Gov. picks tax official to lead Neb. Labor Dept.
Posted: Tuesday, August 26, 2008
LINCOLN (AP) -- Gov. Dave Heineman has picked a longtime tax official to lead the Labor Department, which was beset by accounting problems and charges of nepotism over the past year.
Deputy Tax Commissioner Catherine Lang will take over the post now held by Fernando Lecuona in September. Heineman announced Lang's selection on Monday, a month after he announced Lecuona's resignation.
Heineman called Lang, who has worked for state government since 1981, a "knowledgeable and experienced veteran of state government" with the legal and financial skills necessary to lead the department. She is former director of the Department of Property Assessment and Taxation.
"The Department of Labor is a key agent in (ensuring) our great state is poised to meet the economic opportunities that await us," Lang said.
She will take over a department that has a public image problem following two incidents over the past year.
In June, state Auditor Mike Foley reported the department overspent nearly $7 million in federal money.
Foley said the state would likely have to repay the money and called the problem a "complete meltdown in the agency's fiscal reporting."
Foley blamed human error, not fraud, and said Lecuona and other officials cooperated with the audit.
Lecuona said in a statement at the time that "the safeguards and oversight were not adequate for the financial management of the agency."
"There's still work to be done there," Heineman said on Monday when asked whether the state still owed the federal government money. "I'm sure Cathy will help clear that up."
The accounting problems followed concerns raised about nepotism at the Labor Department. Five daughters of five department managers were hired to fill temporary positions last summer.
Heineman has said proper hiring procedures were not used.
Heineman spokeswoman Jen Rae Hein has said that the governor did not ask Lecuona to resign.
Moving forward, Heineman and Lang suggested the Department of Labor may play a bigger role in state economic development efforts, perhaps working closer with the state's revenue and economic development departments.
Deputy Tax Commissioner Catherine Lang will take over the post now held by Fernando Lecuona in September. Heineman announced Lang's selection on Monday, a month after he announced Lecuona's resignation.
Heineman called Lang, who has worked for state government since 1981, a "knowledgeable and experienced veteran of state government" with the legal and financial skills necessary to lead the department. She is former director of the Department of Property Assessment and Taxation.
"The Department of Labor is a key agent in (ensuring) our great state is poised to meet the economic opportunities that await us," Lang said.
She will take over a department that has a public image problem following two incidents over the past year.
In June, state Auditor Mike Foley reported the department overspent nearly $7 million in federal money.
Foley said the state would likely have to repay the money and called the problem a "complete meltdown in the agency's fiscal reporting."
Foley blamed human error, not fraud, and said Lecuona and other officials cooperated with the audit.
Lecuona said in a statement at the time that "the safeguards and oversight were not adequate for the financial management of the agency."
"There's still work to be done there," Heineman said on Monday when asked whether the state still owed the federal government money. "I'm sure Cathy will help clear that up."
The accounting problems followed concerns raised about nepotism at the Labor Department. Five daughters of five department managers were hired to fill temporary positions last summer.
Heineman has said proper hiring procedures were not used.
Heineman spokeswoman Jen Rae Hein has said that the governor did not ask Lecuona to resign.
Moving forward, Heineman and Lang suggested the Department of Labor may play a bigger role in state economic development efforts, perhaps working closer with the state's revenue and economic development departments.
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