Museum review examines allegations of unfair raises

NASHVILLE — Allegations of unfair pay increases, conflicts of interest, a lack of background checks and improper alcohol storage highlight the latest review of the Tennessee State Museum.

Despite the Tennessee comptroller outlining the issues in a Wednesday letter to museum leaders, museum commission Chairman Thomas Smith said the review actually vindicates the commission.

“I believe that this letter from the comptroller’s office is excellent,” Smith said in a phone interview Wednesday.

“I believe that every single thing in this letter simply underscores why I and the commission have worked so hard to bring new leadership into the Tennessee State Museum, because every one of these findings, in my opinion, are just legacy actions of the prior leadership.”

Longtime museum leader Lois Riggins-Ezzell retired from her role in late 2016, as reported by the Nashville Post. The Post detailed a litany of nepotism and misconduct allegations against Riggins-Ezzell at the time after several scandals, including the arrest of a former employee and a scathing comptroller review.

The latest review examined an allegation that Riggins-Ezzell and another official received inappropriate raises in 2016.

“During our limited review, we determined that five current employees, including the deputy director, as well as the former executive director, received 15 percent to 26 percent salary increases in calendar year 2016,” the comptroller’s letter states.

The comptroller doesn’t say whether the pay increases are warranted. Smith said he thinks there is nothing wrong with those raises.

Auditors also found museum officials directing employees of the museum foundation and conducting clerical work for the foundation. The two entities should remain separate to avoid any conflicts, the auditors said. Additional findings include:

› Museum officials continue to not conduct background checks on all new employees. One employee’s previous background check was deemed sufficient and officials forgot to request a check on another employee.

› There are ongoing issues with work schedules and time cards. “Apparently, the employee responsible for entering all employees’ hours lacked attention to detail; therefore, we could not verify whether employees worked the hours documented,” the audit letter states.

› The alcohol inventory was haphazard and incomplete. “Based on our review of the records the former director of external affairs was able to provide, the records were insufficient as they did not include accurate, complete, current, and historical inventory balances,” the audit letter states.

The museum hired Ashley Howell in January as its new executive director. Smith said he’s confident in her leadership and he would be “shocked” if similar issues were found during the next audit.

The comptroller plans another review of the museum in the spring.

Contact Dave Boucher at dboucher@tennessean.com or 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.