Erlanger Health System's chairman of the board is asking trustees to put off a revote of their controversial decision to award $1.7 million in bonuses until a later meeting.
The board had planned to revisit its Dec. 4 decision to award the bonuses at its upcoming meeting Thursday, following a public outcry over the bonuses being planned in closed meetings, and after the state attorney general concluded that such closed-door discussions were not lawful.
But Chairman Donnie Hutcherson, who had originally called for the revote after the attorney general's opinion, said in a letter to trustees Monday that he wanted to delay the vote after he met with former Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey and House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga.
"Additional time is needed to provide more opportunity to share different perspectives as well as facts," Hutcherson said in the letter.
"With that said and with my support, [lawmakers] have requested that the board continue with the meeting scheduled for this coming Thursday evening, but defer any vote relating to these issues until a future board meeting. This will allow time for the trustees and legislators to consider the information shared at the meeting and to continue our dialogue to find the much-desired common ground needed for a successful Erlanger."
Donnie Hutcherson is seen in this 2006 file photo.On Tuesday, McCormick said that he asked for the extension because he wanted more time for lawmakers, hospital employees and the public to hear more about the bonuses, and because "there's no big rush" to do the revote.
"They need to have a good conversation about this publicly, because obviously the last conversation was private," McCormick said. "I think this will give people time to digest the process, and also get a better sense of the financials of the hospital, which have recently improved. It will give the board a month or two more of financials to see if there is a continuing trend."
But McCormick said he does not believe a revote is optional.
"They will have to have a revote if they want to go forward," McCormick said. "The other vote was illegal. The letter of the law and the spirit of the law was broken."
Hutcherson said the resolutions on the bonuses and CEO Kevin Spiegel's revised contract -- which included a 10 percent pay raise -- will be presented in a "comprehensive overview" at Thursday's meeting, and will include information from Jose Pagoaga, a managing principal and executive pay expert with the consulting firm Sullivan Cotter.
Contact staff writer Kate Belz at kbelz@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6673.
Previous news report about the bonuses: