The Marion Soil and Water Conservation District’s former board chair will face no civil penalty after settling an ethics complaint with the state, concluding an investigation into a claim that he used his official position for financial gain.
The Oregon Government Ethics Commission on Dec. 16 approved a stipulated order, which said Terry Hsu would receive a letter of education after he participated in board discussions that resulted in the district paying him. Hsu signed the order two weeks earlier.
According to the order, Hsu violated state ethics law by not staying out of discussions about pay for an open district position he was then selected to fill.
He worked as the district’s general manager for five weeks in the summer of 2021 and was paid $8,500.
“In my opinion, the investigation of my case by (the ethics commission) was not impartial and it would have been forbiddingly costly for me to obtain justice,” Hsu told Salem Reporter in an email Friday. “This is why I decided to conclude the matter at the earliest possible time by stipulated final order and move on.”
Hsu argues the violations “were not willful or intentional” but agreed to the conditions of the settlement to conclude the matter, the order said.
The settlement comes about six months after ethics commission staff recommended a more thorough investigation into the allegations against Hsu in a preliminary report. Six commission members voted unanimously July 8 for a full investigation.
The vote was a rare step for the commission in the Salem area.
The commission received the complaint about Hsu on April 29, signed by Susan Ortiz, programs assistant for the Marion Soil and Water Conservation District.
Hsu served as chair of the district’s board of directors for three years until January. He still serves on the board.
Marion County voters elect seven board directors for a term of four years as unpaid volunteers.
The district formed in 1971 to work on problems impacting the county’s land and water resources, like flood control, riverbank stabilization, weed control and improving soil fertility, according to the district’s fiscal year 2022-23 budget message.
The district has a roughly $3.84 million annual budget and eight employees, most of whom do conservation work for landowners and land managers, the budget message said.
Hsu also worked as the district’s interim manager, a paid position, for five weeks starting in July 2021 while they awaited a new manager.
He contends that he was no longer a voting member of the board at the time he participated in discussion and recommendations about his salary and hours as interim district manager, according to the ethics commission order.
Hsu is a farmer and water resources engineer with over 30 years of experience working on urban civil engineering projects in the west coast and midwest, according to a biography on the district’s website.
At an ethics commission meeting Dec. 16, Hsu encouraged the commission to dismiss his case, but said he signed the stipulated agreement and was ready to accept it. “I do think that the (order) may negatively impact the way small boards such as Marion SWCD will function in the future,” he said.
In public testimony at the meeting, current Vice Board Chair Rochelle Koch said she begged Hsu to step in as interim district manager at a time the board was moving from a Salem office to Stayton with no leadership. She said the “attack” Hsu has received through the case made her question whether she wanted to continue serving on the board.
“Your letter that you just said twisted everything,” Koch said after the investigator in the case listed the findings written in the order. “He didn’t want this position, he took it. He took it gladly. He was the only one that had time and the knowledge to run the office while we didn’t have a manager, and I mean, he has given so much time and energy to Marion Soil and Water without one bit of compensation. He’s never asked for compensation.”
Commissioner Richard Burke asked Hsu at the meeting why he signed the stipulated order if he didn’t agree with it.
“I want this to go away. I wanted it to be done,” Hsu responded. “And if that’s a way that it can get done, and get done quickly, I can accept it.”
The order said that Hsu at least twice used or tried to use his official position for financial gain that wouldn’t otherwise have been available to him if he weren’t on the board already.
Board members may work for the district but under state law must disclose their conflict of interest and refrain from discussion and voting on any topic where they have a conflict. Public officials are also prohibited from trying to use their official position to obtain financial gain or avoid financial detriment for themselves.
Hsu initiated a discussion at an April 2021 board meeting about compensating himself for his volunteer time as a board member. According to the order, he disclosed a conflict of interest only after making a comment about what would be fair to him.
He later made recommendations at a July 2021 meeting about salary and hours which resulted in him being hired as interim district manager and receiving pay, the order said, adding that he failed to disclose a conflict of interest before discussing the policy.
Hsu told the board how much he makes as an engineer, as well as the lowest amount he would accept.
In response to the complaint, he denied he voted on his pay or took part in board members’ discussions about hiring for the position. He also denied the allegations against him in the preliminary report, saying he relinquished his role as chair and stayed on the board as a non-voting member.
Hsu did announce a conflict of interest and abstain from voting on hiring and pay for the position, but the discussions he participated in resulted in him signing a contract to be paid $11,900 over seven weeks, according to the order.
The board in August 2021 cut that pay to $8,500 over five weeks after learning the new district manager would be starting sooner than expected.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
