PSC and Governor's Aide Discussed Personnel Changes at Agency

The independent agency charged with regulating utilities in Maryland drew fire yesterday for consulting with the governor's office before dismissing a senior employee and for meeting privately with the governor's aides amid negotiations over electricity rate increases.

A special legislative committee investigating Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s hiring and firing practices released e-mails that show that a top aide at the Public Service Commission discussed a planned dismissal with the governor's appointments office.

Also yesterday, a state board found that PSC Chairman Kenneth D. Schisler and three other commissioners violated the state open meetings law when they met privately with Ehrlich's chief of staff in March to discuss the pending rate increases.

Democrats said both the e-mails and the legal opinion reinforced concerns about the independence of utility commissioners, already the target of public outrage over rising electricity prices.

A day earlier, a Baltimore judge delayed a rate relief plan approved by the PSC and will consider whether to send it back to the commission for changes.

The PSC is required by law to act impartially to protect utility customers from unfair or unsafe practices.

Schisler yesterday defended the independence of his agency and the personnel decisions made, including the ousters of five high-ranking employees, who were escorted out of the building by armed guards in April 2004.

At times, Schisler appeared so riled that his hands shook as he gulped down water and handled exhibits. Among them was an October 2003 e-mail from his chief of staff, Craig Chesek, to the governor's deputy appointments secretary, Diane Baker, stating that Schisler "would like" to terminate an employee, one of the five who were later fired.

"No problem . . . I will get Larry and SLK to sign off then you can do the termination," Baker responded, referring to Appointments Secretary Lawrence Hogan and former Ehrlich chief of staff Steven L. Kreseski.

Schisler said he was never told whom to hire and fire and that political affiliation was never considered. "I wasn't asking for permission," he said. "I was telling them what I planned to do."

Legislators, who are investigating whether state personnel practices are fair to at-will employees, zeroed in on memos written in early 2003 that declared that "all hires and dismissals should be cleared" through the governor's appointments office and that Ehrlich would assess progress "in hiring the individuals who will carry out the goals and responsibilities of this administration."

Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery) said the memos and e-mails show the PSC was "clearly responding to the appointment's office."