The Arkansas Board of Examiners in Counseling couldn't adequately justify its decision to designate Sherwood as the official work station for former Executive Director Alan Pogue because Pogue could only complete his primary job duties in the agency's Magnolia office, a state auditor said Thursday.

But deputy legislative auditor Jon Moore said auditors aren't recommending that the state attempt to recoup his travel expenses between Sherwood and Magnolia because Pogue had followed the board's instructions.

Pogue needed to be in the agency's office to supervise employees and to review license application materials, Moore said. He was reimbursed $6,838 for mileage, lodging and meals related to travel between his work station/home in Sherwood and the agency office in Magnolia in fiscal years 2013 and 2014.

While most state agencies have their headquarters in the capital, the counseling board had been based 140 miles southwest, in a city with a total population of 11,713. It moved to Little Rock in October.

The board regulates about 2,000 counselors in mental health, marriage and family therapy.

State auditors "didn't feel like it would be appropriate to recommend that he reimburse [the state for the money]," Moore said Thursday in an interview after an audit of the board was presented to the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee's Committee on State Agencies.

Pogue "filed his travel correctly, given that was his official station," Moore said.

Pogue, who resigned as the board's director at the end of April, said the board followed the state's travel regulations, "although the spin seemed to be that we still did something wrong."

The Division of Legislative Audit "was encouraged to find something wrong, and they found that we did it right," said Pogue, who narrowly lost to state Rep. Jim Nickels, D-Sherwood, in the 2012 election. Pogue ran again this year for the House seat, losing in the Republican primary.

The division said that the state's travel regulations allow that employees may be paid travel expenses when required to travel away from "their 'official station' on state business."

The regulations define an employee's "official station" as the "geographic location or address where the employee normally reports for duty and/or spends the majority of his/her productive time and must be designated as such in writing by the employer."

The regulations also state that "private vehicle mileage shall be reimbursed and computed between the employee's official station or residence, if leaving directly from the residence, whichever is less," according to the audit.

On Dec. 7, 2012, the board voted to hire Pogue as the interim executive director, and to study moving the agency's office from Magnolia to central Arkansas, the audit states. The board also voted to designate Pogue's residence in Sherwood as his official station and pay his expenses for travel to Magnolia, according to the audit.

On May 10, 2013, the board approved hiring Pogue as the permanent executive director. His "official station" became Little Rock once the agency left Magnolia on Oct. 1.

A time and activity log provided by Pogue and his travel reimbursement forms for Jan. 1, 2013, through July 26, 2013, indicated that his time at work was divided evenly between Magnolia and Sherwood/Little Rock, the audit states. During this period, Pogue spent 135 hours (11 percent of his work hours) traveling between Sherwood and Magnolia, according to the audit.

The auditors recommended that the board consult with the state's chief fiscal officer when designating a location other than the agency office as an employee's official station and designate a board member to review and approve the executive director's travel reimbursements.

Board Chairman Mark Coffman of Russellville told lawmakers that the board agrees with the auditors' recommendations.

Metro on 06/08/2014