Hopeful maybe misused e-mail
He's accused of using state gear for political gain
E-mail records show that Bill Colbert, an employee at the state Department of Environmental Quality and a council member in Draper, has sent 154 messages in the past four months regarding Draper city business during hours he was being paid by the state.
The e-mails, which average about two a day, were sent from Colbert's official government e-mail address as well as from his personal account. Colbert's state computer records also show an influx of Draper-related e-mails the day after city council meetings each month.
Mark Towner, Colbert's opponent in the school board race, said he approached the state about the e-mails and was assured an investigation was under way.
Colbert makes about $50,000 annually as an environmental scientist at the department, working four 10-hour days a week.
"This is a full-time state employee that's kind of doing whatever he wants," Towner said. "He said he wouldn't do all those things. But he has."
Colbert denies any wrongdoing but said he has agreed with a request from his boss to bring in his own computer equipment to write Draper business e-mails and to only send them on his lunch hour.
Colbert signed a conflict of interest statement when he was elected to the City Council in 1999, which stated: "Draper city business will not be conducted during Department of Environmental Quality approved work schedule" and "state-owned equipment will not be used under any circumstance to support Draper City."
Dianne Nielson, executive director of the department, said she could not comment on specific personnel investigations but said employees who are elected officials are explicitly told not to use the state's time or resources to fulfill their duties.
An acceptable use policy at the department does allow for "occasional use" of e-mail for personal affairs but has a zero tolerance policy on e-mails used for profit.
Because Colbert receives $800 a month for his position in Draper, Towner argues that city-related e-mails are for profit and are not an acceptable use.
"He's getting paid by the state at the same time he's getting paid by Draper city, and now he wants to get paid on the school board," Towner said.
Colbert, however, said his e-mails are acceptable nonprofit use because his Draper city paycheck is mostly expense reimbursement, not profit. Colbert also said he keeps his e-mails about city business short.
"All I'm trying to do is serve my community," Colbert said. "I could make more at Arctic Circle."
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