[StBernard] Retiring St. Bernard port director paid better than peers; replacement was quietly named without search

[Westley Annis]

Retiring St. Bernard port director paid better than peers; replacement was
quietly named without search
BY GORDON RUSSELL | GRUSSELL at THEADVOCATE.COM  MAY 2, 2017 - 5:45 PM  (0)
  
With a salary of nearly $270,000, the director of the St. Bernard Parish
port earns substantially more than all but one of his Louisiana peers, and
nearly as much as his counterpart at the much larger and more complex Port
of New Orleans, records show.

What's more, for the last three-plus years, the St. Bernard Port, Harbor and
Terminal District has provided director Robert Scafidel with a driver who
squires him back and forth every day between his home outside Covington and
the port, a drive of more than 50 miles each way.

Scafidel, 70, who on April 11 announced his retirement effective June 30,
reached his highest salary last year after receiving a series of raises over
the preceding half-decade that boosted his pay by roughly 50 percent. And
his state pension, which he will begin receiving July 1, will be based on
his three highest-earning years.

Scafidel's departure has been in the works for a while. In fact, seven
months ago, the port's four-member board quietly named Scafidel's longtime
understudy, Drew Heaphy, to replace him.

The port did not conduct a search or alert the public that it was seeking a
new chief. In fact, when the board voted in September to give Heaphy the job
effective July 1, the item was listed on the meeting's agenda as: "Approval
of amendment to the Director of Administration/Planning Services' contract."

The maneuver - essentially unnoticed at the time - has not sat well with
some critics of the port, which has taken knocks over the years for its
business practices, some of which were highlighted in a critical 2014
legislative audit.

State Rep. Ray Garofalo, R-Chalmette, one of three lawmakers who makes
recommendations to the governor on board appointments, issued a statement
Tuesday saying that "it is apparent that transparency was lacking" in the
elevation of Heaphy to the top spot.

Garofalo stressed that he likes Heaphy, and that Heaphy might well have
turned out to be the best candidate for the job, but he said he believes the
board ought to have conducted a national or at least a regional search.

"Such a search would have promoted the ultimate goal of transparency and a
higher level of public confidence in the individual hired to replace Mr.
Scafidel," Garofalo's statement said.

He went on to pose a challenge of sorts to the board, asking members whether
they would be willing to consider shelving Heaphy's revised contract to
allow for a full vetting of potential candidates.

Elton "Jock" LeBlanc, who has served on the port's board for decades, said
in an interview with The Advocate that he was confident there was no need to
look beyond Heaphy.

"Why would I want to do a search when I got a guy who's been there 17 or 18
years and done a terrific job?" LeBlanc asked. "Why would I want to look
somewhere else? You look for the best, and we had the best."

Even though the impending vacancy in the top job was never advertised,
LeBlanc said people in the know were aware that Scafidel was leaving.

"There was people coming out of the woodwork that wanted that job, because
it's a lucrative job," he said.

Cheri Quigley, who joined the board more recently, said she had voted for
Heaphy because of his qualifications - he is a certified public accountant
with a business degree, she said - and because he had capably filled in for
Scafidel previously.

"For now, I think he's the right person to be there," Quigley said. "We felt
it would be best to have some continuity when Dr. Scafidel stepped down. I
don't think there was anyone else who could step in seamlessly."

Former St. Bernard Parish President Charlie Ponstein said an interview that
he believes Heaphy - who once served in his parish administration - is
better qualified than anyone the port has ever appointed as director.

"Back in the day, it wasn't based on experience," Ponstein said. "It was
based on being close to the politicians."

Indeed, Scafidel and his predecessor, Irwin Ruiz, both had been
administrators with the St. Bernard Parish public school system before
moving to the port. Scafidel also served in a similar role at Nunez
Community College.

Scafidel was hired by the port as deputy director in April 1998 and was
promoted to the top job the next month.

The 2014 audit by Louisiana Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera's office
criticized the port for poor business practices and suggested its leaders
had gotten too cozy with certain public officials.

It noted, for instance, that port officials had signed lucrative monthly
retainer contracts with two recently retired politicians, a former state
representative and a former judge. Those arrangements ended only when the
officials died.

Since the audit, port leaders created a new job especially for a local
lawyer immediately after his release from federal prison for bribing a
judge.

They also have taken heat over the controversial expropriation of a stretch
of riverfront in Violet - a move they have so far successfully defended in
court. The parcel's former owners, who have appealed to the state Supreme
Court, claim the port seized their property only to turn it over to a rival
company whose owners were friendly with port officials.

The 2014 audit also flagged Scafidel's benefits package, noting that the
board voted to give him a series of raises without any formal review of his
work. In fact, many of the raises were granted automatically.

The audit also faulted the board for its failure to assess Scafidel's
performance; meeting minutes indicate the board has since corrected that
problem.

Quigley told The Advocate that Scafidel's contract and raises were
negotiated before her tenure on the board.

But LeBlanc forcefully defended Scafidel's benefits package, as did longtime
board member Harold Anderson.

"We believe Dr. Scafidel was worth every penny that we as a board decided to
grant him," Anderson said. "He was one of the most competent people the port
has ever had."

LeBlanc said Scafidel oversaw a period of tremendous growth at the port.

"He's done a terrific job and should have been paid what he's making,"
LeBlanc said. "The man ought to go out with real honors. He's done a
wonderful job, and he ought to be rewarded with a wonderful sendoff."

As for giving Scafidel a personal driver, LeBlanc said the board decided to
do it because Scafidel suffered from a medical problem.

Heaphy said the man who typically chauffeurs his boss, Marty Nunez, lives in
Slidell, so he doesn't have to drive all the way from Chalmette to Covington
to fetch Scafidel every morning.

Still, the drive from Slidell to Covington is about 35 miles, meaning Nunez
commutes approximately 170 miles in a port-owned car each day.

Heaphy, who lives in Arabi and who will not have a driver, will also start
off making a lot less than Scafidel.

His contract, which extends through 2021, calls for him to receive annual
salary increases of 4 percent. It also gave him a merit increase on Jan. 1,
meaning he is now making about $180,000 and will reach $220,000 by 2021,
when the contract expires.

Those figures are comparable to what peer port directors make, according to
a salary survey by the American Association of Port Authorities.

Scafidel declined to be interviewed for this article.