Regional Air Quality Council orders outside counsel, authorizes auditor review and approves revised employee handbook after misconduct allegation

The Regional Air Quality Council directed staff to hire outside legal counsel, agreed to move forward with a third‑party financial review and approved a revised employee handbook at its March 6, 2026, board meeting following public comment that included allegations about the agency's executive director.

At the start of the meeting Board Chair Dan Kramer said a quorum was present and the Board heard general public comment in which a former RAQC employee “provided comments regarding allegations of misconduct by the RAQC’s Executive Director,” according to the meeting record. The transcript does not record a response from the Executive Director during the meeting.

Vice Chair Anthony Pratt reported to the Board on ongoing Operations Committee work related to a personnel and financial inquiry connected to the allegations. According to the meeting record, the Board by consensus directed staff to hire outside counsel to advise on open‑meetings requirements, legal issues involving staff and other Board procedural matters in RAQC’s role as a quasi‑governmental entity.

The Board also discussed the selection of a third‑party auditor to perform a financial review and agreed to move forward with the selected auditor, with the Board Secretary assigned to manage logistics for the review. The transcript records the decision as an agreed next step; it does not record a formal roll‑call vote on selecting the auditor or a public summary of the auditor's scope beyond being a financial review linked to the inquiry.

Separately, RAQC’s human resources provider, Kate Eckel of Bluspark HR Solutions, and Executive Director Mike Silverstein presented proposed revisions to the RAQC Employee Handbook. Board members asked clarifying questions about existing policies and the proposed changes, focusing on complaint intake and follow‑up investigations and how Executive Director reviews could be conducted to preserve full staff anonymity. Vice Chair Pratt moved to approve the revised Employee Handbook; Board Member Kristin Stephens seconded the motion, which passed with no objections.

Following passage, the Board requested that staff and the Operations Committee continue work on additional handbook and policy revisions to further clarify processes for staff complaints, investigative follow up and the mechanism for anonymous Executive Director reviews.

The meeting record does not include verbatim quotes from the former employee’s comments, nor does it document any on‑the‑record rebuttal or factual resolution of the allegations during the session. The Board's actions recorded in the minutes are limited to directing legal review, proceeding with a third‑party financial review process, and approving the revised handbook; the transcript does not reflect any disciplinary action or findings against named staff members during this meeting.

The Council adjourned at 11:56 a.m.