Salmon breaching professional ethics? (and is a rematch with Hoffer likely?)

You beat me to the punch, Odum! ;) (0.00 / 0)

So I will just add my little piece (unedited) here in the comments:

Vermont State Auditor, Tom Salmon, who seems to be on a perpetual campaign for some other office...perhaps any other office...has characteristically issued a press-release on the recent Vermont Yankee court decision.

This time, he seems to be pitching for States Attorney, as he targets the very decision to challenge  VY, undertaken by Mr. Sorrell at the Legislature's behest.

Mr. Salmon continues to have some kind of misapprehension as to the appropriate scope of his elected office.  According to the auditor's official website, his statutory duties include only the following:

 • performance audits executed in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards promulgated by the U.S. Government Accountability Office;

 • the annual audit of the State's financial statements, commonly known as the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR);

 • the annual Federal Single Audit, which requires states, local governments, and nonprofit organizations expending over $500,000 in federal awards in a year to obtain an audit in accordance with requirements set forth in the Single Audit Act.;

 • audits or reviews as statutorily required by the Legislature, such as the law requiring all tax increment financing districts to be audited once every three years.

I see nothing in there that would suggest it is his official role to evaluate policy and charges handed-down by the Legislature for execution by other elected officials.

Himself considerably overstepping the boundaries of political neutrality that would seem essential to the office of any auditor, he  goes so far as to say:

"It's time to stop playing political games with taxpayer dollars," Salmon said. "Vermont is not some kind of renewable energy utopia."

And to postulate that

This is money and attention that could be better spent on activities that will promote a stable energy, workforce and taxation environment. Such predictability has been absent over the past five years in Vermont.

As if to validate his privilege to opine, "I told you so," he quotes from a particularly garbled missive which he sent to the Governor Douglas, Governor Shumlin, Speaker Smith, and others concerning Vermont Yankee and S 373, the bill that required that Entergy agree to fully fund decommissioning.

"I am concerned that the bill S373 could add undue risk to the state. Perhaps key questions and sufficient answers have been attained in the legislative process. We cannot substantiate nor take a position in such a short timeframe. Again, as accountants and auditors we believe that a quality process with due diligence produces a fair outcome......May this letter respectfully recommend to lawmakers that this decision entail sufficient understanding of the fiscal impacts and consequences of this bill."

It is beyond me what his purpose is other than to demonstrate his own lack of conviction that Entergy could be compelled to fully fund decommissioning.  If that is the case, it would appear that the Public Service Board should have no problem coming to the conclusion that allowing Entergy to continue operating would not be in the best economic interests of the state.
Even the 8/31/10 report on the VY Decommissioning Fund which he helpfully links to in his press-release seems to bear out the intractability of Entergy, and their unwillingness to live up to the spirit of their decommissioning commitment.
I really am at a total loss to know what Mr. Salmon thinks he has to gain here.
He only succeeds in demonstrating once again how irrelevant he feels in the role of auditor and how anxious he is to move into some other role where the spotlight will be warmer.    

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by: Sue Prent @ Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 21:58:15 PM UTC

Our man Salmon (0.00 / 0)

seems once again(or still?)to be listening to the inner governor(or senator?)lurking in the back of his mind.

I hope Doug Hoffer steps-up to run again.

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by: BP @ Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 00:29:46 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

RUN DOUG, RUN!! (4.00 / 1)

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by: reelvermonter @ Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 12:34:26 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

for (4.00 / 3)

a more general take on Mr. Salmon's press release, here are comments I posted later in the day in response to a guy who cheered Mr. Salmon's remarks (this got bounced off the front page so virtually no one saw it)

Mr. Hudson

You missed the point. The issue is not whether we agree with the decisions of the legislature and the governor; only whether and in what circumstances the State Auditor should weigh in on such matters.

In this case, Mr. Salmon expressed personal views not supported by audit findings. While Vermonters are free to speak out, Government Auditing Standards require the State Auditor to be objective. This is not the first time Mr. Salmon has compromised his objectivity.

In addition, decisions by our elected officials are unavoidably subjective and cannot be audited. Mr. Salmon's comments were about policy decisions. The fact that money was spent reflects choices made by our elected officials. That's their job; it's not Mr. Salmon's. Look at this statement by Mr. Salmon:

"It's time to stop playing political games with taxpayer dollars, Vermont is not some kind of renewable energy utopia."

The "political game" he refers to is the result of elections and decisions made after careful consideration and extensive debate. Obviously, Mr. Salmon disagrees with those decisions. If he was a member of the legislature (or governor) he could participate in such decisions. This press release, like so many other pronouncements from Mr. Salmon, suggests that he would prefer to be a legislator or chief executive. But he's not. He's the State Auditor and he should act like one.

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by: Doug Hoffer @ Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 13:38:41 PM UTC

Well said, Doug! (0.00 / 0)

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by: Sue Prent @ Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 15:17:26 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The Hoffer Campaign (0.00 / 0)

Hoffer would be a better Auditor.  No question about it.  

However, Hoffer's last campaign for Auditor was abysmal.  It lacked organization.  It lacked energy.  There wasn't a lot of effort put in to actually connecting with Vermonters on a human level.  

Like it or not, winning elections means shaping your message and your image to meet expectations of the voters.  Last time out, his campaign attempted to defy this reality and he failed.  

At the very least, Hoffer should take a good, hard, objective look at the shortcomings of his last campaign.  He needs to get some help and advice from people outside of his circle.  Learn.  Adapt.  Then Win.

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by: Hugo @ Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 16:44:34 PM UTC