[Vendorsmi] Fw: [nfbmi-talk] is this a conflict of interests? hell yes by anymeasure...

[joe harcz Comcast]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz at comcast.net>
To: <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 4:03 PM
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] is this a conflict of interests? hell yes by 
anymeasure...


January 30, 2012



Janet McClelland, Executive Secretary

State Board of Ethics

Michigan Department of Civil Service

P.O. Box 30002

Lansing, MI 48909



Dear Ms. McCIelland:



I am requesting an Advisory Opinion as to whether ethical concerns exist 
because a manager working for the Michigan Commission for the Blind (MCB) 
also serves as a member of the New Horizons board, a non-profit service 
organization.



The Commission is a public rehabilitation agency, located within the 
Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) providing an 
array of services to individuals who are blind or visually impaired, 
including vocational rehabilitation services, independent living services 
for the older blind, youth low vision services for visually impaired 
students in the K-12 system, as well as our Business Enterprise Program 
(BEP), serving as the State Licensing Agency (SLA) for blind entrepreneurs 
running food service facilities on State and Federal properties.  MCB also 
operates a residential Training Center in Kalamazoo, where students learn 
skills of blindness to aid them on their path toward independence.



The Commission was created by Public Act 260 of 1978, and under the statute 
the Commission board is comprised of five members appointed by the Governor. 
Each Commissioner serves for a 3 year term with at least 3 of the 5 
appointees being legally blind and each serves as a voting member of the 
Board.



New Horizons is a nationally recognized, private, not-for-profit 
rehabilitation agency providing quality vocational training and job 
placement in Michigan since 1964 with a primary goal focused on preparing 
people with disabilities for competitive employment and providing the 
necessary skills for consumers to assume responsibility for their own 
long-term success.  New Horizons works with referral and funding sources to 
help make employment services more readily available and accessible to 
persons with disabilities.



The ethics question which has prompted this request for an Advisory Opinion 
centers on Ms. Gwen McNeal, the Manager of the Commission’s Detroit Office, 
who also serves as a New Horizons board member.  A conflict of interest 
question has been raised by a commissioner, as well as by one of two blind 
consumer organizations in the state, the National Federation of the Blind 
(NFB) of Michigan in a resolution adopted at the organization’s state 
convention last November.  All three commissioners are also NFB members, and 
the Commission’s vice-chair is also the President of NFB of Michigan.



Ms. McNeal was first appointed to the New Horizons Board in 2008, with the 
verbal support and approval of her supervisor, Leamon Jones, MCB’s Director 
of Consumer Services.  Ms. McNeal contends that her service on the board is 
not in conflict with her duties as MCB Southeast Region Manager, asserting 
that at no time did she, as a board member, vote on anything coming before 
the board related to financial interactions, contractual arrangements or 
programmatic services with the Commission.  She also rejects as false the 
contentions of the NFB resolution challenging her board service as a 
conflict of interest.



In addition to the points raised in this letter you will also find several 
attachments that may be helpful in formulating an opinion.  These 
attachments include several pieces of correspondence and excerpts from 
minutes.



Is it a conflict of interest under the State Ethics Act, MCL 15.342, for 
Gwen McNeal, a state employee and Manager of MCB’s Southeast Region, to 
continue to serve on the Board of New Horizons?  Thank you for considering 
our request for an Advisory Opinion on these issues.  If you would like any 
additional information please contact me directly at 335-4265.



Sincerely,







Patrick D. Cannon

State Director



Cc:    Steve Arwood

          Gwen McNeal

          New Horizons?

          Marie Lisle

          Melanie Brown

          Leamon Jones

          Larry Posont


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