John Rebchook is a former Rocky Mountain News reporter with more than 30 years of experience in writing and communications... Taxpayers could be footing a hefty legal bill as the state defends itself in Erin Toll’s whistle-blower case.
And on another issue, Toll has received the second-highest ranking on each of her four performance reviews since she became the director of the Division of Real Estate, but has yet to receive one from her current boss, Barbara Kelley, head of the Department of Regulatory Agencies. Kelley placed Toll on paid leave in March, following a publicized investigation of American Home Funding and one of its mortgage brokers, Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch. Toll is currently being paid her salary of $9,579 a month, or just under $115,000 annually, DORA said in response to a Colorado Opens Acts Request by InsideRealEstateNews.com.
The Attorney General’s office, as InsideRealEstateNews first disclosed, hired private attorney Cathy Greer to represent the Department of Regulatory Agencies in Toll’s case.Bill Finger, Toll’s attorney, argued that the attorney general had a conflict of interest in representing DORA, as it had represented Toll on numerous occasions.While $200 per hour, a rate negotiated by the state last year, is not expensive by lawyer standards, it far exceeds Toll’s salary.If Greer billed the state 40 hours a week at $200 per hour, that would come to $8,000 per week. In other words, in one week Greer would earn 83.5 percent of what Toll makes in a month. And if Greer charged 40 hours a week for an entire year, she would end up earning $416,000, about 3.6 times Toll’s salary. Although she Greer very well may not bill 40 hours a week, there is no cap on how many hours she can charge or a cap on the maximum she can bill.
It’s the price you pay
High costs simply comes with the territory, said Byron Koste, the outgoing executive director of the Real Estate Center at the University of Colorado – Boulder.
“It’s like going to the doctor,” Koste said. “Once the doctor starts working on you, don’t you think he is going to get paid more than you? And $200 per hour is actually a fairly cheap attorney. A lot of them charge $350 or $400 or more per hour. The legal route is expensive, whether it is a divorce or a grievance issue.”
Koste said the state “can’t shop around looking for an attorney who earns less than Erin Toll. What she makes is immaterial. It has nothing to do with the going rate of a private attorney.”
High legal costs can lead to settlements
That said, in the “real world,” the cost of a lawsuit can result in a settlement, he said.“It isn’t just the state,” Koste said. “Any lawsuit gets very expensive and you are incentivized to take that into consideration. On the corporate side, it is a hard pill to swallow to make the economic position to settle when you feel you are in the right.”
Bill Finger, Toll’s attorney, asked how much Greer is being paid.
“$200? She’s cheap,” Finger quipped.
Could it be settled without running up the legal bill?
Finger, however, said even that expense might be avoided if Barbara Kelley, the head of DORA, would sit down with Toll.
“Repeatedly, Erin, through this office, has invited the department head to meet with Erin and resolve this matter,” Finger said. “And the department has refused to do that. The grievance procedure allows a face-to-face meeting, and even encourages resolving grievances this matter. Barbara Kelley has chosen not to do this. The best way for the state to resolve this is to have a meeting with constructive dialogue.”
Toll received high marks in previous reviews
Meanwhile, InsideRealEstateNews.com, obtained summaries of all of the performance reviews Toll has had since taking the position in 2006. The state, however, denied releasing the entire reviews under a Colorado Open Records Act request, but only gave the time period and overall rating.
The first rating, from Sept. 5, 2006 to March 31, 2007, Toll received a “Very Good” rating, the second of four performance levels at the time. Only “Peak’ was higher. Rico Munn, the DORA director before Kelley was appointed to the job last fall, declined to comment.
A “Very Good,” means she: “Accomplished performance; consistently exhibits the desired competencies effectively and independently while frequently exceeding expectations, standards, requirements, and objectives of the job assignment. It also means that her work had a “documented impact beyond the regular assignment and performance objectives directly support the mission of the organization.”
The Very Good category also means that Toll was ‘innovative, above standard, commendable, anticipate opportunities, and prevents problems.” It also is a category for someone exhibiting “higher production levels.”From April 1 2007, through her latest review on Oct. 31, 2009, she received a “Successful” rating, which is only exceeded by the “Exceptional” category.
Among other things, a “Successful” rating means the person “exhibits competently in the work behaviors, skills and assignment for a job. Consistently meets, and on occasion may exceed, all expectations; reliably performs the job assigned; exhibits “behavior competency: meets customer expectations; and has a “positive attitude and ability to adapt well to change.’
Asked what he thought of her performance ratings, Finger, Toll’s attorney said: “They speak for themselves.”
It’s unclear whether Kelley plans on reviewing Toll’s performance. DORA left Toll’s latest appraisal period, from Nov. 1, 1009 to March 31, 2010, blank. Reviews are mandated by the state.
“We do not know at this time,” said Chris Lines, DORA spokesman.
Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-6865
No attorney works only one case 40 hours per week. All the figures the author came up with here are complete and utter bull. At most, the attorney would work a few hours per week and more if it goes to trial.
Erin Toll did not care how much the lawsuits cost the mortgage companies when she went after them! Go get her…she deserves to go down!
The Government arguing with itself! It is not only the money spent for them to argue that incompetence is grounds for dismissal, but now they are paying $200/hour, a bargain according to Byron Koste, to argue that they themselves don’t know what they are doing in bringing these charges. This is a cluster game. The lawyers win; Toll gets her power back and CREC goes on in its malodorous fashion.
Her so-called “high ratings” come from other bureaucrats outside of the CREC. Her old boss ,Rico Munn, refuses to comment. Why!? Because he doesn’t want to be party to a fraud? Or, maybe he knows that she should have been fired long ago and doesn’t want that to stigmatize his own career.
The subject of “Sunset” started this mess. It should finish it. It is time to”Sunset“the Commission. — No more Toll, no more ruined careers, no more inane rules and regulations. And, the best part; lawyers get to litigate the real problems as they surface in the market place and the real estate industry can continue down the yellow brick road.
I would imagine all of these comments are coming from mortgage brokers some of which are crooks or they would not fear an investigation. A new board is being formed to carry on the good work that Erin Toll has started. I hope they weed out the bad actors and God only knows there are many of them out there.