Greg Smith isn’t clear who he works for when he draws his $139,000 salary in Boardman. Neither are the leaders of two government agencies. The confusion over Smith’s employer is the latest turmoil related to his rural work. At one government board meeting, a split vote yanked one member off another board over criticism of Smith. That other board recently voted to take back questionable pay raises, but public officials aren’t sure whose pay got cut. Add into the mix local politics, a lawsuit, and claims of retaliation for spotlighting questions about Smith’s conduct. A little lesson in local governing is needed to understand any of it. First, there is the Columbia Development Authority. This public agency was formed by five governments take over a surplus military base west of Hermiston. Each local government puts one person on a board to manage the agency. Smith was hired as its executive director in 2015. One of the five governments is the Port of Morrow. The port has turned into an economic powerhouse along the Columbia River, serving potent industrial interests and corporate agriculture. The Port of Morrow has a seat on the CDA Board. The port also acts as a sort of bookkeeper for the CDA, processing the organization’s bills and paychecks for the CDA’s employees. The port also receives federal money every year to help cover the development authority’s costs. When Smith was hired, port officials assured their federal paymasters that it would keep Smith’s day job separate from his role as a legislator. Smith has been a Republican state representative based in Heppner since 2001. That assurance recently surfaced publicly as heat built over Smith’s performance. “He will be spending time on his legislative duties that will be allocated to his role as legislator and not to the Columbia Development Authority,” said a 2015 letter, obtained through a public records request. READ IT: Port of Morrow letter The port letter noted that Smith would be required to submit time sheets documenting his hours. Smith received a copy of the letter, port officials said. Citing the federal source of money, the letter explained that “Greg Smith will only be compensated using OEA funds for hours spent working on the Columbia Development Authority executive director activities based on completed, signed time sheets.” The port also wrote that it had “policies and procedures in place” to see that happens. Responding to a public records request, the port produced one policy – a “Time Records” policy noting that “each employee is expected to record accurately the time spent working on port business.” Smith’s time sheets obtained under a public records request show he has recorded hours at times when he’s been engaged in legislative duties – or working in his other paying positions. Smith received his full pay for his executive director role even while in Salem during the 2024 legislative session. Legislative records released to the Enterprise show he claimed $5,312 for 32 days in Salem as per diem for lodging and meals in February and March. Port officials didn’t respond to questions about the apparent discrepancy or how they have enforced their pay policies. Sam Tucker, the port’s attorney, wrote that he had advised the port to “be very cautious in responses.” Joe Taylor, a Boardman-area farmer, is chair of the Port of Morrow Commission. He said he saw the 2015 letter recently. He said he nonetheless believes Smith is entitled to full pay even when not on duty for the authority. He said he considered Smith to be on salary, though port records show he is paid by the hour. Smith’s pay came into question in recent months as some public officials questioned a substantial pay raise for him as executive director. CDA records show his pay increased 55% last April to $195,000 a year. That didn’t sit well with some on the CDA Board. In a special meeting in September, the board voted 3-1 to rescind pay raises for Smith and two other employees. The port’s top official was in the room at the time of the vote and discussion. Sam Tucker, the port’s attorney, said in an email that “I advised Port to not take any action unless it received direction from an authorized CDA member.” He didn’t explain why the port didn’t consider the CDA Board to have that authority. For direction, port officials turned to the chair of the CDA Board, Kim Puzey. Puzey’s primary job is executive director of the Port of Umatilla. Puzey wasn’t at the meeting where the pay cut vote was taken. He said in a recent interview that he was contacted and asked to provide an email stating that Smith’s pay was to be cut. Puzey said he didn’t talk to any of his fellow board members before acceding to the request with an email on Oct. 2. “Please adjust Greg’s salary according to the motion of the CDA Board.” he wrote. Puzey said port officials didn’t tell him that the CDA Board voted to reduce pay for all three employees, just not Smith. Port records show that Smith subsequently was paid the lower rate. The CDA Board at its special meeting in September also decided to hold two more meetings related to Smith. One was to devise a process to evaluate his performance. The second was to then evaluate Smith. That effort didn’t get far last week. WATCH VIDEO: Columbia Development Authority Board The special meeting held in Boardman on Friday, Oct. 11, lasted less than a half hour. The gears of government ground to a halt over Smith’s actual employer. “We’re in a state of ambiguity,” Puzey said. He said he didn’t know whether Smith legally worked for the CDA or the Port of Morrow. “It’s up in the air,” said Taylor, the Port of Commission chair. Smith was asked at the meeting who he worked for. “That’s really not my call,” he said. Puzey said that left uncertain whether the CDA Board could even direct Smith’s work. The meeting ended after Puzey suggested that five attorneys representing the five governments in the CDA meet to pick another attorney to propose an evaluation process. Meantime, Smith has filed a grievance with the Port of Morrow against a commissioner who has been questioning how his raise was arranged. Port officials haven’t disclosed the grievance, but the Port of Morrow Commission acted against their own commissioner last week. The commissioner is Kelly Doherty, elected by voters to the port commission and subsequently appointed to serve on the CDA Board. Doherty last summer began questioning a federal grant application that said the CDA Board had approved pay raises for Smith and his team. Documents show there was no such approval. The issue broke into public view at a heated meeting of the CDA Board, where Doherty and another board member questioned Smith about claims to the federal government. Smith conceded the grant language was wrong, and the board subsequently voted 3-1 to rescind the pay. On Wednesday, Oct. 9, the Port of Morrow Commission voted 3-2 to remove Doherty off the CDA Board. “That’s retaliation,” Doherty said as the commission acted. Taylor explained later that the majority of the commission felt Doherty wasn’t representing the port “in a good fashion” on the CDA Board. He said that Smith has “some fault there too” for the confrontational tone. Doherty said later she believed that Smith contacted all the port commissioners in an effort to get her removed from his oversight. She said it was a toxic environment at the agencies, ascribing the controversies to “power and greed.” She intends to file a whistleblower complaint with federal authorities about Smith’s actions. Taylor said the controversies haven’t been a “major disruption” for the port. “I’m going to make sure we get in as much information as we can and allow our legal people to sort things out,” he said. Puzey said his priority is to pin down who employs Smith. Until then, he said, “We are somewhat stranded.” RELATED COVERAGE: Public official loses pay increase, faces salary repayment as board probes conduct Public official exaggerates his duty to engineer major pay raise from struggling public agency Eastern Oregon University ends Greg Smith contract, mum about the circumstances Contact Editor Les Zaitz: [email protected]. STORY TIP OR IDEA? Send an email to Salem Reporter’s news team: [email protected]. 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