflict when informed by the system's lawyer that a firm he had previously consulted for had recently scheduled a sales call with the system.
According to the Treasurer's Office, Ohio rules maintain any company that once employed Buser cannot solicit the state for business while he is on the system's board, said spokesman Brian Cunningham.
Buser's resignation, effective Aug. 17, came amid increased scrutiny of the retirement system by the Ohio Ethics Commission.
That examination resulted in convictions of former STRS Executive Director Herb Dyer and two past board members for taking gifts from existing or potential vendors to the system. Dyer's conviction came last September and the board trustees were convicted in April and June of this year.
Those convictions in Franklin County Municipal Court, as well as a 2004 state law further regulating financial disclosures and ethics at the pension systems - which stemmed in part from dissatisfaction over how the State Teachers Retirement System had been run - led to a raised awareness of ethics issues at the pension systems, said Paul Nick, chief investigative attorney with the Ohio Ethics Commission.
The system has required ethics training for board and staff members for three years, said spokeswoman Laura Ecklar.
Buser said the heightened awareness and ethics training, prompted him to take potential conflicts of interest more seriously.
"Before I would have assumed something like this was acceptable as long as I recuse myself and not vote on it," he said.
But simply being on the board and having an association with a company that could do business with the system could lead to the impression of a conflict, Buser said.
"I don't think I would have appreciated that, or not as quickly," he said.
Board member Dennis Leone, a retired school superintendent from Chillicothe, said Buser's experience as an educator and investment expert made him a valuable contributor.
"He was one board member who, even if he disagreed with you, would consider other viewpoints," said Leone, who in 2003 helped spearhead Dyer's ouster and subsequent efforts to reform spending controls and policy at the system.
Leone joined the board in September 2005 but said he hasn't gotten along with all board members, including Judith Dunn Fisher.
She quit June 30, citing a dispute with a board member whom she did not identify.
In an Aug. 7 letter to state Treasurer Jennette B. Bradley, Buser stated he would return compensation he received from the firm that had solicited the system, in addition to resigning from the board. Buser would not identify the company.
Though the system has put in place measures to inform its board and staff of ethics requirements, it is under continued scrutiny from a task force investigating allegations of bribery at the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, which has widened its investigation to include the pension systems.
Buser said he's confident ethics procedures at the system are effective, he said.
"Even though there are still some investigations ... I'm not aware of any recent concerns," Buser said.
Employees and board members of the system are aware how stringent ethics oversight has become in the wake of the convictions at the teachers retirement system and the allegations swirling around the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, Buser said.
"Everyone is on notice and everyone is comfortable with that," he said.
Buser said his decision was his own.
"If I thought (the system) was really in bad shape in terms of investment, where someone really needed my assistance," he said, "I would undoubtedly try to stick it out through potential conflicts."
That would likely have meant going to the state Ethics Commission for assistance, he said.
"For me, I couldn't see the positives outweighing the negatives," Buser said.
Gov. Bob Taft's office will appoint Fisher's replacement, and Bradley's office is responsible for refilling Buser's vacant seat.
posted by Kathie Bracy at 12:20 AM
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